The Dragon's Drum
The Dalai Lama.
Sounds like good advice for all, no matter what your religion or lack of religion, doesn’t it?
In the ornate ballroom of the venerable Crocker Art Museum in Sacramento, Calif., a 210-strong army of clay soldiers stands in formation. Most soldiers are replicas of the famous terra-cotta warriors that were discovered by a farmer in 1947 in a field in Xian, China. Those ancient warriors — 8,000 have been unearthed so far — have drawn crowds in China and on tours around the world. Scholars say they were buried with China’s first emperor to protect him in the afterlife. As beautiful as they are, they were never meant to be seen. The warriors in Sacramento serve a different purpose. They are a project by artist Gong Yuebin, who moved to the United States from China in 2004. Gong, 52, grew up during China’s Cultural Revolution, when his family was forced to move from the city to the countryside. The government controlled their lives, which were filled with fear and sacrifice. Those memories have been etched indelibly into his psyche and his artwork. “Site 2801,” a massive sculpture, is a result of those years, Gong said. The title refers to a time nearly 800 years from now, when archaeologists might dig up his terra-cotta soldiers to learn about the past — our present.
“If Isaiah is the greatest religious poet, Tu Fu is not religious at all. But for me his response to the human situation is the only kind of religion likely to oulast this century. ‘Reverence for life,’ it has been called. I have saturated myself with his poetry for thirty years. I am sure he has made me a better man … .”
— Kenneth Rexroth
Next month, next year, who knows where I will be?”
