[PHOTOS] People Walking Cabbages Like Pets In Beijing
Many in Beijing were pictured "walking" cabbages that were attached to leashes recently.
By Melody Oei — 08 May 2014, 12:53 PM — Updated about 10 years ago
Teenagers In Beijing Were Spotted "Walking" Cabbages On Leashes Like Pets Recently
"According to some reports, Chinese teenagers have taken to walking heads of cabbage on leashes as if they were dogs in order to battle depression and loneliness." - UPI
Media Outlets Like Huffington Post And Metro UK Reported That Chinese Teens Were "Taking Cabbages For Walks To Get Over Loneliness"
Metro UK's headline on people in Beijing 'walking' cabbages to combat loneliness.
Image via SAYS ScreengrabsAccording To Metro UK, A Chinese Psychiatrist Wen Chao Said "The Idea Is Simple - You Feel As Lonely And As Simple As A Cabbage, So You Begin To Act Like One And Befriend One"
"The sight of people pulling cabbages down the street has surprised many, but Lui Ja Chen, 17, defended the pastime and said it had helped him. ‘I feel I can transfer my negative thoughts about myself to the cabbage, go for a walk with it and come home feeling better about myself.'" - Metro UK
metro.co.uk
UPI Reported That "Apparently Walking A Cabbage Is A Good Way To Strike Up A Conversation With Another Person Who Has Decided To Make A Vegetable Their Pet"
"The vegetable walkers were spotted at the Midi Music Festival in Beijing. Apparently walking a cabbage is a good way to strike up a conversation with another person who has decided to make a vegetable their pet." - UPI
It Was Later Found That The Teenagers Were Actually Participants In A Performance Art Piece Staged By Artiste Han Bing
"It's easy to point out that media outlets are always looking for the next big weird China story and that certain folks who don't read Chinese have simply jumped the gun on this one. I'm not even sure where they got their information." - Kotaku
kotaku.com
In reality, the “Cabbage Patch Kids,” as the Austrian Times dubbed them, were neither new nor part of a trend. Instead, they were participants in a performance art piece staged at a Beijing music festival by an artist, Han Bing.
Han Bing Says He Was "Only Trying To Encourage Freedom, And To Get People To Question Their Daily Activities"
"There’s a knot in everyone’s head, and I want to untie that knot. A lot of people come up to me asking what I’m trying to accomplish, but when I’m walking my cabbage, I don’t want to talk. Just doing what I’m doing is enough."
"The point is to inspire people to think about that action. I want them to think about how daily routines are formed. For example, people carry bags to work and through doing so every day, a routine is formed."
"A cabbage is associated with farming, something that’s natural. The very object is natural too. But it’s been transplanted from its natural environmental, soil, onto cement. I’m walking it on a road or highway, a surface that’s man-made in an urban environment."
Han Bing Has Been Walking Cabbages, As Well As Bricks And Other Vegetables, For More Than A Decade
Han Bing photographed in the Beijing subway with a cabbage attached to a leash in 2004.
Image via Han Bing Art
Han Bing photographed at Venice Beach in Los Angeles in 2006 with a cabbage attached to a leash.
Image via Han Bing Art
Han Bing "Walking" The Cabbage In New York, Shanghai, Miami And More In PHOTOS:
Han bing poses with a cabbage attached to a leash at a supermarket in Shanghai in 2005.
Image via Han Bing Art
On 8 May 2014, Huffington Post Followed Up By Updating Their Story With A Correction
Huffington Post updates their 'Teens Taking Cabbages On Leashes For Walks' story.
Image via SAYS Screengrabs