I suddenly remembered the underground bookstore that I and my friends messed around with many years ago. So many nights of idleness, beauty, sadness, anger, or boredom, we burned fires, drank, and chatted in the bookstore… Thinking about it still makes me feel infinitely sad…
Truth Bookstore is a bookstore, and it is also one of the exhibition projects of a certain Contemporary Drama Biennale. Before and after the opening of the bookstore, it was a time when the authorities further froze the space for speech. On the one hand, the relevant departments put pressure on the Contemporary Drama Biennale, and on the other hand, they put pressure on the venue partners of the bookstore. On March 15, the day Truth Bookstore opened, it was forced to close. March 15th is also a famous official anti-counterfeiting day, and “Truth Bookstore was ‘counterfeited'”, which became one of the truths.
What kind of bookstore is Truth Bookstore? Here is the public activity information of the bookstore:
1
Where is the truth? Where is the truth? Where is the truth? Where is the truth? Where is the truth?
Where is the truth? Where is the truth? Where is the truth? Where is the truth? Where is the truth? Where is the truth
Where is the truth? Where is the truth? Where is the truth? Where is the truth? Where is the truth? Where is the truth? Where is the truth?
2
Is there a truth with pictures? A table of dishes without selfies cannot prove its deliciousness, an exhibition without selfies during a visit is a non-existent exhibition, and a trip without selfies seems like you have never taken a vacation…
Is the truth trending on WeChat with 100,000+ views? Emotion is more important than truth, stance is more important than arguments, simplicity is more important than complexity, and dissemination is more important than silence…
Is the truth in the post-truth era? Trump was elected, Britain withdrew from the EU, and overnight, the world was split by information explosion and countless truths, while the real truth always lags behind…
3
Is the truth always in the hands of a few people? In the hands of the wise? In the hands of the saints? In news reports? In the relevant departments? In the writings of the victors? …
The truth is so confusing and elusive, so people need a Truth Bookstore to clearly show you the truth in black and white!!!
We promise that in this bookstore, you can find almost any truth!
4
This bookstore is called “Truth Bookstore”, and it has books on almost any truth you can imagine, such as “The Truth of Art”, “The Truth of the World in Absurdity”, “The Truth of Currency”… During the business period, all our truths are sold at 20% off! Our slogan is: Warmly welcome, buying the truth does not require queuing!!!
5
Truth Book List (Partial): “The Truth of Art”, “The Truth of European Debt”, “The Truth of Finance”, “The Truth of Dinosaurs”, “The Truth of Charity”, “The Truth of Currency”, “The Truth of Medicine”, “The Truth of Death”, “The Historical Truth of Diaoyu Island”, “The Truth of Di Renjie”, “Truth”, “The Truth of Wall Street”, “The Truth of the World in Absurdity”, “The Truth of Addiction”, “The Truth of the Soviet Union”, “Directly Hitting the Truth”…
Posters of Truth Bookstore
Truth Bookstore posters are posted on the street
Follow the signs and you will find Truth Bookstore
Truth Bookstore is hidden in the community
Not big, with a small courtyard outside, intertwined with banyan trees, cacti, roses, etc.
There is a dog in the bookstore, friendly, I call it “Pink Panther”
The book list of Truth Bookstore, with more than 300 kinds of “truth”
We think there is always a truth you are looking for
During the business period, all our truths are sold at 20% off!
So far, we have sold more than a dozen books of truth
Truth Time: Where is the truth? It’s all in Truth Bookstore
On the first day of Truth Bookstore’s business on March 15th / and the preparation period, the people who came to the bookstore included the elderly and children in the community, hippies from afar, and young people who were interested in all kinds of truths…
The Lies Exhibition in Truth Bookstore: Not believing is not Chinese
It includes 60 popular online buzzwords from the past two years, written on evidence bags
On March 15, the first day of Truth Bookstore’s opening, it was forced to close. That night, we moved all the books on the shelves one by one
We removed all the books and left a blank room
We decided at the time that in the next month, this room would remain blank,
Continue to exhibit this artificial blank, perhaps the name of this exhibition should be called “The Truth Revealed”
From the ground, retreat to the underground
On March 15th, at more than nine o’clock that night, I went to IKEA to buy 10 iron shelves, and 4 people assembled them as bookshelves, and then the 4 of us spent a whole night transferring all the books to a secret dark space. Retreat from the ground to the underground.
The dark space comes from another ongoing plan of ours, “Dark Occupation Action”. We are searching for long-vacant houses in Shenzhen, calling them “dark spaces”. Occupying long-vacant houses is called “squatting” abroad, with legal support, but there is no legal recognition in China, we can only sneak out at night. Under the current situation of high housing prices and cramped ground activity space, we already have several “dark spaces”, where we have conducted activities such as burning fires, guerrilla bars, art performances, graffiti, and overnight stays. The keywords for dark occupation are: guerrilla, small-scale, appearing at night, self-governance and sharing, and letting imagination run wild.
At the same time, as the initiator, I decided to transfer the ownership of Truth Bookstore to everyone. Truth Bookstore will always be non-profit, all books are sold at 20% off; the money from the sale of books is only used to buy books for the bookstore, for long-term circulation, and for no other purpose.
To ensure the long-term safety of the bookstore and the readers (audience) involved, we hope to keep it for at least 1 year,
There are some basic rules that all participants need to abide by:
►►►Anyone going to the bookstore needs
1. Wear black clothes (or dark clothes) to avoid the security guards around
2. No entry during the day. Appear after 9:30 pm to avoid the cameras and nearby company employees
3. For the first time, you need to be recommended by a familiar person and led by a familiar person
4. Keep the address of the secret base confidential
5. Photos without map coordinate locations, only partial photos are allowed to be published
6. Act in a low-key manner, don’t be discovered by people around the building (the sound should not be too loud)
Note A: The number of people present at the same time each night should not exceed 12
Note B: If a fire is lit, the fire needs to be extinguished before leaving
►►►Advocate
1. Self-governance, friendliness, trust
2. Share space, share food, share activities (bring your own drinks, no buying or selling)
3. Take away the trash when you leave
►►►Things that can be done in Truth Bookstore (underground):
1. Read books, buy books, chat, drink, burn fires
2. Graffiti, behavior, performance, guerrilla nightclub, overnight stay, screening (battery), reading club…
►►►How to buy books
Readers choose their own books and put the money into the box at 20% off the book price. No change is given. No supervision.
Note: If you don’t have change, you can transfer it to the store manager via WeChat, or transfer it to a familiar person and then let the familiar person transfer it to the store manager.
I bought 10 iron shelves from IKEA overnight, and the 4 of us assembled the iron shelves. The picture shows the finished assembly.
Throughout the night, we transported books, moved books, and put them on the shelves, and our underwear and pants were soaked
Reading, chatting, and drinking in the firelight should be the norm of Truth Bookstore
Holding flammable bamboo, it can be used as a burning torch for easy book finding
POLICE friendly reminder: You guys, don’t leak this place, otherwise we’ll get you all
Different late nights, different friends went to the underground Truth Bookstore one after another
In the dark, they climbed over the windows, passed through the empty room, climbed up the straight iron ladder, and arrived at the Truth Bookstore on the roof, reading books, chatting, drinking, and burning fires
About half a year later, we suddenly found that the location of Truth Bookstore had become a police point…
This may also be the most unexpected but just right ending for Truth Bookstore in this era
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