Rockbund Art Museum 上海外滩美术馆

“You are identified by your origin, birth place, education and social connections. These factors largely determine who you are interacting with and in what ways, and also your social status.” Is a big city an inclusive cluster, or an exclusive snob where residents are ranked in accordance with the so-called “despising chains”? The vitality that promotes sustainable and healthy city growth comes, with no doubt, from the interactions of diversified co-existing cultures, as we are able to gain a better understanding of ourselves only when we are fully connected despite our differences in identities and behavioral disciplines. In additon to the problems he has observed in big cities and his long-term thoughts on the future of China’s economy, Prof. Lu Ming depicts in his book Great State Needs Bigger City many intriguing stories he has witnessed in big cities, such as career choices of his post-80-generation friends, confusions of taxi drivers, Taiwanese doing business in Shanghai… These stories in people’s everyday life may help find approaches and strategies of understanding and addressing complicated problems in big cities and big states, as well as practical codes of conduct representing benefitial values.

Prof. Lu Ming, invited by RAM jointly with JIC BOOKS and Shanghai Horizon Media, will elaborate under the theme of “Rebirth of Cities” on the definition of city to explore the ideal relation between man and city, and what a truly livable city is like that takes into account the life of its residents.

“你的血缘、籍贯、师承、社会网络这些标志你身份的东西，在很大程度上决定着你交往的对象和方式，也决定着你的社会地位。”那么大城市是包容多样性的复杂体，还是以身份标识的“鄙视链”为标准隔绝与排挤“他者”的势利机器？城市持续健康生长的活力无疑来自于的多元共存的文化相互交错，当人的身份差异与行为规训带来的区隔逐步消退时，我们才得以借由他人的视角丰富自我认知。《大国大城》作者陆铭教授在书中不仅论述了他对大城市问题的观察和对中国经济未来发展的多年思考，也记载发生在他身边的故事：“80后”朋友的就业选择、出租车司机的疑惑、台湾朋友的上海生意……这些故事启发理解与解决大城市、大国家复杂问题的方法和策略，提示蕴含价值的践行性规范。

上海外滩美术馆（RAM）联合建投书局（JICBOOKS）与世纪文景出版社邀请陆铭教授，以“城市的新生”为议题，透过对“城市”本义的追踪，重新思考：人与城市的关系究竟应该怎样？一个关怀人的境况、真正“宜居”的城市究竟又是怎样的？