MDMD(1) - Comments: china

[Doug Millison]

China became the object of colonial interest, intrigue, and exploitation by
the British and other great powers, of course, in a history that culminates
in British importation of opium to China in the last century, and this
month's return of Hong Kong to the PRC -- given Pynchon's recurring
treatment of colonial and imperial themes, China certainly represents more
than "color" or something "cool" to throw in the book. There's also a rich
vein to mine in the "chinoiserie" craze of the 18th century, when Chinese
art and architecture motifs invaded and inspired Europe, along with spices
and coffee and other exotics.

Cordially,
Doug

At 5:39 PM 6/13/97, Brian D. McCary wrote:
>>
>> You refer to those abundant references on China et al. and iron in GR.
>> 1) Has it occurred to you that something so prominent in a book by TRP
>> must (almost per definitionem) have an important meaning however long it
>> takes one to get it.
>>
>> Thomas Vieth
>
>Absolutely.  Or, at least, it's worth spending some energy trying to
>smoke out a meaning.  However, I'm not sure that the "meaning" will ever
>be easy to state and prove.  Here's what I've come up with so far.
>
>This seems to be a stylistic device, similar to the placement of sight
>gags or the use of colors in a movie.  If a director used, say, the color
>green repeatedly in the background of shots where it was not necessary,
>one could argue that the green didn't have meaning on its own, but was,
>rather, a device for creating some sort of mood.  A more concrete example
>would be the use of generic products in the movie Repo Man.  They seem
>to be irrelevant with respect to the story line, yet they are woven in
>through the movie in a very insistant manner, even to the extent of
>intruding on the dialog (for instance, the "plate of shrimp" line).  I don't
>know that I can say what is supposed to be meant by all the generics, but
>I know it was a deliberate act, and I can't imagine the movie without them.
>
>A similar, but not identical case, arises with the repeated appearance of
>Yoyodyne and the Bodine family in Pynchon's stories.  With Pig Bodine,
>Pynchon has professed great affection for the character, so I figure Bodine
>just shows up because TRP likes him, not because it means anything.  Yoyodyne
>is differant in that it, at least, symbolizes a nebulous sort of evil
>in his work - although, I suppose, Bodine represents one of the counterforce
>to that evil, in his anarchy.  Oh, yes, there's also all the pigs which
>show up throughout GR.  Again, all the pigs don't seem to mean anything,
>they are just there, for fun (or so it seems to me).
>
>Some of the china referances could be for color.  I'm sure that British
>Society and London was infused with Chinese culture in the 1760's, given
>the wave of exploration, expansion, and the preliminary diplomatic relations
>which must have been established by that time.  A Chinese flute in a gambling
>den is easy to believe.  But it seems that there must have also been Turkish,
>Indian, and perhaps even Japanese (had they opened up that early?) exotica
>around London at the same time, and they don't get much mention.  Further,
>later punning with respect to the professions of Darby and Cope is obviously
>not for color, and is largely gratuitous, so I'm thinking all this China stuff
>is really just there for his own pleasure.
>
>It has been suggested that, following the line far enough west gets you
>to China, which is true, but what would the implication be? Is China
>supposed to inherit America's place as standard bearer for societal growth?
>Or, given China's ancient culture, is it supposed to be a back to the future
>kind of thing, where the human race will back off from America's wildness for
>the old wisdom of the orient?
>
>I dunno.  I figure Tom got interested in China, thought it was cool, and the
>referances worked their way into the story.  Maybe some deeper sense of
>their meaning will emerge during the MDMD
>
>Brian McCary

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D O U G  M I L L I S O N<<<<<>>>>>millison at online-journalist.com
     Today in history (13 June 97 wire service report):
1633: The charter for Maryland was given to Lord Cecil Baltimore.
1944: Nazi Germany began flying-bomb attacks on Britain.
     From today's wire service reports:
     --Star Trek fans are like drug addicts who suffer withdrawal symptoms
if deprived of their favorite television show, a British study has shown.
One woman "Trekkie" spent her whole holiday worrying that her video
recorder had not been set properly at home to catch the latest installment.
Another spent $10,000 on Star Trek merchandise every year. After studying
fans of the science fiction cult show for four years, psychologist Sandy
Wolfson said, "My research found that about five to 10 percent of fans met
the psychological criteria of addiction."
     --Believing the modern world is spinning dangerously out of balance,
native Indian leaders from around the Western Hemisphere are preparing to
break 500 years of virtual silence in a bid to rescue Mother Earth. A
rainbow confederation of more than 400 elders and shamen will hold council
in a traditional ceremonial long-house or "maloca" in a remote village deep
in the Colombian Amazon region for 10 days starting June 19. "Life is out
of balance because man became disconnected from the basic essence of the
cosmos," event organizer Francisco Quiroga said.