CVSZ x CAC | Techno-culture:Wireless Media Cosmology in China

CVSZ 2021 Spring Season — CVSZ x CAC | 技术文化：中国无线电宇宙论

CVSZ x CAC | Techno-culture:Wireless Media Cosmology in China

Time:

Beijing Time May 13th 9:00pm--11:00pm

Location:

Zoom

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/8998623159

Meeting Number：899 862 3159

YouTube Live

Bilibili Live

Host:

Zhou Pengan, Cao XueFei, CAC

Guest Speaker:

Haroon Mirza, Anna Greenspan, Francesca Tarocco

Online Panel Synopsis:

In ancient China, religious cosmology had an impact on social order. People live in accordance with the laws of nature, explaining natural phenomena in folkloric framework. Meanwhile, it is also a political theology to maintain social order and hierarchy. Chinese Ancient astronomy and technology are also based on a practical way, and failed to achieve qualitatively scientific breakthroughs. Inventions such as the compass (Sinan) and gunpowder spread to the West, inspiring scientists on the Atlantic coast -- the atmosphere could be analyzed into chemical elements, and mysterious electromagnetic waves were objective and uncovered. A series of scientific discoveries and practices in the 19th and 20th centuries, such as vacuum experiments, electromagnetic induction experiments, electrical lighting, and radio communication, mirrored the Age of Enlightenment and shook religion-dominated understandings of the world. This is also the primary indicator of modernization. At that time, the globalization of colonization in return, reacted against the dominance of Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism, and cultures in Shamanism, Western religions, and other folk customs.

In 1899, the Qing government began to install wireless transmitters on forts and warships in Guangzhou for military command and deployment. This was a prelude to the implementation of radio technology in China.The Boxer Rebellion(1900) had a strong impact on the conservative  Qing court reluctant to technological and social changes. Many modern technologies were more widely accepted by Chinese people during the New Deal of the late Qing Dynasty, launched for self-protection. In 1905, Yuan Shikai opened a radio training class in Tianjin, and the Chinese army began to systematically train radio talents and use radio technology.

In order to catch up with the "backward century", these new technologies, especially radio, developed in China almost at the same pace as the world. In November 1920, KDKA in Pittsburgh became the first radio station in the world, and only two years and two months later, in January 1923, China Radio Corporation Radio, a mainland newspaper set up by American businessmen, began broadcasting. Meanwhile, the local broadcasting of Chinese people was also brewing. In February 1923, the broadcasting experiment of Liu Han, "the father of Chinese broadcasting", achieved success in Harbin. In 1926, Harbin Radio Station began broadcasting, becoming the first radio station operated by a Chinese.

These radio developments in the early Republic of China also gave birth to a more modern, non-folkloric mass culture, with the emergence of a group of radio hobbyists. In the Collections of Rare Publications of Chinese Ham Radio from 1928 to 1949 shared by CRAC, we can have a glimpse of the active situation of the amateur radio community in the Republic of China period and explore the radio meme/fandom in the early stage of China's modernization.

A meme from Audiophile, for example, widely spread that different types of power plants will bring different effects for audio equipment: "hydropower cold, thermal power warm, nuclear power hard, Xinjiang Aksu wind power, loose and mellow.""And the origins of this joke can be traced back to early hobbyists discussing the different types of batteries used in radio equipment. In the Radio Question and Answer Journal in 1932, a fan asked: "A power with dry electricity, whether the sound is louder than hydropower."

Behind the techno fever were the rumblings of world war, the radio waves of "national boundaries", and a revolution in religious cosmology. Confucian, Taoist and folkloric views of nature were regarded as ‘superstition’, while radio technology connects humans to the sky in a modern sense.

Modernization includes transnational construction and global distribution of limited resources by different countries and authorities, as well as the excavation in a planetary scale. It is an unstoppable international war, wrapped in mass information. For example, radio is widely used for military communications and political propaganda. Chinese film The Eternal Wave (1958) tells the story of the confidential radio work of the Party members during the Sino-Japanese War. The film also represents the way political education was conducted after the founding of the People's Republic: convey collective consciousness through broadcasting.

On April 24, 1970, China successfully launched its first artificial satellite. The ladder to the sky was extended further. Fabulous news was spread by posters, films, and radio, extending the antennas to every family and community. Villagers came out from narrow rooms and gathered in spacious public sites, listening to the triumph on the radio and staring at the sky for this moment. Events were synchronized in commemoration: China had finally caught up with the space race and filled the void of collective worship.

