Come and Go: Exploring Beijing Bars

Author: Shi Jingyu (Compiler)
Publisher:
Publishing Time: Not Available
Features: This book embodies the attitude of "wandering," exploring the bars. The emergence of bars coincided with the popularity of the song "Xintianyou." The "wandering" in Xintianyou reflects the desire for freedom found in the traditional Chinese concept of "Xiaoyou," as well as a longing for lost childhood days. Based on the theme of "wandering," it portrays the psychological experiences of urbanization. The "wandering" in bars aligns with the experience of indulging in the city. The words "wandering" and "playing" combine to form a mindset—playing is not about "watching the clouds go by until dusk," but about "meeting at dusk after the day ends." Through the practice and logic of "wandering" and "playing," spaces like bars are transformed, and individuals in the city "go with the flow," with their identities constantly evolving and dissolving. Bars truly reveal the complexity of social life, writing a form of modernity that is both local and global. In bars, the juxtaposition and collision of Eastern and Western symbols are spectacular, making them an excellent subject for postcolonial criticism. The structural design of bar architectural spaces, the strategies of owners and consumers, the tension-filled presentation of bodies, the psychoanalytic exploration of bar fantasies, and various aspects of youth subculture are all fascinating topics. This book only offers a superficial examination of these subjects. "Wandering" is also "wandering the eyes," a technique in Chinese painting known as "atmospheric perspective." Within the scope of wandering, one takes a brief glimpse.