Saturday, March 26, 2011
Asian Civilizations Museum: China Gallery
Our group decided on the China gallery, and we will be focusing on this civilization. China's contributions to social, cultural and technological changes is very important, not only in Asia, but also the world. For example, paper was invented in China; it has drastically changed the way humans communicate, proving to be a social change. It is also a cultural change as literature is only introduced after the invention of paper.
Our group recorded three artefacts from the gallery.
Artefact #1
The name of the artefact is jia. It was used for warming and drinking wine. It was usually accompanied by a gu beaker and another tripod drinking goblet, jue. These three vessels constituted a basic set of wine drinking utensils. They are usually made of bronze. However, their ceramic prototypes appeared as early as the Erlitou period, reflecting the beginnings of wine drinking in China.
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| A picture of the jia and jue. |
The modern day version of this artefact is the wine glass. They look very little alike, but their purpose is still similar; for wine drinking. (Difference 1:) The wine glass is made of glass, whilst the jia was made of bronze or ceramic. (Difference 2:) The jia was accompanied with a gu and jue, but the wine glass is not accompanied with anything. (Difference 3:) The shape of the wine drinking cups are different. The wine glass is smaller at the top, whilst the jia is bigger at the top.
Artefact #2
Artefact #3
Friday, March 25, 2011
Sights and sounds of Singapore River
Some observations of the present Singapore River:
As we walked along the Singapore River towards the Asian Civilizations Museum, the first thing that caught our attention were the river cruises/taxis/tours that made it's way down the river. We noticed that there were plenty of shops and restaurants near the river. Some even had seats and tables set outside, so that customers could enjoy the view of the river. The environment was relaxed and we saw several patrons coming in and out of bars during lunchtime as it was 'happy hour'. The patrons were probably from the office buildings nearby. We also observed several landmarks and historical buildings located along the river.
Inferences:
In the past, the Singapore River was a bustling free port, and ships were consistently coming in and out of the harbor. It was where trade took place, as all the goods were being imported into Singapore by the ships. As it was a central business district, there were obviously plenty of people around.
Now, in the present day, similar activities are still being carried out. The river is used as means of transportation, and there are shops along the river. It is also still the central business district.
Outline of our trip
In red circle - important landmarks that we visited
The old parliament house is now known as the Arts house at the old Parliament, and contains many art exhibitions and concerts.
The Raffles landing site has a statue of Sir Stamford Raffles, and is located on the north bank of the Singapore River, right outside the Asian Civilizations Museum.
The Asian Civilization Museum has many artefacts and galleries, which will be explained in greater detail in another post.
Scaled map
Sorry. my phone camera isntgood so cant take a full picture of my drawing. The scale for both drawings is the same. (1:10000) Just in case you cant see the labels, you can refer to the google maps post above.
Start of the trip
[my internet is slow now, I'll upload the pic and vid later]
We started our trip from the Coleman Bridge. This is an image and a video showing the panoramic view of the Singapore River from the bridge.
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