Let Chinese etiquette influence the world
Let the light of etiquette illuminate every corner of the world!
On the banks of the East River in New York Stands a majestic skyscraper with a flat rectangular "body" that resembles a matchbox, which is where the United Nations Headquarters is located. I suspect that people jokingly call it a "matchbox," and perhaps a deeper meaning. After the catastrophe of the two world wars, mankind yearns for a new international organization to light the way forward like a match.
On 1 January 1946, the first session of the General Assembly was held in London, and the 51 founding countries voted to locate the United Nations headquarters in New York. American oil magnate Rockefeller "sold" a 15-hectare plot of land by the East River in New York to the United Nations for a dollar, and then donated $8.5 million to build a headquarters. After the completion of the United Nations building, the prices of real estate around it doubled, and delegations from all over the world came to settle here. Rockefeller "took advantage of small losses" and both fame and wallet.
The United Nations Building was designed by 11 of the world's top architects, including Liang Sicheng from the mainland. The Matchbox is home to the United Nations Secretariat and has 39 floors. The four-story building adjacent to the "matchbox" is the conference center, and the United Nations General Assembly, the Security Council, the Economic and Social Council, the committees, etc. all have their own special conference rooms. The side entrance to the conference center leads to an exquisite small garden with angular trimmed evergreen shrubs, colorful roses on the flower beds, and boats can be seen cruising by the railing. Sometimes we eat buffets in UN restaurants and take a walk in the rose garden after the meal.
World-class museum
After the completion of the building in 1952, the architects were most concerned about the interior decoration, not only with a high level of art, but also with elegant layout. Many developed countries have taken the lead in volunteering donations to showcase their own artistic excellence.
The Most Important Venue, designed by 11 architects, is not only practical, but also imposing, with a capacity of 1,800 people. There are only two identical frescoes in the whole hall, painted by the French artist Legère, painting two large circles, untitled, and no one can guess what the artist wants to express. Some say a portrait resembles the big bald head of "Baggs Barney" in an American comic strip. In another, U.S. President Harry S. Truman looked at it and said, "This portrait is like scrambled eggs." Thus, Liejie's mural has the "ya number" - scrambled eggs.
The Council, which has the responsibility entrusted to it by the Charter for the maintenance of international peace and security, is the most authoritative organ of the United Nations, and its decisions are mandatory, and it can decide to impose sanctions or use force. The Norwegian Government had contracted the renovation of the Council Chamber, designed by a Norwegian architect, and the tables and chairs were donated by Norway. An oil painting on the front, painted by the Norwegian painter Kroger, depicts a phoenix bathed in fire, symbolizing the reconstruction of the world on the ruins of World War II, much like the "phoenix nirvana" in Chinese culture.
On the wall in front of the entrance to the Council hangs a huge tapestry, woven from Picasso's famous guernica. Based on cool colors, the painting depicts the tragic scene of the Luftwaffe bombing of the Spanish town of Guernica in 1937: a dying war horse, a mother holding a dead baby, a desperate man praying for God's blessing... The picture gives people a sense of horror, and it makes people feel heavy to watch. It seems to remind delegates that history cannot be allowed to repeat itself! This tapestry is very appropriate to hang at the door of the Council, because the Council's responsibility is to maintain international peace and security.
War
Peace
Mural hanging in the United Nations Lounge – Peace
Two murals in the Representative Lounge are striking. The mural, entitled War and Peace, was painted by the Brazilian painter Portinari. He had asked to paint in the United States, but because of his belief in communism, the U.S. government refused to grant him a visa. He had to be painted in Brazil and shipped to the United Nations for splicing. Portinari was ill when he began painting, and the doctor warned him not to paint with lead powder, but he did not listen. For the sake of art, Portinari continued to use lead powder. The mural was completed in 1957, and soon after, he died of lead poisoning. The painter used his life to call on mankind to oppose war and maintain peace.
In the quiet rose garden, there is a "Hercules" slashing the sword, and half of the sword has been broken, becoming a coulter. This is a bronze sculpture entitled "Cast Sword for Plough" donated by the Soviet government in 1959. In the 1970s, when we saw this sculpture in the United Nations garden, we all scoffed, at that time we were against disarmament, "casting swords for ploughshares" was proposed by Khrushchev, in the era of Sino-Soviet confrontation, we thought it was hypocritical, asking others to disarm and expand their own armies. The facts at that time also proved that the US-Soviet arms race not only did not stop, but on the contrary accelerated. Now it seems that the theme of this sculpture is good, it reflects the people's desire for peace.
