"Bǎi" is a research project based on interviews.
This project explores the lives of Chinese people living in Europe, through one conversation with each of 15 participants. This publication currently presents 10 stories from the interviews, documenting their daily lives, work, and sense of identity.
The main concept comes from the word "摆" (Bǎi). In Chinese, it originally means "to place" or "to sway." However, the word has a new meaning among Chinese people in Germany, referring to the act of transferring between regional trains with the Deutschland-Ticket to reach a destination. It symbolizes migration, transition, and instability, which run throughout the entire project.
"Bǎi" unfolds in three interconnected parts:
The preface, The Metaphor of the Apple, uses the apple as a symbol of the Chinese community.
The dialogue section presents the interviewees' experiences of migration and daily life.
The final part "American Guide" was inspired by one interviewee. During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2022, he researched routes for leaving China and reaching the United States. He documented the real journeys and experiences of earlier Chinese migrants who sneaked into the U.S. on foot. Using the form of the traditional Indian game Snakes and Ladders, I transformed his findings into a board game where the final destination is "the United States."
