objects possessed vol. 2

OBJECTS POSSESSED: INVENTORY OF POSSESSIONS IN A RURAL VILLAGE HOUSEHOLD

所有物：在农村所有物的条目

RURAL CHINA中国农村

BASEbeijing2011

VOLUME 2

BASEbeijing, a laboratory devoted to projects related to architecture and design in urban and rural China was established in 2005 in the urban village of Caochangdi by Robert Mangurian, Mary-Ann Ray and Robert Adams. The projects for BASE 6.0 2011 were carried out in collaboration with BASEbeijing associates Irene Keil, David Gregor and Philip Lee.

BASEbeijing gratefully acknowledges the tremendous support it has received from the University of Michigan’s Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning, the Graham Environmental Sustainability Institute, the Office of the Vice Provost for Research, the Center for Chinese Studies, the Confucius Institute, Center for Global Intercultural Studies, and the International Institute, the Beijing University of Technol-ogy, the Tulane School of Architecture, and the leadership of the Pearl River Valley Township and Shang Shui Guo Village.

BASEbeijing sees itself as playing a role in rethinking and reinventing the project of education within architecture.

Robert MangurianMary-Ann RayIrene KeilDavid GregorRobert AdamsPhilip LeeAnn BergrenElizabeth GhiselineJason ZhaoZhang JianZhao Zhifeng

2011 BASE TEAMJessie Wanhao CuiBrian DastinElizabeth DavisMatt DeCotiisLaura DiiorioMatt DolanDeena EtterOscar GarciaNicholas HoJeffrey LavineLydia McMullen-LairdIan O’CainAlex PicarielloCameron RingnessMalcolm ScottBrian SulleyCat (Catherine) WangPhilip Yu-Huan WangSabrina (I-Hsuan) WangMatt WarrenBrad Wisselman

2011 BJUT TEAMLiu Jia (Jack)Wu Na (Pamela)Cao Li Ping (Willow)Liu Yu (Louis)Yu Che (Norman)Liu Yang (Calvin)

OBJECTS POSSESSED: INVENTORY OF POSSESSIONS IN A RURAL VILLAGE HOUSEHOLD

所有物：在农村所有物的条目

1COURTYARD

2KITCHEN

THE COURTYARD院子

yuan zicourt + yard

1

WHEELBARROW手推车

shou tui chehand + push + car

to collect and transport bundles of wood from the mountains

only during winter months

unknownunknownunknown

wood

Use/Purpose:

Frequency of use:

Origin: Price:

Age:

Material:

WOOD CARRIER挂筐

gua kuanghanging + basket

to carry bundles of wood from the mountains

only during winter months


wood

Use/Purpose:

Frequency of use:

Origin:Price:

Age:

Material:

STRAINER漏勺

lou shaofilter + spoon

drain water from noodles and rice

frequently

Si Haiunknownunknown

wood, metal

Use/Purpose:

Frequency of use:

Origin: Price:

Age:

Materials:

FILTER 筛子

shai zifilter

filter debris from grain frequently

Si Haiunknown

10 years old

wood, metal filter

Use/Purpose:Frequency of use:

Origin:Price:

Age:

Materials:

CHICKEN FEEDER 喂鸡的瓶子

wei ji de ping zibottle + for + feeding + chickens

container for feeding chickensdaily

Si Haioriginal soda price is varied

unknown; easily replaced when-ever older bottles break

repurposed plastic bottle


Origin:Price:

Age:

Material:

DE: Do you have only one of these, or do you have a lot of bottles for [feeding the chickens]?Li: One is not enough. That is a soda bottle. If we want more, we just cut more.

DE: How many do you have?Li: Four or five.

DE: So the other bottles you have out there are going to be recycled? You have lot of plastic bottles out there.Li: Yes. The bottles have not been cut because they are for sale, not for the feeder.

HANGER 衣架yi jia

clothes + hangerhang clothes to dry

daily

unknownnew to their generation (not

used in previous generations)

wood, wire


Origin:Price:

Age:

Material:


Origin:Price:

Age:

Material:

hang clothes to drydaily

Si Hai3 for 1 RMB / .15 USD

less than one year

metal

CLIPS夹子jia ziclip

INCENSE SHRINE 香炉

xiang luincense + container

DE: What is this incense jar (xiang lu) for?Li: This is for sacrificing to the god.

DE: What god is it?Li: The god from the sky. It’s call Tian Di Ye.

