Peace Pole Project (Multilingual Obelisks)

I've noticed these multilingual obelisks around town for a while but yesterday was the first time I actually stopped to take a close look at a few of them. Each pole bears a different message of peace on each side (typically "May Peace Prevail on Earth" in various languages).

Based on the shape of these objects, I had just assumed the poles were some sort of "DC thing" until I learned (online) that these are actually part of the Peace Pole Project, a larger movement to erect monuments like these worldwide.

From left to right: 1 = Monolingual pole, Foggy Bottom; 2 - 4 = Octolingual pole, William Penn House, Capitol Hill. In alphabetical order, the languages on the William Penn House pole are Arabic, Cherokee, Chinese (simplified), English, French, Hopi, Spanish (I'll leave it up to you to sort out which is which).

It's possible to custom order a peace pole on this website (including hexagonal ones!). See this website for more on the history of the peace pole project.

Chinese Characters, Early Modern Readers

I stopped by the Folger Shakespeare Library's "Imagining China" exhibit today one more time today (wanted to make sure to see it again before it closes). This display case shows how Early Modern readers (mis)understood Chinese writing. You can't make out all the text in this photo but you at least get a sense of how Early Modern printers in the West (attempted to) reproduce(d) the characters.

For more on this particular issue, see this section of the Folger website (not sure how long it will remain active); see also this previous posting.

Asian Spice

Chinatown, December 2009. The translation of "Asian Spice" (亞洲之味) looks correct to me. I overheard a couple deliberating as I took this photo: "Well, this looks OK...but the name of the place sounds too much like an X-rated film." They decided to eat there anyway.

Multilingual Monkeys

Sackler Gallery, National Mall, Fall 2009. This hanging sculpture entitled "Monkeys Grasping for the Moon" (by Chinese artist Xu Bing) is one of my favorites; the word for "monkey" in various languages/scripts form a linked chain  hanging from the ceiling.

Below, another view of the sculpture (lower in the building):

Read more about this sculpture on this page of the Sackler website or read the story that inspired the artwork.

Subtle Terra Cotta Warriors Ad

National Geographic Society, December 2009. Very subtle use of Chinese in this ad for the terra cotta warriors exhibition. You can just make out the Chinese character 兵 ("soldier, warrior") inside the letter "O" in WARRIORS.



I've also seen these related sidewalk ads (this photo taken earlier this week in Dupont Circle):

I HEART NERDS

Dupont Circle. I think this Hello Kitty lunchbox is supposed to read "I [HEART] NERDS" but instead it reads "I [APPLE] NERDS." Huh?

(For more on the storefront window display in which this appeared, see the following post.)

Japanese Lucky Cats

Dupont Circle, January 2010. The waving (or welcoming) cat, often understood to invite good fortune and prosperity, is a common sight in Japanese (and other Asian) restaurants and shop windows. On the right, a golden maneki neko (招き猫) in gold bears the kanji or Chinese character 福 ("luck, good fortune") on its belly.

The handwritten Japanese text attached to the gold cat reads あけましておめでとう (akemashite omedetou) = "happy new year."

For more on the cultural significance of the "maneki neko," see this online taxonomy of lucky cat styles and colors.

For more on the Hello Kitty lunchbox in this image, see my previous posting.

P.S. I've been told another way to say "happy new year" in Japanese is 新年おめでとうございます (shin-nen omedetou gozaimasu).

Multilingual Christmas Wishes

Eastern Market, January 2010. It's several days into the new year, but this tree still bears the Christmas wishes of local residents. English: "Peace to Leslie" (top) and "Peace in the world, joy to the EM community" (bottom). Spanish: "Amor, Paz y Amistad" = Peace, Love and Friendship and "seguir igual de bien que en el 2009" = continue to be just as good as 2009 (top and bottom, in orange). Nonverbal: three peace signs (left, in green). The other inscriptions, apparently written by children: "ALESHA HAPPY" and "I Wish for happness [sic]."

P.S. Quite a few of the decorations (not pictured here) were written by people wishing for Senate to pass the Health Care Bill. It looks like those people got their wish!

Michelle Obama Translated (Czech and Chinese)

Prague, Czech Republic, December 2009. I saw this image of First Lady (and cultural icon) Michelle Obama during my holiday travels abroad. Here, her surname is rendered in Czech as Obamová.

This name transformation follows the Czech practice of rendering female surnames as grammatically feminine adjectives (often a modified form of the husband's name). This practice seems to work well with Obama, as her name already ends in a vowel. Other names like, say, Hillary Rodhamová Clintonová seem to me quite awkward.

Above, an example of how the First Lady's name can take different forms even in the US (here, a promotional book cover seen in DC Chinatown, November 2009). The translation of "Obama" as 奥巴馬 (here, 奥巴马  = ào bā mǎ) has become standard in Chinese-language media; "Michelle" is somewhat malleable but is most often rendered as 米歇爾 (here, 米歇尔 = mǐ xiē ěr).

January in Almanac and Book of Hours

January 1, 2010. Happy New Year everyone!

I start the year with images from the Library of Congress copy of "Poor Richard's Almanack" (printed by Benjamin Franklin, Philadelphia, 1733). A "best seller" for decades in the American colonies, Franklin's annual "Almanack" included not only a calendar but astronomical and weather forecasts, witty maxims and puzzles, and practical advice.

The page for January (above) shows the astrological sign Aquarius and a domestic scene.

Each month's illustration is preceded by a calendar listing important days (religious festivals) and astronomical events.

Above, a detail of an anatomical man along with Zodiac signs.

Both the structure and layout of the "Almanack" owe much to the medieval book of hours (see this informative website for more). Compare the humble "Almanack" to the exquisite calendar and anatomical man in this 15th-century book, the "Tres Riches Heures" of Jean, Duc de Berry:

While the print "Almanack" is in English and the manuscript "Heures" in French/Latin, these books clearly participate in a shared visual tradition.

For more on the "Almanack" in the context of Franklin's work, see this Library of Congress website.

You can also view high-resolution images of each page of the LOC copy of the "Alamack" as well as a medieval book of hours.

For more information on the "Tres Riches Heures," see here and here.