The
China adventure draws to a close here
in Chongqing and today was a very auspicious
day. We traveled back in time to 1174
while walking among Dazu carvings. We
saw only a few of the 50,000 sculptures
in the area, but it has left a profound
impact on us. I
was moved by the shear volume of work,
to say nothing of the size of the carving;
some are the size of your fist and one
reclining Buddha nearly 100 feet long. The teacher
and artist in me could not help but find
similarities to the Western art I’m
more familiar with: scenes created by
Hieronymus Bosch in his Garden of
Early Delights (early 1500's), as
well as the life lessons carved in the
façade of Gothic cathedrals
throughout England and France. As it
turns out these Dazu carvings were completed
about the same time period as many Gothic
Cathedrals and it took about the same
number of years to complete as well.
Tomorrow
we leave for Beijing, completing our
circle of China and the next day we
fly across the top of the world for home.
China is an adventure worth repeating,
I hope to make the journey again. Our
AACE group will repeat, relive, and
remember
our adventure many times as each of
us presents to friends, students, and
the
entire school communities of Twin Valley
and BUHS. This is Gary Blomgren April
24, 2007 11:30 pm in Chongqing on the
23rd story of our hotel surrounded
by 33 million inhabitants saying goodnight
and see you soon back in Vermont.
Images of the Underworld
Guardian figures Baodingshan
Kai and Brandy in front of the Statue of the Thousand Arm
Bodhisattva
Wheel of Life
Hot Pot dinner with Mr. Li, our guide in Chongqing.
Evening view of the Yangtze River
in Chongqing