DE: What things is this god in charge of?Li: Everything.

worship and sacrifice tothe god guarding the house

as needed

Tian Di Ye godunknownunknown

glass jar, incense

Use/Purpose:

Frequency of use:

Origin:Price:

Age:

Material:

LANTERN灯笼

deng longlantern

plaything for children during Spring Festival

handmadefree

20 years

wood, metal wire


Origin:Price:

Age:

Material:

DE: What is this?Li: I will tell you.

DE: When will you use it?Li: Spring Festival.

DE: Is there anything outside it, a piece of red cloth?Li: Actually we decorate it with a red or pink paper outside of it. When it is dark, it is beautiful.

DE: Does every house use it or not?Li: It is just for fun.

DE: Did you buy this or make it yourself?Li: By myself.

DE: How long has it been used?Li: Maybe more than 20 years.

GRATER擦葱

ca congneed

grate vegetables for cookingfrequently


wood, metal


Origin: Price:

Age:

Materials:

STOOL 凳子

deng zistool

sitting and resting during yardwork

frequently

handmadefree

5-6 years

wood

Use/Purpose:

Frequency of use:

Origin:Price:

Age:

Material:

HOOK暖壶

gou zihook

align and place honeycomb shaped coal into outdoor

stovedaily


cast iron steel

Use/Purpose:

Frequency of use:

Origin:Price:

Age:

Material:

grasp the coal to put into the outdoor stove

daily


cast iron steel

Use/Purpose:

Frequency of use:

Origin:Price:

Age:

Material

COAL GRASPER钳子

qian zigrasper

Use/Purpose:

Frequency of Use:Origin:

Materials:

firewood for the stove; sup-port sticks for growing veg-

etablesgenerally used in winter

mountains

wood

In the winter, Li takes a car approximately 2500 meters to the mountain to collect sticks. He brings 50-60 bunches at a time, which lasts for 10-12 days. The back of their courtyard is filled with these sticks. Li and Liu work together to create stick fences on which fledgling plants can grow.

BUNDLES OF WOOD柴火

chai huofire + wood

OUTDOOR STOVE小锅

xiao guo small + pot

cook meals outside; heat water

daily during summer

unknown unknownunknown

metal barrel, coal

Use/Purpose:

Frequency of use:

Origin:Price:

Age:

Materials:

WICKER BASKETkuang

筐

basket

collect and carry vegetablesand sticks from the

mountainsinfrequently

traveling salesman fromYan Qing County

unknown10 years

wicker

Use/Purpose:

Frequency of use:

Origin:

Price:Age:

Material:

DE: What was your job in the past?

Li: I was and am a farmer.

DE: What did you farm?

Li: I plant the crops millet and sorghum.

DE: How much money do you make a year on av-erage by planting?

Li: 100-200 RMB each year in the past. We worked in a group and gave the crops to the group leader, who gave us scores. At the end of the year, we got our salary according to how high our scores were.

DE: Does it work that way now, too?

Li: No, it doesn’t. In the old days of China, all goods were given to the government, and then the government distributed them to each person.

DE: Okay, now you sell the crops directly?

Li: I can sell some part of the crop. We sell 500-100 kg each year. We sell the crop 1 RMB for each 500 g, so we earn 1,000-2,000 RMB from that each year.

FARM TOOLS座垫

need pinyinaxe + head

Use/Purpose:Frequency of Use:

Origin:Price:

Age:

Materials:

gardening, farmworkdaily

Si Haivarying, unknown

30 years

wood, metal

These tools are Li’s livelihood. He uses them everyday to garden and farm and keeps them in good working condition. Though he doesn’t say it, these tools seem tobe his most precious possessions.

HARROW镐头gao touharrow + head

Use/Purpose: dig holes and make the soil soft

SICKLE镰刀lian daosickle + knife

Use/purpose: cut the crops

HOE筷笼子 chu tou hoe + head

Use/Purpose: make the soil soft

CONCRETE MIXER和泥刀/二招子huo ni dao / er zhao zimix + mud + knife

Use/purpose: mix concrete

CAT猫

deng longcat

Li and Liu own four cats that they keep as pets. They love the cats, though they get an-noyed with them when they get into the garden.

Li and Liu raise chickens for eggs. They own ten chickens total. The chickens are housed in a cage located at the back of the courtyard.

CHICKEN鸡ji

chicken

TOILETmao fang

茅房

grass + room

DE: Is this [type of bathroom] a common bath-room in the rural village?Li: Every house has a bathroom [like this]. We made it and dug it ourselves.

