18 | Monday, February 10, 2020 HONG KONG EDITION | CHINA DAILY LIFE Signs of times as virus news reaches people with hearing Exhibition highlights difficulties By CHINA DAILY A sign interpreter appeared at the 10th a tale of two cities news conference on the new coronavirus outbreak in Beijing on Tuesday, other than officials and journalists, a first at such events. Through her movements and gestures, people with hearing difficulties were able to get firsthand information at the live briefing. It means a smoother communication channel to, and better protection for, the hearing­impaired in the capital during the growing health crisis. One day before the conference, the Bei­ jing Association of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing issued an initiative on Beijing Daily calling for sign language interpreters to be arranged for press conferences to enable the hearing­impaired to keep up to date with news of the epidemic. Show explores links between Beijing and Nanjing in The virus, the epicenter of which is Wuhan, Hubei province, has infected more the Ming era, Wang Kaihao reports. than 31,200 people and killed more than 630 across the country as of Friday, accord­ ing to official data. Beijing has 297 con­ firmed cases of infection, including one death. According to the second national survey by the China Disabled Persons’ Federation hat’s in a name? For peo­ Nanjing after a four­year civil war. The in 2016, over 15 percent of the country’s pop­ ple it is a sense of identity whereabouts of Emperor Jianwen has ulation suffers from hearing loss, totaling and heritage. The same remained a mystery, and rumors said 204 million. More than 67 million of them for cities. For instance, he escaped overseas. Some historians suffer from severe hearing loss that impacts only two Chinese cities contain the wordW speculated that this was the reason why their everyday life. jing, meaning “the national capital”, in Zhu Di ordered the great mariner Given the size of this population, they their names. Zheng He to lead a giant fleet on over­ shouldn’t become a vulnerable group in the Beijing (the “northern capital”) and seas expeditions. information technology era, says Zhu Tao, a Nanjing (the “southern capital”) the “And as the threat brought by Mongols researcher with the National Institute of Jiangsu provincial capital, are both was still imminent in the north, Zhu Di Social Development under the Chinese steeped in history. But one pivotal point decided to move the capital north to bet­ Academy of Social Sciences. was an event in 1420 during the Ming ter safeguard the frontline,” Gao “Access to Dynasty (1368­1644). explains. news pro­ That year, upon the completion of an Zhu Di began his long project con­ grams on TV ambitious urban construction project, structing a Forbidden City in Beijing. is their right, Zhu Di, also known as Emperor Yongle, That 720,000­sq­meter compound is which we announced moving China’s capital from known as the Palace Museum today. It should guar­ Nanjing to Beijing. Perhaps, this deci­ functioned as the imperial palace until antee,” Zhu sion changed the direction of Chinese 1912. adds. history: Beijing has been the national Through the exhibition, Gao reminds In order to capital since then with only a short inter­ people “there was an even bigger Forbid­ let them lude from 1927 to 1949. den City” in Nanjing, which Zhu Di cop­ know about To mark the anniversary, the exhibi­ ied. That original compound, which was the latest sit­ tion Nanjing to Beijing: 600th Anniver­ a royal palace until 1420, is believed to uation, the sary of Moving the Capital of Ming have covered more than one million Beijing Asso­ Empire opened at the Capital Museum square meters. However, it was gradually ciation of the in Beijing on Jan 17 and was scheduled to reduced to ruins by conflicts. Deaf and run through June 28. Among the exhib­ After the capital was moved to Beijing, Hard of Hear­ its, 267 cultural relics were selected from Nanjing was still considered the “second­ ing has museums in the two cities. ary capital” by the Ming Dynasty govern­ A screenshot of Liu released a The Capital Museum is temporarily ment. Nanjing Mandarin, which has Lihong, vice­president of series of vid­ closed due to the coronavirus outbreak, tonal and pronunciation differences the Guangyuan Special eos with sign but the exhibition continues in a digital from today’s Mandarin, based on the Bei­ Education School, in a l a n g u a g e format. Albums and introductory texts jing dialect, continued to be the official video clip advising the interpreting of some highlighted exhibits and the gal­ language throughout that dynasty. hearing­impaired to the reports leries are showcased on the official web­ “Moving the capital in 1420 didn’t wear face masks during published by site of the museum. mean the