This segment of the research trip has been much more exhausting (but now the toilet is fixed and with luck, our gas meter will stop acting up) but rewarding in various ways. The first is that I have more opportunities to get away from my computer and actually do research. In Taiwan, I spent a lot of time writing and theorizing, but now that I have more non-documentary sources to find, I need to go to different places around Beijing. I've spent a lot of time going around to publishing house showrooms and well-hidden bookstores for the textual building blocks I need, but more interestingly, I'm spending time with people beyond occasional interactions at dissertation group meetings or coffee-breaks in the office. Although I am not training to be a social scientist (anthropologist, sociologist, etc.), I'm still excited about combining traditional (orthodox) historical methodology with the more pliable territory of fieldwork. One thing I especially like is its unpredictable nature.
Leads emerge here and there, and a lot of new discoveries are made through seemingly normal conversations. My second such "random meeting" will take place tomorrow evening. There is an old Manchu gentleman who has invited my friend and her advisor, and me, to have dessert with him. I don't know who he is yet, but all will be revealed at 6:00pm...
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