Along the characteristic socialist road, the voice of collective worship turns to individual daily life. Superstitions that had been knocked down after the founding of the People's Republic also revived. In CVSZ Issue77Cold War Cybernetics: Information Fantasy and Power Stratification, we introduced the "Qigong fever" in China in the late Cold War. This collective illusion also reflects a new way of life for individuals: our bodies and society are connected with radio technology. Since the 1990s, personal radio communication has profoundly changed the daily life of Chinese people. From "holding a cell phone in hand and carrying a BB machine on the waist" to "holding a small smart phone in hand and standing in the wind and rain", operating wireless communication technology is no longer the patent of a few professionals, but has become a part of the daily life of many people.The emergence of wireless local area networks, smart phones and high-speed mobile networks has also profoundly affected the shape of Chinese technology and Internet industry.

Guest Speaker Introduction:

Haroon Mirza

Haroon Mirza (b. 1977, London) has won international acclaim for installations that test the interplay and friction between sound and light waves and electric current. An advocate of interference (in the sense of electro-acoustic or radio disruption), he creates situations that purposefully cross wires. He describes his role as a composer, manipulating electricity, a live, invisible and volatile phenomenon, to make it dance to a different tune and calling on instruments as varied as household electronics, vinyl and turntables, LEDs, furniture, video footage and existing artworks to behave differently. Processes are left exposed and sounds occupy space in an unruly way, testing codes of conduct and charging the atmosphere. Mirza asks us to reconsider the perceptual distinctions between noise, sound and music, and draws into question the categorisation of cultural forms. "All music is organised sound or organised noise," he says. "So as long as you’re organising acoustic material, it’s just the perception and the context that defines it as music or noise or sound or just a nuisance" (2013).

Anna Greenspan

Anna Greenspan is an Assistant Professor of Contemporary Global Media, NYU Shanghai; Global Network Assistant Professor, NYU. She holds a PhD in Continental Philosophy from Warwick University, UK. While at Warwick, Anna was a founding member of the Cybernetic Culture Research Unit (CCRU). Her research focuses on urban China and emerging media. Anna was the co-founder of the Shanghai Studies Society as well as the research hub Hacked Matter. She also runs a digital humanities project, Moveable Feasts, that maps Shanghai’s street food. Her latest book Shanghai Future: Modernity Remade was published by Oxford University Press in 2014. Anna is currently working on a book on China and the Wireless Wave. She maintains a personal website at www.annagreenspan.com.

Francesca Tarocco

Francesca Tarocco is an Associate Professor at Ca’ Foscari University of Venice and a Visiting Associate Professor of Buddhist Cultures at NYU Shanghai. She is a scholar of Chinese Buddhism, visual and material culture and the author of The Cultural Practices of Modern Chinese Buddhism and of Altar Modern: Buddhism and Technology in the Chinese World (forthcoming). Tarocco is the co-founder and director of the international research initiative Shanghai Studies Society and a fellow of the Critical Collaborations network at the Institute for Advanced Study (NYU). She is the recipient of awards from the Leverhulme Trust, the Sutasoma Foundation and the Chinese Ministry of Education, among many others. Tarocco is a frequent contributor to multiple exhibition catalogues and art magazines.

CVSZ x CAC | 技术文化：中国无线电宇宙论

✦时间：

5月2日北京时间GMT 9：00pm--11：00pm

✦地点：

Zoom会议

加入 Zoom 会议

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/8998623159

会议号：899 862 3159

Youtube直播

BiliBili直播

✦主持人：周蓬岸、曹雪菲、CAC策划与公共项目活动部

✦嘉宾：

哈伦·米尔扎（Haroon Mirza）

安娜·格林斯潘（Anna Greenspan）

弗朗西斯卡·塔罗科（Francesca Tarocco）

陈楸帆

✦单元策划：曹雪菲 | 本期编辑：曹雪菲

✦出品人: 徐頔 |  研究室主任: 翁静妍

✦对话概述

在中国古代，民俗宇宙论对社会秩序产生了影响。人们按照其阐释下的自然观规律生活，用民间传说来解释自然现象。同时，它也是一种政治神学手段，以维护社会秩序和等级制度。天文学与自然技术也本着实用之道，而未能取得质性的科学突破。而指南针（司南）、火药等发明传到远洋，启发了大西洋海岸的科学家——大气可以被化验为化学元素，神秘的电磁波隐秘而真实存在。真空实验、电磁感应实验、电气照明、无线电通讯等一系列19-20世纪的科学发现与实践，映照了启蒙的时代，动摇了由宗教主导的认识世界的方式。这也是现代化的首要指标。彼时，殖民的全球化则反作用于由儒道释主导，萨满教、西方宗教、以及其它民间习俗所占据的大众生活。

