Huang Qingjun has spent the last ten years travelling to many provinces in remote parts of China photographing families with their possessions.It's interesting to look at what they have.
To some, they would possess a lot and to others, very little. There would be many who'd envy these folk having what they have.
And too, for what they don't have.
Downsizing is the catchword in the west these days. These Chinese folk have done that already without ever hearing about the concept.
These folk are probably not in debt either.
I wonder if they've ever heard of hire-purchase agreements.
Maybe they do feel hard-done-by.
Who would know.
Six out of the seven families have television.
Are they bombarded with cretinous advertising telling them they aren't good people or they're not having fun if they don't buy this or that?
They will never have heard of the Thoreau quote about success being not what you have but what you can enjoy living without.
And as for keeping up with the Joneses...
Life is so complicated with lots of possessions - let's face it the less we have the quicker we can leave.
ReplyDeleteYou are so right Calypso. The less baggage we carry around the more space there is for 'life' in our lives...
DeleteThe people in these pictures are probably rich in many ways we in the so called progressive western world can't imagine.
ReplyDeleteI've got too much shit!
ReplyDelete