Windows of China

17 février 2008

There is a land where a window is always more than a window, which is not surprising since the Chinese home is a temple. An opening to let the light in, or to keep it outside, or to let one see it from the outside. A place from which to contemplate the world, a place to dream, a place where the world leans in to see. Eye of the house unabashedly showing poverty or opulence. Blind eye, masked eye, shut eye, wide open to every wind or protected from the sun by pieces of cardboard boxes. A frame for ornaments of all sorts, shop-window-like. Demon-repelling window, draped with auspicious red and gold. Window encased in an iron wire frame bejewelled with magical trinkets. Half-dilapidated window exhaling wisdom, decrepit jewel encased in magnificent, flame-caressed grey Ming brickwork. Drying rack for anything, screen for displaying messages. Tiny window providing light to a tiny house. High window softly masked with white paper. Rippled paper set in a humble frame or richly colored stained glass. Delicate sanded glass flowers or fine lacquered wood lattice-work. I do not know which other country in the world has such powerful window poetry. Each Chinese window tells its own stories.

Streets of Guangzhou