This mostly dormant blog was started in 2007 with almost no agenda beyond plans to expand on my just-published profile of Shanghai’s Catholic bishop Aloysius Jin Luxian in the July/August 2007 issue of the Atlantic. I did that, and over the years I kept up with Jin – though I didn’t publish anything much beyond…
All posts in Religion
Another Side of Dylan, China, and the nature of “Protest.”
A little Shanghai Scrap pop quiz for the weekend. The following two verses were sung in Beijing on April 6, 2011: Jesus said, “Be ready For you know not the hour in which I come” Jesus said, “Be ready For you know not the hour in which I come” He said, “He who is not…
Build, Demolish, Rinse, Repeat: A Shanghai Scrap Carmelite Update
Way back in January 2009 the staff of Shanghai Scrap told you about the demolition of Shanghai’s (then) 135-year-old Carmelite Convent on the edge of the expensive, rapidly re-developing Xujiahui neighborhood (part 1, complete with historical background, here, and part 2, here; background on Carmelites, here). The building wasn’t anything special – except for the…
Being Jewish in Shanghai
Ten days ago I had the distinct privilege of attending the first bat mitzvah ever held at the 83-year-old Ohel Moshe Synagogue (now, the Shanghai Jewish Refugees Museum) in Shanghai’s Honkou District. And today, on the occasion of the Jewish High Holidays, the Atlantic is publishing my dispatch from the event, Being Jewish in Shanghai.…
Expo 2010 has a little bit of everything, but it sure doesn’t have one of these.
I was working up an article on Expo 2010 (World’s Fair) a few weeks ago when – by accident – I came across (and then purchased) this vintage postcard showing the Vatican City pavilion from the 1964/65 New York City World’s Fair. And the back side (click to enlarge for text). No surprise, despite signs…
Orphans and Woodcarvers: Shanghai’s Prodigal Memorial Gate Returns Home.
The upcoming Expo 2010 Shanghai (World’s Fair) is an un-apologetically forward-looking event, intended – at least in part – to solidify Shanghai’s place as the Next Great World City. This is all fine and good. But lost in all of this talk of the future is scant acknowledgment of Shanghai’s relatively brief but fascinating past.…
Italians painting Byzantine icons in Shanghai.
Yesterday afternoon I was invited to visit the almost-completed new fresco in the 150-year-old Dongjiadu Catholic Church (aka, the Jesuit-built St. Xavier Church) in Shanghai. The church is 150 years old, and it’s in the midst of what was once one of Shanghai’s most Catholic neighborhoods (now, mostly demolished – more on that in the…
The Artist is flexing: A brief note on the stained glass windows of Shanghai’s cathedral
Posted on Author AdamPosted in Appreciations and Recommendations, Architecture, Arts, Catholicism10 Replies
The three leading reader questions received via the Shanghai Scrap contact form are: Can you get me into the Expo grounds? [What do I look like? A ticket broker? No.] Will you ship your large inventory of e-waste to me? [I don’t have any e-waste (except for that Dell in the closet). So, no.] What…
Christmas Tree Recycling, Shanghai Style.
Regular readers may recall this blog’s comprehensive survey of 141 Shanghai Christmas trees, posted in December. Ever since and, really, before, Shanghai Scrap has taken a keen interest in these Western holiday accessories: who owns them, why, and what happens to them after Christmas. One answer suggests that certain Christmas traditions are universal: namely, the…
The Dark, Totalitarian Hand of Häägen Däzs [UPDATED! With photo! Even more totalitarian!]
If you follow my tweets, you already know about this. But if not, well, here’s the deal. Yesterday, for reasons that I’ll explain in coming days, I stopped into a local Häägen Däzs. While there, I decided to take a photo of the store’s large Christmas tree. As I did so, I was gang-rushed by…