Birdmen of Beijing

Some days, it takes time to find a topic for the blog. I have not made a point of describing the crafts that I do like knitting- I am busy knitting some scarves for next December- yes, you read correctly. Time to do some planning. December will be busy with many concerts. I am hoping to garden but it looks like today is not going to be one of those days again- it has rained nearly everyday. The plants are happy but unfortunately, so are the weeds. I am busy with music again, octet has started, the trio is thriving and orchestra has stopped for the summer. Rainy weather like we are having is good for watching Wimbledon tennis. I don't feel the same guilt as when the weather is lovely and I could be outside doing some work.

My topic for today is "The Birdmen of Beijing", http://sandbox.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=102458087.

This is about the men who care for and raise birds in Beijing. These men thrive in a corner of Beijing raising, trading and loving their birds. Each morning, the aging men gather to compare birds, share gossip, tease each other a bit and catch up on the papers.

The tradition of Chinese bird keeping stems from the late Qing dynasty-in the late 19th century- a time when the Chinese emperor and other men in the royal family filled their leisure time with cricket fighting, raising goldfish and keeping birds.

Raising birds was thought to a civilizing hobby and as prosperity spread, common people took it up too. And so each morning at 7:30 Shi Shiquing sets out from his home in Cotton Flower Alley No. 7 and makes the 1.5 kilometre trek to the parkade near Hepingmen subway, vigorously swinging his blue covered bird cages as he goes.

"The Swinging excites the birds and forces them to grip their pedestal," he explains. "It's good for them."

These men love their birds and hopefully will keep up the tradition and teach it to a younger generation.