Bringing the Spirit of China to Oulu
 Edward Dutton interviews Judy Song and
Wendy Zeng who run a Chinese Porcelain Sale & Exhibition
at ‘Galleria’ in the centre of Oulu.
Judy Song and Wendy Zeng begin our interview by bringing
out porcelain stools for us to sit on.
‘They’re hand-made,’ Judy tells me. ‘It is a style known as
a Jingdejeng,’ she adds, referring to hand-painted
decoration.
Judy has been in Finland since October 2006. She met her
Finnish husband when she was working in Malaysia managing
the production of Chinese textiles. Since June this year,
however, she has been attempting to bring exquisite,
hand-made Chinese porcelain to Oulu.
‘Typically Chinese’
‘When you are a foreigner you can bring something of your
own culture to the new country,’ she says proudly. ‘This is
good way for a foreigner to start a business . . . to bring
your own culture. This is all typically Chinese.’
We are sitting surrounded by a huge array of bowls,
vases, plates and even china pig-shaped porcelain. Wendy,
Judy’s assistant who has only been in Oulu a few weeks,
tells me, ‘These are very popular at the moment because now
is the Chinese year of the Pig.’ These are Chinese good luck
symbols.
‘I wanted to bring Chinese porcelain here,’ continues
Judy. ‘I wanted to bring the spirit of China to the people.
I hope I have done that, yes?’ she laughed.
As we talk, Judy and Wendy have ‘typical Chinese music’
playing in the background to add to the authentic
atmosphere.
‘This is a traditional Chinese instrument. . . called a
zither,’ Wendy informs me. She then points me to the most
impressive pair of vase that they have on sale.
‘They are 1.8 metres tall,’ Wendy says. ‘They are hand
painted and the painting describes a pond with lotus flowers
and carps.’
‘Lotus Lover’
She then stands up and points me towards the calligraphy
in the tall vase. ‘There is a Chinese poem here called “The
Tale of a Lotus Lover”. It says . . .’ she quickly
translates in her head, ‘The lotus lives in the dirty mud
but it is still pure.’ The pair is on sale for 5000 euros
and Judy and Wendy hope to sell them to a hotel.
‘I think that they would look very good in a hotel
lobby,’ adds Wendy. Though much of the porcelain is far
cheaper and there are pots for around 25 euros as well.
In general, Judy has found Oulu to be a good place to
establish a business. She refers to Oulu as quite a
cosmopolitan city meaning that people are interested in
ideas from different cultures. Wendy adds that ‘tourists’
help their trade because they are often interested in
Chinese porcelain. However, most of their customers are
Finns.
‘Most of our customers are Finns . . . and the porcelains
are very beautiful. There are many of smaller sizes as well.
It’s not all big pot.’
In fact, Wendy feels that doing business in Oulu would be
even easier if the city was even more cosmopolitan and many
Oulu people were less nervous about coming into their shop
and looking around.
‘It’s just a different culture’
‘They can come inside and have a look!’ says Wendy. ‘It’s
just a different culture. If they ask us about things then
we will tell them . . . but often they do not talk much!’
Both Judy and Wendy have found ‘the language and the
culture’ difficult to get used to.
‘In China there is much conversation!’ Judy laughs. They
don’t really want that much conversation here! It’s very
different from China!’ Judy stressed that she would also
love it if it were easier to ‘get to know local people.’
Wendy speaks no Finnish while Judy admits that she speaks
very little so whenever they deal with customers it is
through the medium of English. ‘We want to master the
language though,’ Wendy says.
To promote the business further Judy points out that, ‘We
have been looking into the kind of Porcelain that Finns
like.’ They have also advertised in newspapers and
leafleted.
‘Also, we’re thinking we might expand in the future by
bringing Chinese culture, such as calligraphy, Chinese silks
and also Chinese fine tea,’ says Wendy. ‘But at the moment
we are just concentrating on the porcelain.’ The exhibition
in Galleria lasts until the beginning of January.
They are also concentrating on getting used to Finnish
culture which both have found to be very different.
‘There are so many bars . . .’
‘There are so many bars . . . one after the others!’
laughs Wendy, ‘and people spend maybe fifteen minutes in one
bar and then go to another one! It’s so different from China
. . . but I think I like it!’
Both of them miss Chinese food and say that ‘Chinese
food’ in Oulu’s Chinese restaurants has been altered for the
‘Finnish taste’ but it is still really Chinese food.
However, Judy has been very impressed by the amount of
salmon in Finland. ‘I like this salmon’ she tells me.
She has also found Finns to be ‘very honest’ and they
leave pots on display outside without any fear of their
being stolen.
Judy and Wendy then insist on showing me around the rest
of the shop. They have a detailed knowledge of exactly how
their imported pots are made and tell me about ‘glazes’ and
other methods. Both Judy and Wendy are Christians, a
minority in China, and they show me a plate with an image of
Jesus on.
‘Western Images’
‘Western images like this are very popular now in China,’
Wendy adds. She then shows me a series of porcelain of Big
Macs. Apparently this ‘Western’ image is also popular in
China . . . and their aim is to show Oulu the authentic
China.
As I’m about to leave they offer me an early Christmas
present of ‘anything I want’ from the shop. Considering the
amount of effort that must have gone into many of these pots
I can only decline the generous offer and take instead a few
of the sweets they have on offer at the counter.
‘I hope we have introduced to the spirit of China and
Chinese porcelain!’ Judy smiles.
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The address: Isokatu 23, Galleria, 2 Floor, Oulu.
Time: 18.11.2007—5.2. 2008
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