Hi and welcome to ‘a handful of history’, my fortnightly sharing of real-life stories from around the world. All the narratives I pick are rooted in history one way or another, yet I feel that most of them carry themes and happenings that seem very present day-like. I create this blog out of love and curiosity for the field of human history and culture, and I’m happy that you find it interesting too. My blog and newsletters are free; if you want to help me keep it going, please join my newsletter. THANK YOU. Thanks for being here - let's dive in. Enjoy! Majken xx
Beethoven and the Cultural Revolution
Years ago, I travelled through Tibet with a small group of people. It indeed was an adventurous time. I remember our guide telling us about all the monasteries and villages we passed by.
Often she said, “before the Cultural Revolution, it looked so and so (describing what once had been) - and now it looks like this” while pointing out buildings or rooms wherefrom officials had removed pictures and sculptures and other cultural symbols. It’s difficult to see what good the Cultural Revolution in China ever did to its people (apart from a few top positioned percentages, I guess). Here’s a personal story about that time, seen from the view of a - then - young man strongly devoted to music.
“My first encounter with Beethoven was during the Cultural Revolution. One day my best friend called me and said “come to my house, I want to show you something”. So we went to his house, and he showed me this old gramophone machine. I was excited, and we lowered the curtain; we didn’t want anyone to hear it. And so we started to play.”
During the early years of the Cultural Revolution in China, all European music was banned, and anyone found with instruments or recordings was at significant risk of being put in jail. However, that didn’t stop Jindong Cai from listening to illegal recordings of Beethoven’s symphonies. This was his first step into a music career. He is now a conductor and director of the US-China Music Institute of the Bard College Conservatory of Music.
Josephine Baker’s ‘Rainbow Tribe’
I’ve, of course, heard about Josephine Baker and her famous dancing acts (especially the one in which she was performing topless only wearing a banana skirt). Also, her active part in the resistance during WWII rings a bell. However, her adoption of 12 children from around the world is new to me. Here’s an article (and a video) telling about this part of Baker’s life story: How she brought back 12 small children from various countries - Finland, Japan, Venezuela, and Algeria, among others. And how she and her husband turned their big Château into a “Village of the World”, inviting visitors in the late 1950s to come and see “a living tribute to brotherhood between human beings”. About 300,000 stopped by.
By bringing the children together and presenting their rainbow family to the public, Baker hoped that she would inspire others to do the same - which did happen to some extent. During the 1960s, adoptions of foreign children in Baker’s home country, France, increased. As for her own children, eight of the twelve had children themselves, but none have adopted, though.
The Oldest Song in the World
I’ve just been listening to a 3,500-year-old song. Or at least I’ve heard a version of how it may have sounded. Three thousand five hundred years - pretty impressive, right! The song is often called the Hurrian Hymn, and it was found on a clay tablet by archaeologists in Syria in the 1950s. Since then, experts have discussed how to interpret the ancient musical notation. The archaeomusicologist Richard Dumbrill has been on the case for no less than 20 years. In this program, he presents his version.
Photo: The Hurrian song written in cuneiform on a clay tablet (photo taken by Richard Dumbrill).
Thanks for reading! If you have any questions or comments I'd love to hear from you! Just go here and send me your message. Thank you - Majken xx
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