Episode II: The Chusan Wandering
第二章：楚山漫游



At the end of Episode I, the artist redirects the viewer’s attention away from the plant itself and toward its common name, “Chusan Palm.” The term “Chusan”—a transliterated place name used exclusively by the West in the modern period to refer to present-day Zhoushan in Zhejiang Province—conceals within it the colonial strategies of the West during the context of the First Opium War.

Episode II: The Chusan Wandering unfolds across four dimensions to trace the origins of the botanical common name “Chusan Palm.” It begins with the sustained Western surveying and mapping of China’s eastern coastline since the 16th century, moving to the British occupation of Dinghai, Zhoushan in 1840, and further to the so-called “legitimate” collection and investigation conducted by stationed troops and their affiliates under the guise of knowledge production.

After the renowned Scottish plant hunter Robert Fortune visited Zhoushan and first identified specimens of the Chusan Palm, he smuggled them back to Britain, to the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and the Royal Gardens of Prince Albert. In later years, the plant was named “Chusan Palm” in commemoration of his discovery.

Several years afterward, Fortune repeatedly referenced the Chusan Palm in his published travel writings. The seemingly casual term “wandering” in the title of his travelogue poetically obscures—and almost erases—his identity as an imperial plant hunter.



在第一章的末尾，创作者将人们的视线从植物本身牵引到了其俗名“Chusan Palm”之中，“Chusan”，这个只在近代且仅被西方所使用的指代当下浙江省舟山市的音译地名背后，暗藏了第一次鸦片战争背景下的西方殖民策略。

《第二章：楚山漫游》从四个维度展开“楚山棕榈”这个植物学俗名的由来，自16世纪以来西方对中国东部沿海持续进行的勘查与测绘，到1840年英军对舟山定海的攻占，再到驻军及随从人员以知识生产为名对当地进行的“合法”采集与调查。著名的苏格兰裔植物猎人罗伯特·福琼（Robert Fortune）到访舟山并第一次发现楚山棕榈样本之后，将其走私回了英国皇家园艺园邱园和阿尔伯特亲王皇家花园。后人为了纪念福琼的发现，将其命名为楚山棕榈。几年后，福琼出版的游记上多次提到楚山棕榈，书名中轻描淡写的“漫游”以一种近乎诗意的方式取消了其帝国主义植物猎人的身份。



Installation View
























Step 1: Mapmaking —— The Ambition

2024

Document prints, Overhead projector

Unique edition

Variable Sizes



制图学——帝国的野心

2024

老式投影幻灯机、现成档案手工纸印刷

独版

尺寸可变






















Step 2: Capture of Chusan

2024

Document prints, Nails

Unique edition

Variable Sizes


攻占楚山  

2024

现成档案手工纸印刷，图钉

独版

尺寸可变



































Step 3: Legitimate Collection

2024

Document prints, 77% Nitrate of potash, 13% Sulphur, 9% Charcoal, 1% H2O

Unique edition

Variable Sizes


合法采集  

2024

现成档案纸面印刷、77%硝酸钾、13%硫磺、9%木炭、1%水

独版

尺寸可变












Step 4: The Chusan Palm Hunting

2024

Photography, Document prints, Replica of Wardian case, Chusan Palm

Unique edition

Variable Sizes



狩猎楚山棕榈

2024

摄影、现成档案手工纸印刷、沃德箱手工复制品、活体移植楚山棕榈

独版

尺寸可变
















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