end of Nanjing’s prosperity,” the coronavirus the main­ “We’d like to guide visitors back to the Cao Zhijun, director of the Nanjing outbreak. s t r e a m early years of the Ming Dynasty to see Museum Administration, says. “Instead, media. how the foundation of a country’s lasting thanks to a symbiosis of the two cities, “The Bei­ stability and prosperity was built,” Gao China’s stability to govern a huge territo­ jing Sign Language Studies has helped to Hongqing, curator of the exhibition, ry spanning from the north to the south shoot four videos, involving guidance about says. “People can have a panoramic was secured at that time.” prevention of the evolving coronavirus, understanding of that dynasty.” According to Gao, the change of capi­ safety and health tips in daily life and clarifi­ Symbolizing the craftsmanship tal in 1420 marked a split between the cation of rumors about the illness,” Cheng involved in transferring the capital are political and economic centers. Hai, chairman of the association, tells Bei­ thick blocks placed at the entrance of the “Moving the capital saw a population jing Daily. exhibition hall. Each block, weighing surge in Beijing,” he says. “And the Grand However, it is still “far from enough”, about 15 kilograms, has the artisan’s Canal (connecting Beijing and the Yang­ Cheng says. name as well as the supervisor’s carved tze River Delta) also supplied the capital Zhu agrees that a long­term mechanism into it. If any of the blocks had a fault with abundant goods from the south. should be established for the information those who were responsible could be Nanjing continued to enjoy prosperity as access for the hearing­impaired, especially immediately identified. a transportation crossroads.” during emergencies or disasters. According to Gao, the blocks were Consequently, a focus of the exhibition The good news is that the disabled federa­ made by a traditional formula of mixing emphasizes broader development in the tions across the country have released sign sticky rice and kaolin, a special variety of mid­Ming Dynasty benefiting different language videos about reducing the risk of clay used to make top­tier porcelain, to social strata. A blue­and­white porcelain the virus infection. ensure solidity and firmness. vase, depicting ripe plums, may indicate In Heilongjiang province, Suihua Univer­ After Zhu Yuanzhang (Emperor Hong­ the literati’s cultured taste. A group of sity has set up a sign language team. They wu), the first emperor of the Ming colorful glazed bricks portraying ele­ have produced a series of short videos to Dynasty, established the empire in Nan­ phants shows Sino­foreign cultural help combat the virus. jing in 1368, toppling the Mongol Yuan exchanges, and gilt Buddhist statues also “Although I cannot fight against the coro­ Dynasty (1271­1368), he organized about reveal religious adherence during that navirus at the frontline like the doctors and one million laborers to construct his dynasty. nurses, my classmates, teachers and I have mighty city. Bai Jie, head of the Capital Museum, contributed in our own way,” Li Zhihao, a For the ongoing exhibition, some says: “We can also see how Beijing has student at the university, tells Guangming exhibits on loan from museums in Nan­ gradually become a metropolis.” Daily. jing reflect that booming period. As the In Beijing, in spite of the fascinating In Guangyuan, Sichuan province, Liu emperor’s mausoleum in Nanjing has Forbidden City, which will also embrace Lihong, vice­president of the Guangyuan remained untouched, recent archaeolog­ its 600th birthday this year, and the vast Special Education School, recorded two vid­ ical discoveries, all over the city, provide hutong area — the ancient residential eos on Feb 1 to inform the hearing­impaired an intriguing glimpse of the lifestyle of communities — most sections of the about the outbreak, advising them to stay at high officials at the time. Ming Dynasty city wall in the capital home and wash their hands frequently. Findings from the glittering under­ have been demolished. However, the city “Although there is news about the virus ground world — gold ingots, jewels and walls in Nanjing are well preserved everywhere, some of the hearing­impaired jade — portray the earliest days of a new­ though the palatial compound they pro­ cannot read. The video helps them to under­ born empire. tected no longer exists. stand what’s going on and how to protect Zhu Yuanzhang died in 1398, leaving From top: The exhibition From Nanjing to Beijing: 600th Anniversary of Moving “Perhaps, if we could put the two cities themselves,” Liu says. the throne to his eldest grandson, Zhu the Capital of Ming Empire showcases 267 cultural relics to reflect the prosperity of together, we could have a complete Zhao Tianxiu, head of the Guangyuan Yunwen (Emperor Jianwen).