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Chinese families' worldly goods in Huang Qinqjun's pictures
- gvb 14y agoI saw a TV in 8 of 11 pictures. All the pictures were remarkable in their austerity. The first picture struck me by the wind generator, satellite dish, and TV next to the other utilitarian possessions. Conclusion: information ranks right up there with food and shelter.
- ternaryoperator 14y agoI suspect it's entertainment, rather than information. Underlying both both possibilities, the TV is a viewable link to the larger society.
- shimon_e 14y agoIt's entertainment. From my experience in China I've rarely seen a news channel over a movie. Traditional kung fu style movies are the most common amongst the older population.
- JohnsonB 14y agoEntertainment can be equated to information in a practical sense though.
- batista 14y agoNo, it really can not. Except in the Niquist/Shannon sense, or if you work for E channel...
- JohnsonB 14y agoEntertainment is a method by which people acquire cultural facts, knowledge, even wisdom and philosophy. It easily extends to picking up domain specific knowledge as well, episodes often center around a scientific/technical subject which allows audiences to pickup a cursory level of knowledge in a subject otherwise foreign to them. So directly, yes, entertainment=information even in a very literal sense.
- batista 14y agoProbably never watched Chinese TV...
- seanmcdirmid 14y agoThis surprises me, why people expect that they not have TVs in the countryside? Even the most remote village has some kind of power (water wheels are common, wind and solar also), then the TV, the DVD player, the karaoke machine are minimums (but cellphone is always first). The only pic without a TV...people who live on a boat, and what looks like a rich antique dealer.
- ianpri 14y agoThe antique dealer's TV is to the left of his Lexus in the background.
- shimon_e 14y agoWow. Amazing. Just like my personal experience in China. Now what's up with all the articles on China today?
- fatjokes 14y agoHoly shit re. the maize. Maize partaaaay!
- AdamN 14y agoI remember being up in the Anti-Atlas mountains of Morocco and the family we had dinner with had satellite TV but no running water. They had news on (Al Jazeera if I remember - but maybe Al Arabiya or something else - Saddam Hussein had been killed that night so it was BIG). Anyway, they had a meat dinner for us as special guests but otherwise mostly had a vegetarian diet because meat was very expensive. Nonetheless, the TV was critical for both information and entertainment. They also had cell phones.
- fiatpandas 14y agoAre there larger versions of these pictures anywhere?
- brd 14y agoLargest ones I've come across: http://lejournaldelaphotographie.com/fullscreen/1677 http://lejournaldelaphotographie.com/fullscreen/1677
- leeoniya 14y agoYou don't need much. I can fit all my possessions into less than a contractor van. http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41XCuLPUjsL._SL500_AA300_.jpg http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41XCuLPUjsL._SL500_AA3... It would annoy me greatly to own more things than I could keep track of or haven't used/looked at in the past 12 months.
- duskwuff 14y agoI'm strongly reminded of Peter Menzel's 1994 book "Material World: A Global Family Portrait". http://www.amazon.com/dp/0871564378 http://www.amazon.com/dp/0871564378
- davewasthere 14y agoOn a similar vein, of that photo essay about what the world eats: http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1626519,00.html http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1626519,00.htm...
- prawn 14y agoMeanwhile, I'm spending money just to improve storage of my current things - kitchen storage, organising everything inside a garage/shed, water tanks, wine storage, data storage. Yet I am usually happiest digging around in the garden or checking my plants and seeds every morning to see if they've grown 1mm overnight. Great to get perspective and reset once in a while. I'm keen to read on my e-reader or tablet, and simplify the things around us. My wife loves the look of books on shelves, "like a library". Instead of converting old CDs and then storing them away, we have shelves of CDs that never get touched. Can't win every one of those tame disputes.
- w1ntermute 14y agoIn that respect, I think I'm fortunate to not have ever built up a collection of physical media in the first place. Once you start collecting, it's very hard to let go.
- prawn 14y agoI know Wintermute is hardly a unique alias amongst tech readers, but your initials aren't 'TC' by any chance, are they?
- deleted 14y ago[deleted]
- bootload 14y agoWater, shelter and food covered. Few powered tools (must be fit), hunting weapons or books. I'd expect a few power tools in a rural setting. A chainsaw & compressor can be seen in ~ http://7465558fd9aac3509556-4bd1cc4e7ce85601e6dfb87e971ddf14.r0.cf2.rackcdn.com/5294/med_familystuff07heilongjiang-huangqingjun-jpg.jpg http://7465558fd9aac3509556-4bd1cc4e7ce85601e6dfb87e971ddf14...
- kahawe 14y agoDoes anyone know whether these are available in a book of some sort? I love what he is doing and want to support it and want to see more pictures.