Welcome to this weeks Showcase Sunday where I share some old posts of mine. These were all published on Steem BC (Before Centralisation). It is nice to be able to give them a second airing as some flew under the rewards radar.
China collection
I have only visited China 3 times for my work, although with the adventures I've had over there it feels like a lot more.
Due to this Pandemic and also the fact that China is becoming a pretty big superpower I see lots of negativity towards it as a country and it's people. Much of this I think is pure ignorance which is being exploited by politics. China is getting too strong for their own boots and since the usual enemy Russia isn't scaring the public anymore due to the lies being told and then being proven false we need a new enemy and China is it.
But, let me tell you something. China is different, they don't play by the same rules as the rest of the world they don't have a four year election cycle of promises, broken promises and new promise just before the next election which is what most countries have. Their leaders think in the long term and their people have a different outlook on life as a cog in the communist machine. I am not saying it is right or wrong. I am just saying it is different and to think of them by our set of learned standards is arrogant and wrong.
Hold on, scrap that last paragraph, this wasn't supposed to be a political rant. Who the hell do I think I am? Noam Chomsky? Trying to Manufacture some sort of consent? No, nothing like that, I just think that before you Judge China maybe you should visit it first.
'Sculpture, sand sculpture Ammonite, That is what you are here to talk about'. What follows are my sculptures and adventures in China. As always. click the image to go to the post.
Don Quixote/ The Luliang Pact - sand sculpture
I start with one of my least favourite sculptures and my first visit to China. This one was made using specials coloured sand and it was a very though project. The cultural differences were an eye opener for me. Not just of the Chinese but of my international colleagues.
Zhoushan 2004 - sand sculpture
Taking the long way around the world from Canada to China made for a fun arrival. Working with terrible sand and having to carve left handed made for a very interesting project but we all had a jolly good laugh.
Zhoushan 2007 - sand sculpture (Part 1)
Olympics sculpting in a typhoon was the subject of this first post from Zhoushan 2007. Having a little holiday beforehand made it manageable.
Zhoushan 2007 - sand sculpture (Part 2)
My second sculpture from Zhoushan. After the storm blew over it was a nice finish to this project and then another holiday sleeping on the great wall.
That's it for this week, Have a great Sunday.
@ammonite
Its fine to have a different political system, but its wrong to lie, to kill people, to force people to do things against their will, and more importantly to rob people off their basic human rights. China is different but they don't exist in the barbaric age nor live in caves anymore. If they claim to be one of they most advanced and developed countries in the world they will have to live by the standards of integrity, honesty, respect as we all know. Being different is no excuse to being an asshole, otherwise Sun can be excused for what he's done.
Don't get me wrong I think the practices of the Chinese regime are terrible. but so too do I think that there is a lot of hypocrisy coming from the west. Julian Assange, Guantanamo Bay and all of the regime change wars that are fighting the good fight come to mind. I am glad I don't live in China but find it very difficult to criticise when I look around at the rest of the world which thinks itself so full of virtue. but in no way do I give china a free pass.
It is up to the Chinese people to decided how they want to be governed and although I know that it is difficult for them to request change it is the only possible way to gain true freedoms, it will never be through external force.
I suppose one of my main reasons for going off on this rant is the sadness I felt when Justin Sun took over Steem. I saw many posting comments hating on all Chinese for the actions of one person.
A big chunk of the Chinese community bought it on themselves in particular the top witness and those who still support him, so I don't blame people for those comments (which I actually haven't seen) even though I'm Chinese myself.
The difference of living under Chinese rule and western rule is the former have no say whatsoever. You can't even voice your opinions, let alone decide what you want. Just look at the Hong Kong protest. It started off peacefully, then a very small faction became a bit radical, the police was even worse but of course they can never do any wrong. And now China are bringing the knife down on Hong Kong by implementing the national security laws, they might as well have killed every one in Hong Kong.
Apologies for hijacking your posts, but am very frustrated with what's going on in HK right now
It is terrible what is happening in Hong Kong at the moment and I do hope that the protesters will keep on protesting, pushing back against China.
I am very happy that you added your comments here. My interactions with China are quite superficial and I am always interested in learning more. I have visited many Asian countries including Taiwan and have always found the people to be very nice and hospitable. I know that there is a deep history between all Asian countries just like Ireland's history with the British Empire and I just hope that there will be a peaceful outcome for all involved and that humanity will win in the end.
I do not know how much time was spent on this sculpture.
and it's very beautiful, extraordinary job sir.
Thanks @dedigobelz. This was created by a few carvers over the course of ten days. It does look pretty nice with the lighting. Happy Sunday.
Olympic sculpting in a typhoon.
That doesn't sound particularly comfortable XD
The coloured sand looks pretty cool. Why did you have to carve left handed? D:
The typhoon was pretty exciting and they had the army out to protect the sculpture from it. I did like the coloured sand but it added a lot more work to creating the sculpture.
My right shoulder had a very bad case of RSI and so I couldn't use it. It took a long time to heal.
For the full stories you can check out the posts by clicking the images.
Always you did amazing! Have a great Sunday to you😎
Thanks @sreypov. A great Sunday to you too.
Have a great Sunday!
Thanks @ssygmr. A great one to you too