User:Zhurendragon/sandbox

''This entry is part of ANT 256 - Material Culture of the Old World (DePaul University). As a class we explored the object biographies of objects from the “Old World” in their original place and the places (museums, cultural and educational institutions) in which they currently reside. Our investigations have focused on Old World objects in Chicago institutions.''

The 9 Dragon Wall of Chicago's Chinatown
The 9 Dragon Wall is a reproduction built in 2003 by the Chinatown Chamber of Commerce, using traditional architecture and glazed tiles ordered from China specifically for this project.

Lineage
The 9 Dragon Wall is a reproduction of a wall built in Beihai park in Beijing in 1402, which is itself a reproduction of an older wall built between 1271 and 1368 in Datong, Shanxi province. It is also one of only three such reproductions outside of China, the other two being in Singapore, and Mississauga, Canada.

== Purpose                                                                                                                                                                                                                          == According to the ancient Chinese practice of Feng Shui, the ramp leading down into Chinatown directs a great deal of negative energy right into Chinatown. The Chinatown Chamber of Commerce commissioned this wall to be built to block this negative energy. Incorporating dragons, long considered lucky along with various colors that are also considered to be fortunate in Chinese culture, as well as representing the spirit of the Chinese peoples.

Although the original purpose of walls like this was more as a privacy screen separating the inside of the home from the outside, They started to incorporate pictures, and to be used for other purposes such as decoration, or Feng Shui.