Zeng CHAO draws a human figure that features the “Kazan-Seki” body as a motif for this piece. CHAO attempts to combine tradition and modernity, and reality and fiction. This represents the contradiction of the reality of modern society and the mindset of contemporary intellectuals who are inspired by Taoism.
In modern China, the rapid and drastic development of economy and technology has led to urbanization. The cityscape has been transformed by skyscrapers and highways into something that had been surreal in earlier days. Nevertheless, traditional Kazan-Seki statues still stand in gardens in the midst of the transformed cityscape.Kazan-Seki/ Taihu stone is a figurative art made of the characteristic natural stone, a type of limestone. It has been made and valued in the history of Chinese gardenings and is considered as a means to fulfill the desire of people to return to nature. The utilization of deformities and irregularities on the surface of the rock symbolizes the organic formation of the metaphysical (philosophical) world.
Chinese traditional philosophy explains the existence of all things by formation and generation, not by creation.
It says, there was nothingness as the origin of formation and generation. Something formed out of nothing. The very first existence that arose from the nothingness was "ki", the Oriental concept of vital energy, and everything is formed and generated from this "ki". The matter of "ki" is the material that forms everything, the formation of which is the power of generation, the manner of generation determines the nature of what is generated.
On the other hand, modern Chinese politics, especially Chinese socialism, is influenced by Western dualism. For example, ideas such as conquering nature, conflicts between humans, and conflicts between nations. Western dualistic mindset, overemphasis on conflicts, makes it easier to cause discord. However, cultured people and intellectuals who know the philosophy of Lao‐tse and Chuang‐tse; Taoism have completely different ideas. For them, "nature" is not something to be conquered as in natural science, but is to follow and is to be respected because we humans and nature are one community.
Indeed, such symbolic clothing of Chinese socialism was prevalent until my parent's youth. My father was a member of the Chinese communist party and always wore such clothing at that time. In addition, even today's elementary school students use red ties as a symbol of such socialism.
The clothes in this piece were painted to recreate such clothing so that it is obvious for the audience that they are symbols of socialism.