DE: Where did you get the ash that is used in the bathroom?Li: We dug the ash from the bottom of the river, which we had to pay for.

dispose of wasteas needed

built into courtyardfree

age of house

dirt, ash


Origin:Price:

Age:

Material:

SHOESxie鞋

shoes

wearing for specialoccasions

infrequently

Si Hai20 RMB / 3.08 USD

2-3 years

leather

Use/Purpose:

Frequency of use:

Origin:Price:

Age:

Material:

everyday weardaily

Si Hai20 RMB / 3.08 USD

2-3 years

rubber, canvas


Origin:Price:

Age:

Material:

FOOTNOTESThe Courtyard

1. The wood carrier is put on like a backpack, with the bundles of wood strapped on the back. When not used, it is hung up in the entryroom.

2. Li told us he is not very religious, though his wife is. I picked up the jar to ask what it was and my interpreter, Louis, told me not to, because it was part of a shrine. Li reassured me, telling me that it was fine--the jar was not aligned with the paper on the wall, signifying the shrine wasn’t effective.

3. In the courtyard, the couple stores both plastic and glass bottles which they collect for money. Only a few bottles go towards making the chicken feeders. This is yet another example of how the couple repurposes their objects to make the most use of them.

4. His everyday-wear shoes are army-inspired. They call them “liberation shoes.”

THE KITCHEN厨房

chu fang2

WATER POTshui hu

水壶water + pot

Liu owns two hot water pots. She uses the older pot more frequently, despite being rust-ier, because it is smaller and easier to heat.


Origin:

Price:Age:

Materials:

hold and heat waterdaily

Traveling salesman fromYan Qing County

30 RMB / 4.16 USD15 years

metal

AXE斧头fu touaxe + head

Use/purpose: chopping wood; farm workFrequency of use: as needed

Origin: Si HaiPrice: 2-10 RMB / .31-1.54 USD Age: 10-20 years

Material: metal, wood

BROOM扫帚sao zhoubroom

Use/purpose: sweep dirt off the floorFrequency of use: daily

Origin: handmade of sorghum grown on the side of the roadPrice: freeAge: made every year

Materials: sorghum

CHOPSTICK HOLDER筷笼子 kuai long zi chopsticks + cage

Use/Purpose: store chopsticksFrequency of use: daily

Origin: Pearl River Val-ley Township

Price: 1 RMB / .15 USDAge: less than 30 years

Materials: metal

SCISSORS剪子jian ziscissors

Use/Purpose: cut cloth to make linens and cushions

Frequency: infrequently

Origin: imported from the market to Shang Shui Guo

Price: 3 RMB / .46 USDAge: more than 10 years

Materials: metal

WATER DRUMshui gang

水缸water + drum

Both the larger water drums and the small-er metal buckets store water to be used in-side the house. When they are filled with water, they last four days in the summer.

Use/Purpose:

Frequency of Use:

Origin:Price:

Age:

Material:

store water for cooking and drinking

daily

Zhen Zhu Quan30 RMB / 4.61 USD

6-7 years

porcelain

WATER DRUM LIDgai lian

水缸cover + curtain

STEAMERbi zi篦子filter


Origin:Price:

Age:

Materials:

cover water drumsdaily

handmadefree

5 years

sorghum stems

Use/Purpose:

Frequency of Use:

Origin:Price:

Age:

Materials:

steam vegetables for cooking

daily

Si Haiunknownunknown

metal

3

4

filter Liu’s medicine daily

pharmacy of the Yong Ning Hospital

free with purchase of medicine

muslim net

MEDICINE FILTERshai zi水缸filter

MEDICINE POTyao diao药吊儿

medicine + hangsteeping medicinal herbs

twice per day (takes medicine at each meal)

Yan Qing County10 RMB / 1.54 USD

one month old; replaced a smaller, older model

metal


Origin: Price:

Age:

Material:


Origin:

Price:Age:

Material:

DE: Can you tell us about some of the other ob-jects on the table, like this [points to medicine pot]?L: I boil my medicine in here.

DE: Oh, medicine. For what?L: For my stomach, rashes on my skin and my leg. [gets out medicine bag]

L: I got this at the ancient Chinese medicine hos-pital. There are more than ten kinds that I use.

JC: It’s useful.L: Several kinds are useful, but it tastes bad. One bag is for three meals. I eat two meals a day.

DE: What’s the [tea pot] called?L: Yao Diao.

DE: How long have you had it?L: I had an old one but it was too small, so I bought this one less than a month ago.

L: Do you have a yao diao in your country?DE: No.

L: It costs ten yuan. DE: Did you buy it in the village?

L: I tried to buy it at the market, but it was too small so I bought it at the Yan Qing County.