Under a small pavilion in the oriental style, hangs a bell, which was the "Japan Peace Bell" presented to the United Nations by the United Nations Association of Japan in June 1954. The bell is minted with coins donated by children from 60 countries and housed in a Japanese shrine-style pavilion made of cypress wood. Usually knocked twice a year, the first time in Lichun, the earth rejuvenated, all things revived, thriving, pinning human expectations for a beautiful new year. The second time is on the third Tuesday of September, the International Day of Peace, which is also the opening day of the United Nations General Assembly.
At 10 a.m. on that day, the delegates came to the back garden, where a statement was first addressed by the Secretary-General of the United Nations, ranging the peace bell and calling on the people of the world to pray in silence for a moment, followed by the President of the Security Council speaking on behalf of the Council. The whole ceremony was solemn, short in time, and open to the public. This traditional ritual has a great influence and conveys people's yearning for peace. The bell-ringing ceremony made the "Japanese Peace Bell" famous. The idea of this gift is good.
The United Nations Building is a world-class museum, with artworks from all over the world abounding. Dignitaries, permanent representatives, diplomats wandering between these works of art in between meetings may get some inspiration. The United Nations is an excellent place to showcase the cultures of nations. Former Secretary-General Annan once commented on the art exhibits of the United Nations: "The art of all countries in the world is displayed here, and the colorful cultural diversity and historical traditions reflect each other in the United Nations, expressing the common themes of the people of the world - peace, justice and human rights.
What artwork should China send
When we first entered the United Nations, we saw chinese characters in various forms written on the wall on the side of the window opposite the representative lounge, perhaps because of our age, the tone appeared dark, not much different from the color of the wall, and not prominent enough.
At this time, we are looking for suitable places to place Chinese art. The delegates' lounge is the main place for representatives of various countries to meet and exchange information, and Chinese artworks have a great influence here, and this side of the wall is very large and wide, suitable for placing a magnificent wall carpet. Therefore, the Delegation suggested to the country that Chinese calligraphy be replaced by tapestries. In early 1974, the State Council approved the delivery of two works of art to the United Nations, the Great Wall tapestry and ivory carvings.
To this end, Ambassador Huang Hua specially returned to China to consult with relevant departments. The Ministry of Light Industry designated Shanghai and Tianjin to produce the Great Wall tapestry on a trial basis, mainly in Shanghai; Beijing and Guangdong were responsible for the ivory carving of the Chengdu-Kunming Railway.
The design is painted on a 10-meter-long canvas, and the designs of the two cities have their own advantages. The paintings in Shanghai were designed by the painter Chen Yifei and many others, and the close-up view is a towering mountain, accounting for nearly two-thirds of the painting. The whole picture is colorful, the color changes are subtle, and the painterliness is strong. Different from the Shanghai design draft that highlights the Lingxiu style, the Tianjin design draft focuses on magnificent performance, bird's eye view of the mountains, straight and open, and the color is relatively simple, in line with the decorative requirements of the tapestry.
As a result of the review, both schemes were approved for weaving. It is still mainly based on Shanghai, and it is hoped that its composition will absorb the characteristics of the broad vision of the Tianjin design draft and enrich and improve it.
Tianjin Carpet Factory "won the bid"
Tianjin Carpet Factory has rich experience in carpet weaving, has woven a small "Great Wall" tapestry, and is full of confidence in accepting the task. On June 1, 15 carpet weaving masters of Tianjin Carpet Factory sat side by side in front of the 10-meter-wide beam, and the weaving of the "Great Wall" tapestry officially began.
Such a large tapestry had to be hung on the wall of the Unrepresentation Hall in October, which meant that in two and a half months, 280 kilograms of wool yarn were used, and the appropriate color yarn was selected among the 248 colors of yarn, and 5.38 million knots were tied. Since ancient times, there is a saying that "there is no color under the lights", in order to accurately use color, it is not possible to drive a night train. Following the process of weaving the carpet, there are also a large number of people dyeing and wiring, guiding the weaving and other personnel to provide raw materials at any time.
