Behind the Name Anping Edits
Why name your art after your dog?
My dog is a rescue dog, she was found in a compound in Shanghai around May 2020. When I first met her at the vet, she was extremely timid and sat in the furthest corner of her little room. The rescuer, a Shanghainese local, explained that Anping would follow her when she walked her own dog in the compound. Always slightly timid, as if she wanted to be adopted by humans but didn’t know how.
So one day the recuser kindly housed her at the vet while she looked for an owner. When we meet, she told me her own dog was allergic to other dogs, so she couldn’t keep Anping even though she wanted to - even brought a little raincoat and sailor hat for her.
She had chosen ‘Anping’ as her name because it was 平安 (píng'ān) backwards, the Chinese for safe and sound / well / without mishap / peace. She wanted to find a safe and sound home for Anping that would bring her peace. The rescuer also wished for a single stable female to adopt her. In a way, she had manifested me.
At the time, I had lost my two grandmas due to natural death within 10 days of each other. In one month, I had seen two dead bodies for the first time and nailed the coffin of my grandmother. It was the time when China locked its borders due to the pandemic, so my parents could not attend their own parent’s funeral. Though, I had my extended family, I felt the world was moving but I wasn’t participating within it - I was slowly spiralling into depression.
So I decided it was time to adopt a pet.
I found Anping via my florist, I told him that I had cancelled on a cat visit because I was unsure about adopting a cat. So he asked if I wanted to adopt a dog and showed me a picture of Anping. In the afternoon, I arranged a visit for the next day and the weekend afterwards, I brought her home as a trial period. I know things happen very fast in China.
When I settled her on my couch, I knew that she wasn’t going back to the vet and this wasn’t a trial period.
She was mine until the day she departs from this world. I kept her name ‘Anping’ because I wanted her to feel safe, sound and at peace always. In return, she brought me out of depression and new friends into my life. My last years in Shanghai was greatly enhanced by Anping, she was the star of neighbourhood.
Anping edited my life for the best, she filled it with dog owners and friends because simply walking her around the neighbourhood enabled me to make friends (young and old) and become apart of its community. I never felt lonely, home was Anping, her presence made me safe, sound and at peace
I named my art business after her—Anping Edits. Just as she edited my life with her peaceful presence, I hope my art brings that same peace and serenity to other