1. this is a thing extremely site pacific.
2. once located here
3. if you really wanna know what the Chinese says, ask a Chinese friend or click here
4. 7 tracks.
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>> track 1
四猴骑三鸡
西遊記 第五十八回 二心攪亂大乾坤 一體難修真寂滅
...菩薩又請示周天種類。如來才道：「周天之內有五仙：乃天、地、神、人、鬼。有五蟲：乃蠃、鱗、毛、羽、昆。這廝非天、非地、非神、非人、非鬼，亦非蠃、非鱗、非毛、非羽、非昆。又有四猴混世，不入十類之種。」菩薩道：「敢問是那四猴？」如來道：「第一是靈明石猴，通變化，識天時，知地利，移星換斗；第二是赤尻馬猴，曉陰陽，會人事，善出入，避死延生；第三是通臂猿猴，拿日月，縮千山，辨休咎，乾坤摩弄；第四是六耳獼猴，善聆音，能察理，知前後，萬物皆明。此四猴者，不入十類之種，不達兩間之名我觀假悟空乃六耳獼猴也。此猴若立一處，能知千里外之事；凡人說話，亦能知之。故此善聆音，能察理，知前後，萬物皆明。與真悟空同像同音者，六耳獼猴也。」...
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>> track 2
turtles all the way down
A message
of Francis Fukuyama
from The Origins of Political Order: From Prehuman Times to the French Revolution, turtles all the way down
...What I am aiming for in this book is a middle-range theory that avoids the pitfalls both of excessive abstraction (the vice of economists) and excessive particularism (the problem of many historians and anthropologists). I am hoping to recover something of the lost tradition of nineteenth-century historical sociology or comparative anthropology…
...Putting the theory after the history constitutes what I regard as the correct approach to analysis: theories ought to be inferred from facts, and not the other way around…
...There is a perhaps apocryphal story, retold by the physicist Stephen Hawking, about a famous scientist who was giving a public lecture on cosmology when he was interrupted by an old lady at the back of the room who told him he was speaking rubbish, and that the universe was actually a flat disc balanced on the back of a turtle. The scientist thought he could shut her up by asking what the turtle was standing on. She replied, “You’re very clever, young man, but it’s turtles all the way down.”
This then is the problem with any theory of development: the particular turtle you pick as the starting point for your story is actually standing on the back of another turtle…
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>> track 3
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>> track 4
reads as if it slows down your pulse.
There are many reasons why that space, over there,
(point to the back space)
is in a triangular shape. One of those reasons connects to the shape of the staircase you just walked down to get here. If you can remember the experience of walking down that staircase, you might be able to imagine the experience of, this light,
(point to natural light on the floor)
coming down here, from above.
The school building we are in right now was designed by the architect Walter Netsch in 1977, in the fashion of his radical geometric theory called “Field Theory”. This theory proposed to change rectangular volume into complex shapes by rotating each floor in different directions.
(demonstration by hands) So imagine these two rectangles clasped together and from the rotation these two unintentional spaces emerge.
The shape we have here is mainly because the floor above us has been rotated to the other direction. The beauty of this theory is we could end up with really interesting spaces, just like that space
(point to the back space)
and the staircase.
Field theory quickly fell out of fashion, because these buildings made people lose their orientation easily. And, it is really hard to tell where north is when we are down here.
However, If we look at the field theory on paper, it is much easier to understand why it was popular.
(demonstration by hands again) (Do the Birds twice)
This simple but smart gesture, as an aesthetic, was popular during the 70s. It mimics the aesthetic of Zen Buddhism, which was deeply loved by artists and intellectuals back then. Many argue, the rapid rise in popularity of Zen Buddhism was driven, at least in part, by westerners guilt over bombing Hiroshima and invasion of Vietnam.
There was another occasion when a triangular space, like this,
(point to the back space)
was exposed.
