July 7, Liulichang Lu and Hutongs

A lovely thunderstorm and rinsing rain in the night, and a clear blue sky this morning.

I got up early and set off for Liulichang Lu via subway (Hepingmen) and hoofing. When I got there, everything was still closed on this ubercute, tree-lined and cobbled street just a few blocks south of the Forbidden City. The focus was calligraphy equipment as well as completed paintings and calligraphy. So I ambled down past the end to the hutong beyond. It was full of life and vitality, with all kinds of people running around getting the day underway. Deliveries of produce to the holes in the wall, implausibly loaded carts of bottled water, many little dragons-- tiny dogs shaved except for their heads; kids, guys on scooters, butchers;

There was a noodle making shop half the size of my classroom equipped with a machine that looked like an ancient printing press that I think kneaded the dough and then squeezed it out between a mangle: then the wife rolled the dough very thin with an enormous wooden rolling pin, rolled up the dough into a cylinder, and used a cleaver to shave off thin noodles, give the bunch a quick twist, and popped them into a bag for sale. I saw all kinds of tasty food.

one man had a turntable arrangement for his crepe pan, facilitating the spreading of the crepe batter on a huge round surface. Once the crepes are partly cooked, an egg or two are added, some fried tofu, pickled vegetables, scallion, chili sauce; then it is folded up and delivered, all for 3 rmb: $.45.  There were new varieties of donutty things, not sweet nor savory, just plain and crunchy; and a kind of egg mcmuffiny looking thing. I found a soup joint that for 2 rmb gave me a delicious bowl of soup with triangles of fried spongey tofu. They put a plastic bag in the bowl and put the soup in that. Beats even paper plates. The man next to me was holding a boiled egg with one hand and eating it with chopsticks with the other. It was wonderful to just watch all the bustle. And I don't think I was stared at a lot; odd since I was not in tourist territory. 

Back in Liulichang Lu, I bought brushes and a sketchbook, but not a chop. On reflection, it doesn't make sense to use a Mandarin approximation of a transliteration of my English given name as a chop. I may come up with some other design and get a dentist or someone to put it on the rock I got. But I am looking forward to taking the new brushes for a ride!

There was a calligrapher in a tiny shop there, about 6 by 10 with his work stuck on the wall and a workbench and chair, pots of ink, and brushes. He wanted to sell me a calligraphy scroll for 20 Yuan, 3.00. His living quarters were just behind the shop, and a bit smaller: a bed and chair, and scattered debris. Must be hard in winter. This setup seems common.  

Poking around in an antique/junkshop deep in the hutong, not on Liuluchang, I found a lovely little ceramic turtle. This place was tiny, and had all kinds of things jammed behind a chickenwire fence and on dusty, rough wooden shelves. some were utter junk, and some . . . I didn't know. The proprieter's starting asking price for the turtle was 28,000; oh well. I guess I have good taste anyway. Or maybe there was some order of magnitude error? 

In Beijing, my standard lunch became a Popsicle, which came in a variety of interesting flavors. Sometimes two! It was too hot to really eat, and unwashed fruit is a bit risky. Later, I discovered that those gray ceramic pots I had taken for baiju were actually yogurt: you buy and drink it on the spot; a great pick-me-up.