The tapestry requires the three-dimensional effect of the oil painting, which cannot be woven in the old way. Tianjin Carpet Factory has created a color matching process to weave unlimited shades with limited color yarn.
△ The Great Wall tapestry photographed at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, USA, on September 16, 2015.
On August 29, two tapestries woven in Tianjin and Shanghai were sent to the Beijing Military Museum to be hung for evaluation. Qiao Guanhua and Huang Hua came first, and when they watched Tianjin's "Great Wall", they nodded their heads and asked them to take a stand, but they did not speak. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs asked the leaders of all ministries and commissions of the State Council to come and see it, and after looking at it for more than ten days, there was no conclusion.
Until September 16, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs asked the personnel of the Tianjin and Shanghai Carpet Factories to move the two tapestries to the Great Hall of the People and hang them on the two brackets prepared in the West Hall for the central leadership to decide. At 8:00 a.m. the next morning, the relevant personnel of the Tianjin factory received a brief notice, which read: After the examination and approval of the top leaders of the party and the state, it was decided to take the "Great Wall" wall carpet woven in Tianjin as a gift to the United Nations.
The "dowry" of the wall carpet of the Great Wall is an ivory sculpture of the Chengdu-Kunming Railway. It describes the Chengdu-Kunming Railway, which opened in 1970. The railway is more than 1,000 kilometers long and connects Yunnan Province in southern China with Sichuan Province in the southwest. The ivory sculpture is 1.1 meters high and 1.95 meters wide, and the craftsmanship is so exquisite that even the tiny characters in the train are carved to life. It is displayed on the third floor on the tourist's must-pass route. Most tourists do not understand Chinese culture and art, and they are amazed to see such exquisite carvings.
The Great Wall came to the delegates' lounge
On October 7th, the wind and sun were beautiful, and the handover ceremony of the "Great Wall" wall carpet and the ivory carving of the Chengdu-Kunming Railway presented by China to the United Nations Headquarters was held in the representative lounge on the second floor. The 50-square-meter Wall wall carpet covers one wall of the lounge. When I accompanied Qiao Guanhua into the lounge, I felt that the united Nations representative lounge was full of spring atmosphere. The brilliant sunlight on the tapestry dyes the Great Wall golden, the verdant mountains rolling and rolling, bright colors, magnificent pictures, making the representative lounge full of life, sitting in the hall drinking coffee, as if sitting at the foot of the Great Wall.
△ On October 7, 1974, China presented gifts (great wall) tapestries to the United Nations Headquarters and the handover ceremony of the ivory carvings of the Chengdu-Kunming Railway was held in the delegates' lounge on the second floor. Source: My Diplomatic Translation Career
In his speech, Qiao Guanhua introduced china's two gifts and their meanings, and UN Secretary-General Waldheim, in addition to expressing his gratitude, also praised the influence and contribution of Chinese civilization to the world, as evidenced by the large number of people attending the handover ceremony. He told Qiao Guanhua: "Today's pomp and circumstance is unprecedented. ”
Delegates from all over the world who came to the handover ceremony were amazed by the "Great Wall" tapestry, praising this huge tapestry for making the delegates' lounge look new, and although the delegates had never been to the Great Wall, they could experience its majesty in the lounge. Western journalists reported: "The Representative Lounge has this ornament from China, which has become one of the most ornate halls in the United Nations building." Most of the paintings and tapestries hung by the United Nations are Impressionist or Abstract, and the Chinese gift is a lifelike realistic landscape painting. ”
Diplomats from African countries saw me and joked, "Ah, I arrived at the Great Wall today, and Chairman Mao said, 'I am not a good man if I don't reach the Great Wall.'" I'm a good guy. Since hanging the Wall tapestry, Chairman Mao's words have spread throughout diplomats in friendly countries.
In the 1980s, I was stationed at the United Nations again, returned to the delegates' lounge, saw the wall carpet of the Great Wall, felt very cordial, and when I sat there to exchange views with diplomats from other countries, I felt that the motherland was by my side, giving strong support to diplomats in foreign countries.
-End-
Text | My Diplomatic Translation Career
Author | Shi Yanhua
Image | Source network except for labels
Transferred from | Diplomats say things