Mr. Jin and Ishmael?

I complain a lot about inane conversations at work, but today was really good.

My boss, Mr. Jin, sat down to show me some pictures of some villas in the old Hui style. Courtyard houses were very common, composed of simple rectilinear blocks; the different pathways provided variations in space. There were rules about how many doors, windows, pillars, rooms, etc one could have and only the emperor was allowed to have decorations and frivolities in design.

Southeastern Anhui is a mountainous region and many villages lived in isolation from the kingdom. It was also an area of rich Hui merchants and because of the isolation, they often worked their way around design rules. Instead of 9 fancy pillars in the hallways, they'd make three big pillars and then ring each one with three, decorative pillars connected via delicate latticework. Instead of plain beams, they'd carve flowers and clouds onto them and hope that no officials would happen to drop by and look up at the ceiling. Back then, liberties with design meant beheading so these guys were gutsy.

(Huizhou was at its economic and cultural peak during the Song dynasty. The Cultural Revolution pretty much finished off--literally--the remaining merchants and landowners, and now Anhui is very poor.)

Then 100 years ago, Western influence came into China, bringing with it Western ideas of design and technology. Stone and concrete began replacing wood, which was now a limited resource. Furthermore, the concept of city began to change. Before, it had been a highly feudal setup, with a city being a king surrounded by establishments, which was surrounded by farms. Gradually, people began packing in together into smaller and smaller spaces, due to many reasons such as industrialization. This is a process we are continuing today. Shanghai has about 20 million people. I live in a box 200 feet off the ground.

Mr. Jin deplored this condition of living. He says the courtyard house, where people spend their time outdoors and under the sun, is the natural way for people to live. Xiao Yan then pointed out that only in the modern concept of city can there be technological progress. Marketplace of ideas, division of labor, etc.

Mr. Jin, "That's true. But the traditional living style lasted thousands of years. It worked. How long do modern cities last? Already we can see it's a failed model. You can argue progress is important for society, but the old way of living is important for people. "

This is the most beautiful thing I've heard so far in China.This argument may not make sense to some people, but anyone who has read Daniel Quinn's book Ishmael will understand completely.

Xiao Yan said, "I think the old ways perished because they weren't efficient at all. Survival of the fittest applies to ideas too."

Mr. Jin: "What we have today isn't survival of the fittest. Rather, it's the survival of whoever can eliminate the weakest the fastest. In nature, both the strong and the weak find a way to exist, for how else can we have diversity in the world? Diversity applies to culture as well."

I wanted to hug him. My boss is awesome. I feel like Mr. Jin may have also read Ishmael.

There is no way I can go into Quinn's philosophy briefly, but basically, humans currently live in a way that is not in accordance with nature's laws, which is why we are destroying ourselves and the planet. No amount of technology will change that. We have to realize that a way of life that works is one that lasts--what doesn't work is putting all of our energy in developing sustainable cities, making recycling programs, putting little bandages on huge problems in order to maintain our current way of life. As well-meaning as people are, I still shake my head at slogans like, "Better city, better life."

Well this blog entry got a little out of control…but Ishmael is one of the most important books I have read. Combine it with discussions about design and I am super excited.