In the Pyramid of Khufu, we now enter, through a horizontal tunnel several meters above the ground. The tunnel was originally created by the 7th Abbasid Caliphate, Al-Ma’mun, in the year 832 AD. Under his command of searching for great knowledge, his tomb robbers dug a tunnel into the pyramid until the tunnel reached a pathway inside. Where the two pathways intersected, (Demonstration with Arms) for the first time after thousands of years natural light came into the pyramid. That light casted on the wall, just like this light
(point to the light)
hits the curtain. On the wall, the tomb robbers saw an illustration of a man, which we now know are actually ancient Egyptian text. When the natural light entered, the bottom of the text, in other words, the bottom of the man was lit up, but the face part remained in shadow. The tomb robbers lit up a torch. They moved closer, with this artificial light from the torch, the face of the text, the face of the man was lit up.
(turn on a lighter, move to the face area, hold for 15 second, put down the lighter)
(walk to the switch, turn on the light, and close the curtain)
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>> track 5
(read in the voice of announcement)
The great Khan of all Mongols, the absolute ruler of all mnn and all religions, the Emperor of seven seas and both continents, Kublai Khan signs the first executive order and you listen.
1.The Muslims will be in charge of the emperor’s economy.
2.The Indians, Nepalese, Kashmiris will be in charge of the culture and religion affairs.
3.The Europeans, Chinese and all other abled talents will be in charge of the academic and technological developments.
(pause)
(read in the voice of argument)
1988, right above us,
(point up)
artist Dread Scott made the installation “What is the Proper Way to Display the US Flag?”. In it, a piece of American flag was laid down on the ground as part of the installation. Viewers were encouraged to step onto the US flag while they were viewing a picture mounted on the wall and recording their experience onto a blank book. The artwork became the center of national controversy over its use of the American flag. Demonstrations against this artwork were held in front of the Art Institute of Chicago. President Bush Sr. declared the artwork “disgraceful”. The entire US Congress denounced this work. Senator Dole specifically noted that the law would apply to “the so-called ‘artist’ who has invited the trampling on the flag.” Dread, along with three others, burned flags on the steps of the US Capitol. This resulted in a Supreme Court case and landmark decision.
2016, after the election night, enormous demonstrations against the elected president Donald J. Trump were held across the United States of America. Many symbols were used during the demonstrations, including the national flag of the United Mexican States, and the rainbow flag of the LGBTQ community, but the US flag was mostly absent, except for a few burning cases.
(pause)
(read in the voice of announcement)
The great Khan of all Mongols, the absolute ruler of all men and all religions, the Emperor of seven seas and both continents, Kublai Khan signs the second executive order and you listen.
Transportation will be the first priority of the Empire.
The Silk Road and its trading will be protected and maintained by the emperor.
Any kinds of sabotaging will be crushed by the undefeatable Mongol forces.
(pause)
(read in the voice of argument)
1907, a great deal was signed between the United Kingdom and Russia. The deal, which was known as the Anglo-Russian Entente, tried to solve conflicts of interest between the two countries in Persia, Afghanistan and Tibet. The deal eventually grew into one of the three pillars which led to the burst of World War I.
▬ ماده اول ـ دولت بریتانیای کبیر تعهد میکند که در ماورای خطی که از قصر شیرین به اصفهان و یزد و خواف ممتد شده به یک قطعه در سرحد ایران که در محل تقاطع دو خط سرحدی روس و افغان منتهی میشود تقاضای هیچگونه امتیاز سیاسی و تجارتی از قبیل امتیاز راهآهن، بانک، تلگراف، طرق، حمل و نقل، بیمه و غیره برای خود یا تبعه دولت ثالثی ننماید و با درخواست این قبیل امتیازات از طرف دولت روسیه در منطقه فوقالذکر مستقیم یا غیرمستقیم مخالفتی ابراز ننماید. بدیهی است که امکنه فوقالذکر جزو منطقهای است که دولت بریتانیای کبیر از تقاضای امتیازات فوق خودداری خواهد نمود.