TABLEzhou zi

桌子table

surface and storage for kitchen utensils, thermoses, etc.

dailycarpenter-made

5 RMB/.77 USD30 years

scrap wood from windows

Use/Purpose:

Frequency of Use:Origin:

Price:Age:

Material:

main dining tableevery meal

gift from daughter’s husband20 RMB / 3.08 USDmore than 25 years

wood, metal

ROUND TABLEyuan zhuo

圆桌circle + table


Origin: Price:

Age:

Material:

MIXING BOWLStie pen

铁盆steel + bowl

food container, mixing bowldaily

Si Haivarying according to size

2 big bowls; 3-4 small bowls

steel


Origin: Price:

Quantity:

Materials:

storing hot water daily

Si Haiunknown

15 RMB / 2.30 USD

plastic, glass

THERMOSnuan hu

暖壶warm + pot


Origin:Age:

Price:

Material:

LARGE STOVEda guo

大锅big + pot

heat large meals and kangsimultaneously

frequent winter use;infrequent summer use

built into the houseunknown

same age as house (20-30 years)

Use/Purpose:

Frequency of use:

Origin: Price:

Age:

cook small meals; heatwater and medicine

frequent summer use

unknown115 RMB / 17.68 USD

unknown

propane tank

GAS STOVEmei qi zao

煤气灶gas + stove

Use/Purpose:

Frequency of use:

Origin:Price:

Age:

Materials

CLEAVERcai dao

菜刀vegetable + knife

chopping meat andvegetables

daily


wood, steel

Use/Purpose:

Frequency of use:

Origin:Price:

Age:

Materials:

cleaning the large stove;sweeping surfaces

daily

unknownfree

unknown

sorghum

HAND BROOMchui zhou (chui chu)

炊帚cook + broom

Use/Purpose:

Frequency of Use:

OriginPriceAge:

Materials:

DE: Did you make [the gourd]?Li: I actually planted this gourd (hu lu) by myself.

DE: In the garden here?Li: Yes, in the backyard.

DE: How did you make this? Do you eat inside? Li: It is not for eating now because it is old now. When it is young, it can be eaten after cutting it into pieces. DE: How many do you have around the house?Li: We have five of them.

DE: How long does it take for the gourd to dry? Li: It takes 5-6 months.

water carrier, chicken feeder, egg storage, trash collector

frequently

grown in their courtyardfree

takes 6 months to dry

dried fruit

Use/Purpose:

Frequency of use:

Origin:Price:

Age:

Material:

GOURDpiao瓢

gourd

ONE MORE

Although Li and Liu have a surprising amount of dishware, only a few bowls and utensils get used daily. Most dishes are stored for when family visits during Spring Festival. The dishes that are used most often are used to prepare and eat every meal. Every time we visited, we noticed the exact same dishes on the tables.

UTENSILSchui ju

炊具cooking + tools

carrying water to cook,drink, and wash

frequently

Si Haiunknown

1 year (purchased after previous one broke)

metal

Use/Purpose:

Frequency of use:

Origin:Price:

Age:

Material:

WATER CARRIER舀子

yao ziscoop

FOOTNOTESThe Kitchen1. Li and Liu reuse chopsticks, and own about 10 pairs total

2. Li told us he makes his own brooms because the brooms sold at the market cost 8 RMB / 1.23 USD, which he considered to be too expensive.

4.

3.

5. One of their many possessions made with sorghum, this is a very versatile object. While it’s main use is to clean the large stove, we have seen Liu clean the cutting board of meat scraps, only to bring to scraps out to the chickens using the hand broom.

3.

6. This is arguably the most versatile object Li and Liu possess; while they only have 5-6 gourds, they use them for a multidue of purposes not limited to scooping water, though they only mention this technique when asked. It is an apogee of the couple (and the general rural villager)’s ingenuity and resourcefulness; the gourd, as a vegetable grown in their courtyard, is free, yet provides many valuable services and is a durable good.

BASEbeijing, a laboratory devoted to projects related to architecture and design in urban and rural China was established in 2005 in the urban village of Caochangdi by Robert Mangurian, Mary-Ann Ray and Robert Adams. The projects for BASE 6.0 2011 were carried out in collaboration with BASEbeijing associates Irene Keil, David Gregor and Philip Lee.

BASEbeijing gratefully acknowledges the tremendous support it has received from the University of Michigan’s Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning, the Graham Environmental Sustainability Institute, the Office of the Vice Provost for Research, the Center for Chinese Studies, the Confucius Institute, Center for Global Intercultural Studies, and the International Institute, the Beijing University of Technol-ogy, the Tulane School of Architecture, and the leadership of the Pearl River Valley Township and Shang Shui Guo Village.

BASEbeijing sees itself as playing a role in rethinking and reinventing the project of education within architecture.

objects possessed vol. 2

Documents