Heroes of the revolution


I never thought I'd fall in love with a bag of rice.

We were out making our first major shopping expedition at N-Mart, one of our favorite Chinese superstores. These stores sell everything from major appliances, to office supplies, clothing, housewares, and food, both foreign and domestic.
Rice Goddess
We were especially interested in stocking up on food staples. There are many foods that we like to eat in China, but the one that's essential is rice. N-Mart has always been the place we go to for rice, because, with all due respect to China, they sell Thai rice, which we prefer.

But that was before I saw the Rice Goddess. N-Mart must sell 15 to 20 different brands of rice, in big stacks of 5 and 10 kilo bags. Packaging in China tend to be either very plain and utilitarian, or at the other extreme, flashy and extravagant, with large super-realistic photos of majestic landscapes, or puppy dogs, or cartoon characters, with no connection to the product. So the Rice Goddess graphic really stood out.

I love her straightforward stare, the tools of labor, the stylized abundance. In a country where everyone has known hunger, and many have faced starvation, this woman is heroic.

Who needs Thai rice?

Posted: Sat - August 30, 2003 at 08:14 PM    

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