11/11 in China

[First published Nov. 11, 2014] I don't know what I was thinking when it comes to some of the clothes and random motley I packed to bring to China, But I am pleased I thought to tuck some Remembrance Day poppies in my suitcase. Ross and I wore them around campus today and lots of people asked about them. One teacher asked if the poppy had something to do with APEC, currently being held in Beijing, as she had noticed that many world leaders were wearing a poppy.

In China, November 11th is known as "bachelor's day" or "singles day" which has to do with the lineup of four "1's" in the date. And back in 2011, November 11 was a very popular day to get married. 

The Chinese do not use this day for commemoration of their war dead. According to Wikipedia, Singles Day is the biggest online shopping day in the world, which means it outranks Christmas online shopping in the West. 

Did you see pictures of the beautiful installation of poppies at the Tower of London? There is a ceramic poppy for every British and colonial soldier killed in the Great War. It's an work of art that's drawn an enthusiastic response from the public. 

The concept reminds me of Chinese artist and dissident Ai Wei Wei's Sunflower Seed display. 1,600 craftspeople made 100,000,000 hand painted ceramic sunflower seeds. The seeds can be taken as a representation of the Chinese people, forced into conformity when Mao was alive, and a reminder that every person is an individual.