In 1925 writer, curator, and professor Benjamin March—one of the foremost authorities on Chinese art in the 1920s and 1930s—and his wife spent their honeymoon in Hangzhou, China, which he recorded in his journal and in photographs. Here’s an excerpt just in time for Valentine’s Day:
“In the early afternoon, we took rickshas [sic] and rode out of the city through narrow streets to Six Harmony Pagoda. I had been wanting to visit it again, and to try a couple of pictures I had not been able to make succeed the last time. We took our supper down to our boat and went out on the lake to enjoy the moon. We drifted and paddled about the lake and the islands. After supper we sat, wrote a little verse, and then Dorothy sang for a long while and I lay on my back watching the white moon. A good day, a very good day—and no rain.”
Learn more about the Benjamin March papers in the Archives of the Freer and Sackler Galleries.
I appreciate how couples used to do things like “write verse” and sing “for a long while” while watching the moon. Not that we don’t today, but it seems like an art which could use some re-kindling!
Thanks, Carly. We need to somehow Kindle and re-kindle at the same time. Not an easy task! Thanks for the comment. We look forward to sharing more treasures from the Archives. Stay tuned…