1899年，清政府开始在广州的要塞和军舰上安装无线发报机，用作军事指挥和部署。此举拉开了无线电技术在中国运用的序幕。1900年的庚子国变对技术和社会变革仍持保守态度的清廷有着强烈的震撼。在为自保而展开的清末新政中，许多现代科技更加广泛地被国人所接受。1905年，袁世凯在天津开办了无线电训练班，中国军队开始系统性地训练无线电人才，运用无线电技术。

为了追赶“落后的百年”，这些新兴技术，尤其是无线电，在中国的发展几乎与世界同步。1920年11月，美国匹兹堡的KDKA电台成为世界上第一个无线广播电台，而仅在两年零两个月之后的1923年1月，由美国商人设立的大陆报——中国无线电公司广播电台启动播报。与此同时，中国人本土的广播也在酝酿之中：1923年2月，“中国广播之父”刘瀚的广播实验在哈尔滨取得成功；1926年，哈尔滨广播无线电台开播，成为第一个由中国人运营的广播电台。

这些民国早期的无线电技术发展也催生出更现代的、无关民俗的民间文化，出现了一批无线电技术业余爱好群体。在中国无线电协会业余无线电分会（CRAC）分享的《1928-1949中国业余无线电珍贵刊物集锦》中，我们可一窥民国时期业余无线电爱好者群体的活跃情况，探寻中国寻现代化早期的网络迷因（meme）/狂热（fandom）。

如音响爱好者中广为流传的一个段子认为不同类型的发电厂会为音响设备带来不同的效果：“水电偏冷，火电偏暖，核电偏硬，新疆阿克苏的风电，宽松醇厚。”，而这个段子的起源，可以追溯到早期无线电爱好者对无线电设备中针对不同类型电瓶的讨论。在1932年的《无线电问答汇刊》中，就有爱好者问到：“甲电用干电，是否较水电声音更响亮”。[X1]

因为我们观众可能有些不是很了解科技工科类的基础知识，这段争论能否简短通俗解释下？什么是“水火风核”，什么是“甲电”、“干电”、“水电”？

民间电子狂热背后，是世界大战的炮火轰隆，弥漫在高空中的有“国界”的无线电波，以及一场关乎宇宙论的变革。儒道释以及民俗视角中的自然观被视为“迷信”，而无线电技术则从现代意义上连接了人类与高空。

现代化，亦即不同国家、权力机构对有限资源的全球分配、建设，以及宇宙尺度的挖掘。它是一场无法停止的国际战争，被包裹在大众信息传播中。例如，无线电广播曾被广泛用于军事通信和政治宣传。《永不消逝的电波》(1958)便讲述了中日战争期间，党员的无线电秘密情报工作。这部电影也代表了建国后的政治教育方式：通过无线电波来传递集体意识。

1970年4月24日，中国成功发射了第一颗人造卫星。通往宇宙的阶梯被进一步延伸。令人难以置信的消息通过大字报、电影和广播传播，将天线新闻散播到每户人家中。村民们从狭小的房间里出来，聚集在宽敞的公共场所，听着收音机里胜利的声音，凝视着天空。面对内忧外患，中国终于赶上了太空竞赛，填补了集体崇拜的空白。

沿着特色的社会主义道路，集体之声转向个人生活。那些在建国后被打倒的迷信也死灰复燃。在CVSZ上一期专题《冷战控制论：信息幻象与权力分层》(插入上一期链接)中，我们介绍了冷战后期中国的“气功热”。这种集体幻象也反映了新的个体生活方式：以无线电技术连通我们的身体、社会。20世纪90年代后，个人无线电通信技术深刻改变了中国人的日常生活，从“手拿大哥大，腰挎BB机”到“手握小灵通，站在风雨中”，操作无线通信技术不再是少数专业人士的专利，它成为许多人日常生活的一部分。无线局域网、智能手机和高速移动网络的出现，也深刻地影响着中国的科技与互联网行业的形态。

文化、科技、社会三者微妙联结。儒道释曾被西方文化动摇，以传播被迫植入的现代科技文化。如今，佛文化主动与科技联结，促进技术进步，慰藉现代的疲惫生活。宗教民俗随着技术发展而变动，但它一直承担社会属性。我们的生活被无声无形的电波围绕，随处可见的移动设备通过人类肉眼不可见的震动波段让我们的生活互通有无；佛文化退位于心灵鸡汤，在互联网中传播中与科技生活互补。

