Another snapshot with a story
File under: local colour. Or something like that.
Pictured below is the mother of my other guide on my three-day horse safari. I could tell you some choice stories about the guide himself, but I'm not going to, as (1) I'm very busy, and (2) I'd rather save them for a book I'm writing. So instead I'll give you a portrait of his mother and nephew.
Songpan, China, 1995
Three reasons why I like this photo
(1) The beaming smile on the old lady's face. She doted on her grandson, and nearly burst with pride when I asked her to pose with him. Unfortunately, the baby itself didn't feel like posing, but the woman's smile makes up for it, I think.
(2) The fact that the old lady is wearing a Mao jacket. Even ten years ago, not many people still wore those. I was glad to capture someone on film who did, because let's face it, no China trip is complete without a photo of someone wearing a Mao jacket, right?
(3) Her teeth. I admit it -- the main reason I wanted to take a picture of the old lady was because I was fascinated by her teeth. Every time I looked at her, I found myself wondering, are those real, or are they some very crude form of false teeth? And I know I have a bit of a reputation for being indiscreet and politically incorrect, and I know I deserve it, but even I couldn't go up to the old lady and say, "Excuse me, are those huge things in your mouth for real?" Even though, paradoxically, she probably wouldn't have found this question the least bit rude, as the Chinese are rather less squeamish about pointing out people's deformities than we are. After all, this is a country where people have addressed each other as "Fat Wang" and "Lame Zhang" for centuries, and where it's completely normal to point your finger at someone you haven't seen for a long time and yell, "Aaaaah! You've grown FAT!"
My guess is that the teeth were natural. For some reason, there seemed to be an abundance of people with long teeth in the area, although few of them had teeth as spectacular as these. If you look closely at the family snapshots I posted the other day, you'll notice that the mother in those has fairly long teeth, as well. So I guess it must be some weird genetic thing that's been passed on in the area for centuries.
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Anyhow, this completes the Chinese-Guides-with-Relatives Series, as well as the Explanations-as-to-Why-I-Like-a-Particular-Photo Series. And now, back to your regularly scheduled programming on scenery and inanimate objects...