In Chinese philosophy, the universe is a realm of perpetual activity and continuous change. That is because things are forever interfused and intermingled. Changes bring production and reproduction, generation and regeneration. (The YI JING, also known as I CHING, or "CLASSIC OF CHANGES" is a famous Chinese book of philosophy, known by most people of Chinese background and increasingly known by non-Chinese.) Only within the confines of time can we behold the passage of changes. And when we attempt to capture things in the past, we collect, reconstruct and interpret through events and people limited to that time frame.
This project is an attempt to delineate a silhouette of the life and people of two narrow but important passageways, Shanghai and Canton Alley, from 1885 to 1954, against the backdrop of the history of the Vancouver Chinese community.
The project titled "Passage of Changes: Shanghai Alley & Canton Alley, 1885 1954", is a journey to visit the lives of three significant figures: Mr. Yip Sang [Ye Sheng; also known as Yip Chuntin: Ye Chuntian], Mr. Won Alexander Cumyow [Wen Jinyou] and Dr. Sun Yat-sen [Sun Zhongshan], and to explore the features of the Sing Kew Theatre, of the children living in the Alleys, and of the new generation of Chinese who lived beyond the Alleys.
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