本次，CVSZ与新时线媒体艺术中心合作的线上讨论会将从艺术家哈伦·米尔扎（Haroon Mirza）的创作分享开始，探讨声音、光波与电流之间的相互作用；并通过上海纽约大学交互媒体艺术系教授安娜·格林斯潘（Anna Greenspan）对于无线电技术在亚洲哲学中的意义之分析，思考亚洲城市、新兴技术与人之间的互动关系；视觉与媒体文化学者弗朗西斯卡·塔罗科（Francesca Tarocco）亦将介绍技术佛教（techno-buddalism）作为一种视觉文化的研究。软件工程师、复古计算研究者周蓬岸作为中文母语研究者，将与上述学者一同探讨无线通信技术在中国背景下发展的叙事性与可能性。

✦嘉宾简介

哈伦·米尔扎（Haroon Mirza）

哈伦·米尔萨（1977年，伦敦）以其装置作品赢得了国际赞誉，这些作品测试了声音、光波和电流之间的相互作用和摩擦。作为干扰（在电声或无线电干扰的语意中）的研究者，他创造出在某一目的的驱使下跨越电线的状况。他将自己的角色描述为一位作曲家，操纵电流这个鲜活的、看不见的、不稳定的现象，让它随着不同的旋律起舞，并致力于使用家用电器、黑胶唱片和转盘、LED、家具、视频录像和现有的艺术作品等不同的乐器做出不同的行为。电声被处理的过程被暴露出来，声音以一种不规则的方式占据空间，一面测试其引导的电码，一面给气氛充电。米尔萨要求我们重新考虑噪音、声音和音乐之间的感性区别，并对文化形式的分类提出质疑。”所有的音乐都是编排好的声音或编排好的噪音，"他说。"所以，只要你在组织声学素材，将其定义为音乐或噪音或声音或只是一种骚扰，就只是感知和语境的问题"（2013）。

安娜·格林斯潘（Anna Greenspan）

安娜·格林斯潘现任上海纽约大学当代全球媒体助理教授，纽约大学全球特聘助理教授。Greenspan教授在英国华威大学获得哲学博士学位。在华威大学就读博士期间，Greenspan教授曾是“控制论文化研究组”的创始人。她的研究方向为中国城市与新媒体。她是“上海研究协会”（Shanghai Studies Society）和Hacked Matter研究中心的联合创始人。Greenspan教授目前正主持一项名为“移动的盛宴”的数字人文研究项目，意在绘出 。她近期著有《上海的未来：现代性重塑》（Shanghai Future: Modernity Remade）一书，2014年由牛津大学出版社出版。Greenspan教授目前正在撰写一本关于中国和无限网络浪潮的学术著作。Greenspan教授的个人网站为：www.annagreenspan.com.

弗朗西斯卡·塔罗科( Francesca Tarocco)

弗朗西斯卡·塔罗科现任上海纽约大学佛教文化访问副教授。加入上海纽约大学前，她曾任英国曼切斯特大学佛学研究讲师和Leverhulme Trust中国历史研究员。塔罗科教授在伦敦大学东方与非洲研究学院获得博士学位，在威尼斯大学获得硕士学位。 塔罗科是中国佛教、视觉和物质文化的学者，著有Cultural Practices of Modern Chinese Buddhism 以及Altar Modern: Buddhism and Technology in the Chinese World (即将出版)。她也是国际研究计划“上海研究学会”的联合创始人兼主任，纽约大学全球高等研究院关键性合作工作小组研究员，此前曾获Leverhulme Trust, Sutasoma基金会以及中国教育部等机构授予的奖项。Tarocco教授是当代视觉文化杂志Parkett、Flash Art International和 Frieze的定期撰稿人。

关于新时线媒体艺术中心（CAC）

新时线媒体艺术中心（CAC）成立于2013年，系国内首家致力于媒体艺术之展示、研究/创作及学术交流的非营利性艺术机构。通过展览、驻留、奖学金、讲座、工作坊及相关文献的梳理与出版，CAC为媒体艺术在全球语境中的论述、生产及传播开拓了一个多样化且富有活力的平台。CAC以批判地介入不断改变进而重塑当代经验的媒体技术来推动艺术创新及文化认知。

Established in 2013, Chronus Art Center (CAC) is China’s first nonprofit art organization dedicated to the presentation, research / creation and scholarship of media art. CAC with its exhibitions, residency-oriented fellowships, lectures and workshop programs and through its archiving and publishing initiatives, creates a multifaceted and vibrant platform for the discourse, production and dissemination of media art in a global context. CAC is positioned to advance artistic innovation and cultural awareness by critically engaging with media technologies that are transforming and reshaping contemporary experiences.

✦主持人简介

曹雪菲

毕业于伦敦大学金史密斯学院，Conversazione撰稿人。曾撰稿于电影媒体、协助独立影展与电影节策划。现关注全球南方历史与思辨 未来议题，研究方向为地缘政治下的技术与文化，中国城市空间与思想变迁。