From my new "Made in China" series using the Holga.
Stay tuned...
This weekend I discovered the "Fish & Bird Market."
Location: Qingta Hutong (west of Lu Xun Museum)
Fuchengmennei, Xicheng District
I decided I couldn't pull out my camera to record this spectacle because it wouldn't do the feeling justice. I just had to be there in the moment and take it all in. Something I am learning to do more and more.
Imagine walking down a small alleyway beyond the main city street toward the unknown. It is always an adventure to seek out the new. Even if it is something very ordinary to some, this small city block area is a spectacular cultural phenomenon. It is not on a very obvious path and is just beyond the length of time one would normally wander into an unknown alley, but we were certain that just underneath the skyscraper within view was a wonderful world of the Fish and Bird Market I had read about. There are moments when you know you have wandered off the normal tourist path because all of a sudden the street seems quieter than normal and all eyes are on you. Seems appropriate as I was seeking out a spectacle myself.
The road curves and then narrows toward this small market. The sound of birds and smell of animals in cages alert you to your imminent arrival. Ah, the destination has arrived. I was drawn first to the little miniature pigs and then the bunnies then the chinchilla. I am an animal lover, but I am fond of some more than others. The chinchilla is originally from the high Andes in South America. This cute and especially soft little guy is often bred in captivity for his fur. Sometimes being blessed with too much softness can be a curse. There are rodents of all kinds. As well as, worms, crickets, minnows. Hard to say where where the line of pet, bait, or food lie. There was some evidence of an organizing principle as you walk into a small building that houses equipment for fishing. The further you walk in, you find yourself in the middle of a maze of aquarium holding every variety of what I would the Goldfish. I still haven't looked in to the relationship between Goldfish and Coy. Are they from the same family? Are they essentially the same fish but with bigger tanks that allow them to grow to sizes like small puppies? I've heard they can cost as much as small cars and are treated as special pets in some circles. I guess I would name mine too and make long rambling streams for them to roam, had I land to do this on. The reality is that I have always been fascinated with ponds and aquariums. The idea of keeping fish and underwater life. If I were to choose, I'd say I lean towards salt water, but would love both. Anyway, besides dreaming of a huge wall of fish in my bedroom one day, seeing this kind of market really depresses me. I worry that these places only exist because people like me are fascinated with keeping things. Taking home symbols of nature to create a fiction. I hate myself for wanting it in a way and for wanting to see the market place that feeds these fictions. Its the same as hating zoos for how sad the animals seem, but always having to go to see. I don't try to agitate the animals by tapping on the glass or yelling at them or hitting their cages with sticks, but I always see people who do.
I've taught my nephew and niece (my brother's kids) that it is not nice to do any of these things. That it upsets the animals and we should treat them well for being specimens for our study. That we are obliged to learn about them because we have taken them from their homes so we might "know" something more about Nature. I think the most people learn is about their own natures. Do you feel sympathy, curiosity, disgust, awe, empathy? Its all very adult so the most I can say is "please do not tap on the glass". It is their home and how would you feel? As they watch the other children bang the glass.
I saw a lot of kittens in cages. They were dehydrated little muffins (this is what I like to call cute and cuddly animals who are often bought and sold as "pets"), piled on top of one another in the blistering Beijing sun. Some bunnies in individual cages that are just big enough to keep them in one position and their feet gripped around the wire cage bottoms. They must think we are horrible to do this to them. Then there are the animals I would put in the "curios" category, such as exotic colored frogs, all kinds of turtles, slugs, bugs, baby birds. The bigger singing birds at least get to sit up high in birdhouses. They are showcased for their beauty. Color, plume, and song. The hierarchy of the animal species represented here on this Saturday Morning measured in freedom of movement.
There weren't any other obvious foreigners as far as I noticed. It was just us (that is Henry & I) and all the caged animals that did not belong there. The highest selling animal that was priced and available for immediate viewing was the "Exotic European Cat" for 860 RMB. Grey and listless it was an adult cat curled up in a comparatively luxurious cage all to himself. The only thing that seemed maybe "European" was that he didn't have a squishy flat nosed face like the ones that are all over the pet store scene here. (Check out my flickr from my first visit to Beijing).
The sweetest moment was as I rubbed the snout of a little black and pink piggy from the edge of his cage. Little piggy kisses. A moment that I am not sure gave him as much pleasure as it did me, but that I will remember. As we left, Henry told me that the woman following me had been asking if I wanted to buy a dog? I still suffer from heartache when I think of my muffin back home. But as much as I want to save all the animals from another day of the purgatory I imagine, I cant. I have committed to one back home. And though I am not with her now, there is no room for another in my heart right now. She is fortunate, as am I, that my sister loves dogs too. But this is her first and she already has two human babies. I am hoping that they are all bonding and falling in love with each other. As I know living together can be hard and love is a responsibility to care for each other. I hope they are falling in love. Until then I will feel like a bad mother. That I have abandoned the baby I raised. But I hope that one day I can look back and know I made the right decision to follow my heart to China. Even if it meant leaving a muffin behind. I just have to believe she is happy and in a better place than with me at the moment. Maybe because she is still young, she will adjust easily.
