In that session, I shared with Guangjian that my colleague, Vinod, and I, have embarked on an exciting journey in teaching and learning.
As members of Education for All Impact Lab at Taylor’s University, Vinod and I work on an ongoing project called Project Ilmu Visual. “Ilmu” means knowledge in Malay. Together, Ilmu Visual translates into visual knowledge or visual literacy. In 2023, we conducted a workshop at a Malaysian non-governmental school to impart knowledge of visual literacy to school children. The purpose and objective of the project was to develop reading (analyse and interpret), writing and creating skills in visual literacy.
As our conversations continued, the idea of conducting a similar workshop for the Visual Communication students at the School of Fine Arts at Anqing Normal University, Anhui Province, China, was born. Being an Associate Professor at the school, Guangjian proposed this idea to his Dean, Professor Su Zhiyan. From there, I was formally invited to conduct this workshop along with Vinod.
The following narrative documents my eventful six-day Anhui Province experience in November 2024 in the five C’s.
Creativity
Notably, the official first day of the trip began with the visual literacy workshop for a group of 30 students at Anqing Normal University, which is situated in a vast area with various faculties, dotted within the compound. It is common to see students cycling from one point to another given the size of the university grounds. When we entered a classroom at the School of Fine Arts, we were warmly greeted by the students. After an introductory session, the workshop began.
Initially, we were met with shy giggles, hushed whispers and polite smiles but as the workshop wore on, I noticed that the students became more vocal and confident in asking questions, sharing their design progress as well as being open to our suggestions and delighted when their designs were approved.
While it is true that English is not widely used there, the students demonstrated a good understanding of the language through their creations. One thing that stood out to me was their persistence in improving their ideas, that can be seen in the multiple sketches they did before finalising one idea. The design brief required them to create a symbol which represented them. The sources of their ideas exuded creativity. While some referred to their family roots, some derived their ideas from their meaningful Chinese names and yet others investigated their own personality. Referring to visuals online, they showed the ability to select suitable visuals that signify the intended meaning in their symbol creation.
Culture and Contemporary
As part of the visit to the School of Fine Arts, we met the Chairman, Associate Professor Sun Genghua; the Dean, Professor Su Zhiyan; the Deputy Dean, Professor Dr. Sun Guoliang; the Vice Chairman, Jin Zhongliang; and members of the teaching staff. It was an engaging meeting where we shared our teaching experiences. Although there are some differences between Anqing Normal University and Taylor’s University, we all agreed that culture plays a huge role when it comes to our students’ creative outputs.
As the meeting came to an end, we visited the final year show by the Visual Communication senior students. Here, we were impressed by how much culture dominated the art and design scene. The students’ works cleverly weaved in legends, myths and artistic elements all drawn from the Chinese culture and expressed with a modern twist. This undoubtedly preserves the knowledge and appreciation of the culture.
Besides the inspiring academic scene, we were also treated to some breathtaking locations at Anhui Province, namely the famous Huangshan (Yellow Mountain), the quaint Hongcun Village and the remarkable Jingdezhen. All three places uniquely identify as the highlights of Anhui Province that reflect the people’s sentiments, values and way of living.
According to Guangjian, whom we soon noticed served as our very knowledgeable “tour guide”, it is widely known among the Chinese that one must visit Huangshan at least once in their life. I witnessed scores of visitors in their golden years. It was heartwarming to see that the younger generation accompany these folks. There are also more independent ones who join group tours specifically for their age group. After spending close to seven hours hiking the mountain, we were not even close to completing the excursion. That speaks volumes as to how massive the area is. Indeed, the view is picturesque and stunning, and it is not ridiculous to imagine oneself being part of a Chinese painting scene. Modernisation and technology in contemporary times have eased the handling and transportation of the large number of visitors. Everything was well organised by attentive staff. In a mere 30 minutes, hundreds of people were registered and made their way up Huangshan from the foot of the mountain.
At the ancient Hongcun Village, we were transported back in time. This historical place is more than 800 years old and is recognised as one of UNESCO’s heritage sites. Hongcun Village’s architecture is carefully preserved. Once in the vicinity, you will navigate the small lanes as the village was designed. Some significant houses were kept in their original form but converted to educational sites for visitors. Contemporarily, the place is also made up of accommodation for guests, and shops that sell books, antiquities, novelties, trinkets, local delicacies and traditional costumes. It is very common to see young girls and women there renting the alluring Hanfu, a traditional dress, and getting their photographs taken professionally to mark the memory of their visit.
The last of our itinerary was Jingdezhen, the centre of unsurpassed porcelain works in China. Experiencing how much value is put into this form of art, paying attention to past technologies and appreciation of a bygone era, I must say that value comes with age. Key artefacts exhibited at the Imperial Kiln Museum were exquisitely curated. Although the museum houses these precious artefacts of the past, it keeps up with the times. In a minimalist theme, its exterior is unassuming and modest, while the interior is spacious. My interpretation is that the “stars of the show”, namely the porcelain artefacts, are highlighted in this way. The museum itself was built at the very site where the porcelain kilns of the Ming and Qing dynasties once were. This enables one to have a “live” view of those kilns.
Cantik and Comel!
As a Malaysian, I can’t help but include our Bahasa Malaysia in this little memoir. So, the last 2 C’s in my depiction of Anhui are “cantik” and “comel”. In Malay, the letter “c” is pronounced in the “ch” sound, as you would pronounce the word “change” in English. “Cantik” means beautiful or pretty, while “comel” means cute. I noticed how cantik the scenery of Huangshan was, in all its magnificence. Hongcun made its mark on me through a distinctively cantik village that is almost a millennium in age, perfectly preserved in time to educate the young and old of its heydays. The amazing history and restorative works on Ming and Qing dynasties’ cantik porcelain works in Jingdezhen were most impressive.
And what about “comel” then? Well, this description is reserved for all the adorable, short-legged furry friends that I saw countless times during this trip! They brought a smile to my face (I believe to anyone, too, who chanced upon them) and made me stop in my tracks each time I spotted one.
Conclusion (oh, that’s a C too!)
Indirectly, the Anhui trip has become a priceless gift on my silver anniversary in the teaching profession! Yes, 25 years. The opportunity to meet the faculty and students in another country and absorb the splendidness that the place has to offer is truly a boon. However, all these would not have been possible without the kind and generous support of the School of Fine Arts at Anqing Normal University, particularly Associate Professor Yan Guangjian who tirelessly planned, organised and contributed tremendously to our trip. I am much obliged.
Deepak Chopra once said, “You and I are essentially infinite choice-makers. In every moment of our existence, we are in that field of all possibilities where we have access to an infinity of choices.”
The possibility to continue widening and deepening my knowledge of China, where there is so much more to discover and experience, is therefore imminent. They say that learning is lifelong. I can’t agree more.