Just because our research trip is over...

By Marin Hanson
Curator of Exhibitions 

... does not mean we won't be continuing this blog!

Researching and building a Chinese patchwork and quilt collection is a major focus at the IQSCM, so we intend to keep talking about everything we're doing related to China. In fact, on Monday, June 24, some of our Quilt Studies graduate students will begin blogging about our one-week summer seminar, "Asian Patchwork and Quilting: Folk Art/Religious Art."

In the meantime, you might want to check out my other blog: 100goodwishesquilts.blogspot.com. This is where I (periodically) write about my PhD research, which is focused on quilts being made today for children adopted from China (One Hundred Good Wishes Quilts). There are fascinating connections between what we're doing here on "Pieced in China" with One Hundred Good Wishes Quilts -- so go check it out!

Marin Hanson is the Curator of Exhibitions at the International Quilt Study Center & Museum at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. She holds undergraduate degrees from Grinnell College and Northern Illinois University and earned her MA in museum studies and textile history with a quilt studies emphasis from UNL. She is currently pursuing doctoral research on cross-cultural quiltmaking practices, with particular emphasis on China and the United States.

Our Last Day

By Marin Hanson
Curator of Exhibitions

On our final day in China, we went to two more antiques markets in the hope that we might find some patchwork. We knew it was a long shot, and in the end we hardly saw any textiles at all.

One market, however, was right outside the gates of Ba Xian An, Xi'an's Daoist Temple. It was a beautiful temple, and very well cared for.

Some old folks were practicing some tai ji quan under the shade of ginkgo trees and many people were there to pray and burn incense -- it was quite peaceful.

The other market we went to had dozens of stalls, but many of them had exactly the same things. We did a little souvenir shopping, but overall it was disappointing that they had no textiles.

But none of this takes away from the overall success of our research trip. We will be leaving China tomorrow with so many wonderful experiences under our belt. Most importantly, we now have a greater understanding of not only what patchwork from this part of China looks like, but who makes it, and how and where they make it.

 

Further, we now have an idea of what kinds of research questions we may want to pursue in the future and we have a fantastic partner to work with as we move forward, the Art Museum at the Xi'an Jiaotong University.

Cheers from Xi'an! You'll hear more from us later this week.

Marin Hanson is the Curator of Exhibitions at the International Quilt Study Center & Museum at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. She holds undergraduate degrees from Grinnell College and Northern Illinois University and earned her MA in museum studies and textile history with a quilt studies emphasis from UNL. She is currently pursuing doctoral research on cross-cultural quiltmaking practices, with particular emphasis on China and the United States.

This 'n That

By Cindy DeLong
UNL Graduate Student

Marin and Amanda meeting at the Coffee House.

Yesterday we had nothing on the schedule, which was good because it was raining. Later in the day Dr. Crews and Marin were giving lectures at the American Exchange Center at Xi'an Jiaotong University, so they had preparation time this morning. We really couldn't go anywhere because the traffic in Xi'an is so bad that if we did, we might not get back in time.

Traffic. It's something else here. I have seen lots of traffic, but never anything like this, except, of course, in Beijing a week ago. And I have never heard so much honking. At first I thought the cars were honking at each other to express anger or say "get out of my way." That's not the case. They honk to warn other cars that they are there and to watch out for them. Here they also have street cars, buses and lots of people on motorcycles, scooters, bicycles and any other type of vehicle you can imagine. 

There must be some order to how people drive in this city, but heck if I can tell what it is. It is legal, and normal, to turn left from the far right hand lane. Go figure. Cars cut in front of each other constantly. The drivers have some sort of built-in instinct or antennae so they know EXACTLY how close they can get to another car without hitting it. 

These Xi'an streets are the most chaotic I have ever seen. For example, the side street next to our hotel has parking on both sides of the street. But people double-park all day long. The other day, there were almost as many cars double parked as those parked along the curb! In addition to the vehicles and bicycles driving, changing lanes, and turning every-which-way, there are lots of pedestrians crossing the street. Venturing outside anywhere near the street is truly taking your life in your own hands. The odd thing is that we haven't seen any accidents. Very strange.

Since we had some free time this morning, Marin, Amanda and I decided to go to a local coffee house for a cup of brew. It was very good. (The coffee at the hotel is reeeally bad.) We were able to wind down a little and "regroup." We reviewed some of our pictures, which of course sparked conversation and recapping of some of our adventures. We are all charmed by the Chinese children. They are adorable.  

It's a good thing menus have pictures.

There are a few more things about our dining adventures I have to share. First, napkins are optional. Sometimes you simply don't get one and if you do it's more like a cocktail napkin than anything else. I haven't seen a single dinner napkin since we've been here. Instead of ice water, the restaurants serve hot water in a glass they've taken from a thermos. I think it's been boiled so it's safe to drink. I am actually enjoying this new drink and will probably continue with it when I get home. 

Something else a little different is the way they serve the food. In the U.S., restaurants serve the entire order at once. Not here. Food is served as it is prepared in the kitchen. So I might have my food before everyone else. I guess I'm expected to eat it when it arrives, but since food is family-style, everyone just digs in. I'm puzzled. It's a little different.