▬ ماده دوم ـ دولت روسیه به نوبه خود تعهد میکند که در منطقه واقع در آن طرف خطی که از سرحد افغانستان از قاذیک (مشرق بیرجند) و بیرجند و کرمان ممتد شده و به بندرعباس منتهی میشود تقاضای هیچگونه امتیاز سیاسی و تجارتی از قبیل امتیاز راهآهن، بانک، تلگراف، راه شوسه، حمل و نقل، بیمه و غیره برای خود و اتباع خود یا تبعه دولت ثالثی ننماید و با درخواست این قبیل امتیازات از طرف دولت انگلیس در منطقه فوقالذکر مستقیماً مخالفتی ابراز ننماید بدیهی است که امکنه فوقالذکر جزو منطقهای است که دولت روسیه از تقاضای امتیازات فوق خودداری خواهد نمود.
1917, as a result of World War I, the Russian Empire was overthrown by its own peasants and factory workers in a series of revolutions. The revolution was led by the left wing majority “большевик” (Bolshevik). Because they used a red flag as their symbol, the revolutions were also known as The Red Revolution. The Bolshevik formed the ruling communist party in the Soviet Union. The fall of the Russian Empire left a vacuum in Persia, Afghanistan and Tibet. The force of The Great Britain took it over afterwards.
1933, a British writer, James Hilton published his landmark novel “Lost Horizon”. In the book, he created an imaginary buddhist utopian world named “Shangri-La”. It was inspired by accounts of travels in Tibetan borderland.
However, 700 years before that, when Marco Polo first visited the “Shangri-La” region, it was not as remote as what “Lost Horizon” suggested. Under the rule of the Mongols, hundreds of countries in that region had been united. The region became important because it was one of the only two trade routes to get to China. The capital of the region, during those days, was rather an international metropolis with a majority of Chinese and Muslim population.
600 AD, the Chinese Empire banned the use of castration, which led to a shortage of Eunuchs. The Chinese nobles had to import Eunuchs from the Arabic world. So over 700 years after, the Eunuchs in China were known as 火者 (huozhe), a sonic translation from Persian “خواجه” (hâce, hoca), which means fire man. Also, most of the “خواجه” had a family name of Muhammad, which translated into Chinese sonically as 马 (ma), meaning horse. During those days, the horse fire man was part of people’s understanding of muslims.
1368, the Mongol Empire’s ruling over China was eventually overthrown by a series of peasants’ revolutions. The revolutions often used a red banner and red flag as their symbol, just like the Red Revolution in Russia. The last region the Chinese took back was the one celebrated by Marco Polo as a beautiful place embracing cultural diversity, and fantasized by James Hilton as the remote utopian Shangri-La.
When the Chinese army broke into the capital city of this region, they celebrated their victory by killing all the adult Muslim men, and castrating the younger ones and selling them away. This cruel action actually fit to their traditional idea of Muslims equaling eunuchs.
A boy, at the age of 10, named Togetherness Horse, was castrated after the fall of the city. He was sold to serve a warlord, and then the warlord gave him to the prince as a gift. His father, who fought to defend the city, was killed.
Togetherness Horse was famous for his height, strength, military and martial art talent. The prince he served eventually became the third Emperor of the nation after a three years of brutal civil war.
Togetherness Horse fought the war and played an important role to finally secure victory. After the prince took over the crown, Togetherness Horse was given a royal family name Zheng, and titled as the Treasurer of Islam, Buddhism, and Taoism.
Togetherness Horse was also known as the first Chinese to explore the sea world. The sea world was never the Chinese priority back then. And many times, trading or travel over sea was actually banned by the government to prevent foreign influence over Chinese politics. It was the same attempt, perhaps, to keep Russia from interfering with the US election.
There were rumors saying it was actually Togetherness Horse who convinced the Emperor to invest in exploring the sea world. However, in this rumor, Togetherness Horse’s own motivation remains a mystery.
(pause)
Before Togetherness Horse’s trip, he went back to his hometown. He built a tomb for his father who was once the nation’s enemy.
On the tombstone, Togetherness Horse wrote about all the wonderfulness of his father, how kind a person his father was, what a beloved leader of the community he was, what a great father and loyal husband he was. On top of that, Togetherness Horse marked down his own success in the Emperor’s inner circle as well. He didn’t mention the battle killed his father and castrated him
After so many years, the tombstone still stands. According to the tombstone, Togetherness Horse’s father was named Hajji Horse. The name Hajji was given to muslims who had the honor of visiting the holy city of Mecca.
