Sep. 5th, 2003 03:55 pm
Nice to look at, nice to hold
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monshu and I have been wondering what the Chinese is for "kitsch". They produce so much of it, I remember thinking, they must have a word. Of course, what did we in the English-speaking world call it before we imported the German term in the 20's? Our shorthand, developed from monshu's daily eBaying, was "kittens and peonies". (If you ever browse the Asian objets d'art on eBay yourself, you'll soon see why.)
Dictionaries have been of no help, so I turned to my favourite lexicographic tool and Googled for "Chinese" and "kitsch". This turned up an enlightening article from Chinese art scholar Li Xianting. The directly relevant bits are quoted behind this . (Characters in brackets supplied by me because I can.)
He goes on to say that "Gaudy Art" is a better translation for yan4su2 (yi4shu4). This seems fine to me as the name for an artistic movement, but less suitable as a general term for all the carved resin dragons, Hello Kitty wall posters, and clay figurines of chubby boy martial artists that you find in every gift shop in Chinatown.
monshu and I have been wondering what the Chinese is for "kitsch". They produce so much of it, I remember thinking, they must have a word. Of course, what did we in the English-speaking world call it before we imported the German term in the 20's? Our shorthand, developed from monshu's daily eBaying, was "kittens and peonies". (If you ever browse the Asian objets d'art on eBay yourself, you'll soon see why.)Dictionaries have been of no help, so I turned to my favourite lexicographic tool and Googled for "Chinese" and "kitsch". This turned up an enlightening article from Chinese art scholar Li Xianting. The directly relevant bits are quoted behind this . (Characters in brackets supplied by me because I can.)
The term "kitsch" appeared in China for the first time, if my impression is correct, in the 1990's with the translations of works by Czech writer Milan Kundera. Here the word was translated "meisu" ("mei" meaning "seductively beautiful" and "su" meaning "common, base or vulgar"). [美俗]
In the English - Chinese dictionaries, kitsch is defined "clumsy or crude handicrafts; cheaply made." The term originated from Germany, where I understand it implied something common or cheap, or even something pretty that was popular with the people.
I had a chance to sit down and discuss the subject of kitsch with a Harvard scholar in 1994. We agreed that a more accurate translation might be "yansu" ("yan" meaning "garrishly or brightly colored" and "su" meaning "common, base or vulgar")[豔俗].
He goes on to say that "Gaudy Art" is a better translation for yan4su2 (yi4shu4). This seems fine to me as the name for an artistic movement, but less suitable as a general term for all the carved resin dragons, Hello Kitty wall posters, and clay figurines of chubby boy martial artists that you find in every gift shop in Chinatown.