The other night we went to a place up the street to have noodles. We saw a woman picking up a carry-out order. Yes, it was in a Chinese box just like at home. Well at least something's the same. 

Dumplings and Steamed Buns...ummumm GOOD!

Steamed Buns and Plum Juice.

A very common dish here is a dough that is stuffed with different things -- vegetables, spinach and egg, shrimp, beef, etc. The dumpling is then steamed until it's done. A steamed bun is the same thing except it's pinched at the top instead of folded. These are delicious, just yummy. Yesterday for lunch we had nothing but a variety of different kinds of steamed buns, and a couple of vegetables dishes. It was a great lunch and we had all we could eat. For seven people the bill was 164 RMB -- about $4 each.

That reminds me, we drink bottled water of course. We can buy it is a quick shop for 2 RMB which is about 35 cents. At the grocery store, water is 1 RMB.

Today, we're taking the bus to the Muslim Quarter. Wish us luck!


Cindy DeLong is working on a master's degree in textile history with an emphasis in quilt studies at UNL. She has a bachelor of sciences in home economics (clothing and textiles) and journalism from the University of Missouri. She has worked at the New England Quilt Museum as a curatorial intern and the International Quilt Study Center & Museum as a collections intern.

Rainy Day Fun

By Amanda Lensch
UNL Graduate Student

Today was a calm day. It was the first time we didn’t rush off right away and bounce from one thing to the next all day long. And I think we all appreciated the little bit of downtime to simply regroup from our whirlwind adventure.

Although, Marin and Dr. Crews couldn’t rest much since they each gave a presentation this afternoon at the American Exchange Center at Jaiotong University! Both were well attended and Marin and Dr. Crews did a fantastic job. Of course we would expect nothing less!

Marin spoke about what we do at the IQSCM, and Dr. Crews gave a lecture on Nebraska Quilts and Quiltmakers. Each lecture was translated into Chinese so our friends could easily understand. They had some extremely insightful questions about quilts as well as the work we do at the end of each one. All in all, I would say a very successful day!

As it rained all day today, we were extremely thankful for this relatively tranquil day as tomorrow will be another story.

Stay tuned!


Amanda Lensch is working on a master’s in textile history with an emphasis in quilt studies at UNL. She has a bachelor’s degree in apparel merchandising, design and production with an emphasis in museum studies and a minor in entrepreneurial studies from Iowa State University. She is a graduate assistant working in collections at the International Quilt Study Center & Museum and previously interned at the National Quilt Museum in Paducah, Ky., and Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C.

A Budding Alliance

The ancient history exhibition.

By Cindy DeLong
UNL Graduate Student

One of my favorites from the folk art exhibition.

Last Monday, soon after we arrived, Dr. Crews, Marin, Amanda and I met Professor Li, Vice Director of the Xi'an Jiaotong University Art Museum. He introduced us to some of his graduate students and gave us a tour of the museum.

We finished the tour yesterday. We were all quite impressed. The museum building is new and beautifully done. There is lots of exhibition space and a wide variety of different subjects are on display. 

The upper level of the museum has a large exhibit of calligraphy. Huge displays cover the walls. It is elegant! We toured the permanent exhibit of ancient historic objects including urns, figurines and tools. A very exciting and colorful Chinese Folk Art exhibit is also permanent. It was flat out fun! A new opera exhibit displayed exotic costumes, puppets and head pieces among other objects. Still two other galleries exhibited photographs and ceramics by a well known Chinese artist. 

We were given a tour of museum offices, the conservation laboratory, and the photography studio. Then we were treated to a short demonstration of some of the technology they are planning to use for visual presentations. We wore 3D glasses and saw a short movie clip. The basic idea is to take museum visitors to the archeological dig sites through the magic of technology. Although not developed yet, this is an important project to the Jiaotong University Museum.

Aren't we cute in 3D glasses?!?

See why we were impressed? 

After this wonderful tour, Professor Li invited us to a sitting room for an informal meeting. He suggested that his museum and ours form a partnership for research and exhibitions. The idea of trading exhibitions was tossed around and agreed to in general, although many, many details will have to be worked out as well as funding. Supporting and sharing research and possibly hosting scholars was also agreed to in principal, although the details and funding would have to be worked out for that too. 

Professor Li visited our campus in Nebraska in 2007 and toured the International Quilt Study Center then. Now we have visited his museum. Also, Marin has exchanged emails with Jack, Professor Li's assistant for a long time. We've developed a good relationship for many years and now with our visit to Xi'an, it seems everyone is comfortable with each other and would like to build a more formal relationship. It is an exciting and a wonderful outcome from this long-anticipated visit!


Cindy DeLong is working on a master's degree in textile history with an emphasis in quilt studies at UNL. She has a bachelor of sciences in home economics (clothing and textiles) and journalism from the University of Missouri. She has worked at the New England Quilt Museum as a curatorial intern and the International Quilt Study Center & Museum as a collections intern.