AT gets an education from Beijing collector Mr. Guangtao / AMCHPR 2023 tour

Chinese watch Museum and travels to China
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AlbertaTime
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AT gets an education from Beijing collector Mr. Guangtao / AMCHPR 2023 tour

Post by AlbertaTime » November 15th 2023, 10:04pm

There will be more to come from my meeting with Mr. Guangtao in Beijing while I was with my friend and mentor Mr. Li Wei, but this valuable and very comprehensive textbook by a very well-known Beijing watch and clock collector and writer, Mr. Bao Gang, arrived today, a gift from Mr. Guangtao.

Mr. Guangtao has his own jaw-dropping personal collection (some of which you'll see in an oncoming post), and he mentioned this book to me during our discussions.

I'm hugely grateful to receive it, and excited about reading it (I can't read Chinese, but my phone can). It's considered among the very best and most informative, if not the best, books on China's Watch (and clock) history available anywhere.

Even skimming it today has opened up new areas to explore, a number of brands and companies I had never or hardly heard of, and details and insights that are new to me.

Mr, Li Wei, me, and Mr. Guangtao

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Here's the cover (中国计划经济时期国产表收藏与研究 / Collection and research of domestic watches during China’s planned economy period) by Bao Gang

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Some details if you want a copy:

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I found this description in Chinese, so here's the Google translation:
《中国计划经济时期国产表收藏与研究一书》是北京知名国表收藏家包刚老师多年来集收藏经验及史料文字,实物研究为一体专门描述新中国手表文化发展主题的工具书,是一部国表珍品的大图典,全书320页,大量关于国表发展历程中出现的珍贵史料及实物照片在此书中形象的把新中国手表半个世纪的历史回忆再现

"The Book of Collecting and Researching Domestic Watches During the Planned Economy Period of China" is a reference book specially written by Mr. Bao Gang, a well-known collector of domestic watches in Beijing, to describe the development theme of watch culture in New China over the years. This is a large illustrated dictionary of national watch treasures. The book has 320 pages. It contains a large number of precious historical materials and physical photos about the development of national watches. This book vividly reproduces the historical memories of half a century of new Chinese watches.
And some photos from the book...

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Partial Translation, courtesy Google:

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Partial Translation, courtesy Google:

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The book contains photos of...I guess one could say "signature photos" of various places referenced, and this photo of "Elephant Trunk Hill" in Guilin is one of them.

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And I've been there :-) (my photo)

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I have some exploring to do. Image
Curator: Alberta Museum of Chinese Horology in Peace River

"That stone buddha deserves all the birdshit it gets. I wave my skinny arms like a tall flower in the wind." Ikkyu
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AlbertaTime
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Re: AT gets an education from Beijing collector Mr. Guangtao / AMCHPR 2023 tour

Post by AlbertaTime » November 15th 2023, 10:49pm

smellody wrote:
November 15th 2023, 10:29pm
Very neat. That will keep busy! Pages of fun!
It's going to be tedious using the phone for translation and holding it, so I have no doubt the back of the book will be broken badly by the time I'm through, but it's not *that* expensive if I want another copy. Thing is, it's a chance to learn in more detail than is usually available to me so I'm going to wade my way through.
Curator: Alberta Museum of Chinese Horology in Peace River

"That stone buddha deserves all the birdshit it gets. I wave my skinny arms like a tall flower in the wind." Ikkyu
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Re: AT gets an education from Beijing collector Mr. Guangtao / AMCHPR 2023 tour

Post by conjurer » November 15th 2023, 11:18pm

Yet again, Mr. A-T amazes us with his level of scholarship regarding Chinese horology. There is probably nobody in North American as learned as he in this topic, and naturally, as humble as he is, we see him showing us new primary materials in his valuable education.

Huzzah!
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Re: AT gets an education from Beijing collector Mr. Guangtao / AMCHPR 2023 tour

Post by AlbertaTime » November 16th 2023, 7:20am

conjurer wrote:
November 15th 2023, 11:18pm
Yet again, Mr. A-T amazes us with his level of scholarship regarding Chinese horology. There is probably nobody in North American as learned as he in this topic, and naturally, as humble as he is, we see him showing us new primary materials in his valuable education.

Huzzah!
Very kind, John.

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Curator: Alberta Museum of Chinese Horology in Peace River

"That stone buddha deserves all the birdshit it gets. I wave my skinny arms like a tall flower in the wind." Ikkyu
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