Togetherness Horse must have heard, many times, about the trip to the holy city. He must have heard, many times, about that part of the world his family came from. Maybe many times, Togetherness Horse imagined what the holy city looked like, what people there looked like, and what their life looked like. It might be a really similar experience for the second generation immigrant in the United States imagining where their family is rooted. The difference is, back then, he could only rely on his own imagination. It was the imagination of a 10 year old boy, whose father was killed, and himself castrated and sold into a big house of nobles who didn’t share his origin at all. The imagination was probably a very beautiful one.
So maybe,Togetherness Horse insisted to do the sea travel, because he wanted to go to Mecca, where he had imagined as the location of his identity.
July 11th, 1405, Togetherness Horse started his first voyage.
The way he traveled was very different compared to the Western explorers who traveled during the colonial period. He had a crew of 62 ships and 28,000 members. The main ship was 100 times larger than Columbus’s crew. Instead of searching for treasures, the Horse crew carried tremendous amounts of treasures and goods with them. Whenever they encountered another nation, they gave out treasures to establish a diplomatic relationship between the two countries. They also intervened in local conflicts in the way of giving both sides protection from China.
It was kind of a surprise to see Togetherness Horse pursuing his mission in A peace loving way, despite the fact he actually grew up in a very cruel time. Maybe it was because he converted to three religions.
Togetherness Horse made 7 grand voyages through his life time. He died during the last trip and was buried in Kozhikode, India. He reached as far as the red sea and parts of eastern Africa. He never went to Mecca, even though he sailed to the Middle East a number of times.
If the motivation behind the voyage was a return to his identity, he found something greater and more urgent, or even maybe he developed a new identity. This new identity made the one taught by his father irrelevant
(pasue)
If the entire world’s population migrated to the United States of America, the country would be populated at a density similar to the city of Chicago. Please take a moment to remember your trip today here. Which neighborhood did you come from? Which train did you take? How did the buildings look like on your way? How many people did you encounter on your way? What did they look like? Sound like?
Remember this experience. Imagine, if the entire world’s population immigrate into the United States of America, all 7 billion people, which means every single person lived here right now multiplied by 23 times. People will have a similar living experience just like people who live in Chicago right now. They might vote similar to Chicago as well.
(pause)
(John asks people behind the curtain to move up)
(when it became quiet again behind the curtain, start to read again)
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>> track 6
How did we solve our conflicts from the very beginning?
The human specie travelled out from east Africa 100,000 years ago. By 12,000 years ago, they had already spread across the globe. What made them cross deserts, terrains, oceans? What did they escape away from?
One theory was the prehistory human groups could only function under a really small number no larger than 150. Similar to the amount of people, here.
(point to the people in front of you)
In which people can trust each other by simply knowing everyone and everyone’s gossips. When the population grewpasses that threshold, the group would break up. One side stays, occupying the region, while the other side moves aways. But when there were no place to move out to, war thrived. When we needed more man to fight the war, Country thrived. When we couldn’t afford to kill anymore, culture thrived.
Human has repeated this practice so many times, until the entire globe is populated, until people have no place to escape. Until then, people have to face the problems of living with each other. And this, perhaps, is the moment when culture thrives.
Culture is a tool box for us to find possible solutions to solve our conflicts, in order to be with each other. We invented the idea of nation to project influence and fight wars. We invented religions to hide behind the promise of the afterlife. We push through democracy to fulfill our believes in equality. We invented different identities to feel unique and feel we belong.
In this sense, culture is together we find a solution to tolerate each other, to therefor those , to those we love or hate. Culture is a way to find our own space and our own entertainment. Culture is a way to create an illusion for us to hide away from conflicts in everyday life.
But maybe we won’t become the fully cultured human until we find a way to live together with everyone. Imagine the entire world’s population moved to the United States and lived together. By then, we may need another identity, another symbol, another flag to represent that identity as just simply humans on the planet. But for now, that identity still remains a blank one.
(Pause)
(Open the Curtain and Leave)
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>> track 7
(this video is not at all what had happened but just trying to help you imagine something.)
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just because it was in America at that time that year.
repeat 6 times with volume 0.1