Bund Bull
Encyclopedia
The Shanghai Bull, the Bund Financial Bull or the Bund Bull are monikers associated with a derivative of Arturo Di Modica
's Charging Bull
installed in late April 2010 and unveiled on The Bund
in Shanghai
on May 15, 2010. The 5000 lbs work of art is said to have the same height, length and weight as the New York City
Charging Bull. The bull is reddish as a tribute to the country that commissioned the work. It leans to right instead of the left like Charging Bull and has a more menacing tail. The Bull's popularity has been a problem for local authorities.
Di Modica credits both Western
and Chinese cultures as influence on the work, noting that the "Charging Bull" and the Chinese Zodiac
's ox
served as inspiration. The bull is symbolic of perseverance, diligence and wealth in Chinese culture. The animal's confident stance represented a bullish and prosperous future for the rising financial center, Di Modica said. "It must be strong. It's about a strong nation," he says. "If you observe the tail of the bull, the tail is spirally pointing to the sky, meaning a uplifting financial trend," he said. The bull had been commissioned to be twice the size of Wall Street
's Charging Bull. The city also requested a bull that was younger and stronger than New York City's bull to symbolise "the energy of Shanghai's economy", Zhou Wei, the head of Huangpu district said. "That's why the head of the Bund's bull looks up while the Wall Street Bull looks downward," he said.
The bronze bull was crafted in Wyoming
by a team of 40 that made five identical versions. At 2.5 metres (8.2 ft) tall, 3.3 metres (10.8 ft) long and 2.5 tonnes (2.7 tons), it is the same size as the Wall Street version, but "redder, younger and stronger" Di Modica said. The work was supposed to have been completed before the Chinese year of the Ox ended in February 2010. The Bull was installed the week before the Expo 2010 Shanghai China, referred to as the Shanghai World Expo, which opened on May 1. Sometimes speaking in Italian, Di Modica attended the unveiling on May 15, 2010 on the Bund waterfront.
capitalism
in China, and it will be adjacent to the Huangpu river
in Shanghai's Pudong
district, which is a dynamically growing economic development zone. The bull is located in a square with four stock price screens across the river from the city's financial district. The newly opened square is being called Bund Financial Square.
Like its Wall Street counterpart, the Bund Bull's male genitalia is rumored to produce good luck when stroked. Pursuit of this kind of good fortune has contributed to the Bull's needing to be cordoned off and guarded, unlike the Wall Street Bull. Despite a constant security, visitors attempt to climb the bull to pray for good luck and hang bags on the horns while taking pictures. Eventually, the cordoning was discontinued due to the strong public desire to be close to the bull.
Arturo Di Modica
Arturo Di Modica is an Italian-American artist, born in Vittoria, Sicily, best known for his sculpture Charging Bull , which he installed without permission in front of the New York Stock Exchange in December 1989. The work cost US$360,000 of the artist's own money...
's Charging Bull
Charging Bull
Charging Bull, which is sometimes referred to as the Wall Street Bull or the Bowling Green Bull, is a bronze sculpture by Arturo Di Modica that stands in Bowling Green Park near Wall Street in Manhattan, New York City...
installed in late April 2010 and unveiled on The Bund
The Bund
The Bund is a waterfront area in central Shanghai, People's Republic of China. The area centres on a section of Zhongshan Road within the former Shanghai International Settlement, which runs along the western bank of the Huangpu River, facing Pudong, in the eastern part of Huangpu District...
in Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
on May 15, 2010. The 5000 lbs work of art is said to have the same height, length and weight as the New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
Charging Bull. The bull is reddish as a tribute to the country that commissioned the work. It leans to right instead of the left like Charging Bull and has a more menacing tail. The Bull's popularity has been a problem for local authorities.
Description
The bull is referred to by many names in the press with one claiming that local dignitaries tend to call it the Bund Financial Bull. Many stories use the moniker the Bund Bull. Some stories refer to it as the Shanghai Bull to differentiate it from the artist's other more famous bull in New York.Di Modica credits both Western
Western culture
Western culture, sometimes equated with Western civilization or European civilization, refers to cultures of European origin and is used very broadly to refer to a heritage of social norms, ethical values, traditional customs, religious beliefs, political systems, and specific artifacts and...
and Chinese cultures as influence on the work, noting that the "Charging Bull" and the Chinese Zodiac
Chinese zodiac
The Shēngxiào , better known in English as the Chinese Zodiac, is a scheme that relates each year to an animal and its reputed attributes, according to a 12-year mathematical cycle...
's ox
Ox (zodiac)
The Ox is one of the 12-year cycle of animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac related to the Chinese calendar. The Year of the Ox is denoted by the earthly branch character 丑...
served as inspiration. The bull is symbolic of perseverance, diligence and wealth in Chinese culture. The animal's confident stance represented a bullish and prosperous future for the rising financial center, Di Modica said. "It must be strong. It's about a strong nation," he says. "If you observe the tail of the bull, the tail is spirally pointing to the sky, meaning a uplifting financial trend," he said. The bull had been commissioned to be twice the size of Wall Street
Wall Street
Wall Street refers to the financial district of New York City, named after and centered on the eight-block-long street running from Broadway to South Street on the East River in Lower Manhattan. Over time, the term has become a metonym for the financial markets of the United States as a whole, or...
's Charging Bull. The city also requested a bull that was younger and stronger than New York City's bull to symbolise "the energy of Shanghai's economy", Zhou Wei, the head of Huangpu district said. "That's why the head of the Bund's bull looks up while the Wall Street Bull looks downward," he said.
The bronze bull was crafted in Wyoming
Wyoming
Wyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...
by a team of 40 that made five identical versions. At 2.5 metres (8.2 ft) tall, 3.3 metres (10.8 ft) long and 2.5 tonnes (2.7 tons), it is the same size as the Wall Street version, but "redder, younger and stronger" Di Modica said. The work was supposed to have been completed before the Chinese year of the Ox ended in February 2010. The Bull was installed the week before the Expo 2010 Shanghai China, referred to as the Shanghai World Expo, which opened on May 1. Sometimes speaking in Italian, Di Modica attended the unveiling on May 15, 2010 on the Bund waterfront.
Location
It is located in the Bund, which is considered to be a location that symbolizes the era of European colonialColonialism
Colonialism is the establishment, maintenance, acquisition and expansion of colonies in one territory by people from another territory. It is a process whereby the metropole claims sovereignty over the colony and the social structure, government, and economics of the colony are changed by...
capitalism
Capitalism
Capitalism is an economic system that became dominant in the Western world following the demise of feudalism. There is no consensus on the precise definition nor on how the term should be used as a historical category...
in China, and it will be adjacent to the Huangpu river
Huangpu River
The Huangpu River is a -long river in China flowing through Shanghai...
in Shanghai's Pudong
Pudong
Pudong |Bank]]") is an area of Shanghai, China, located along the east side of the Huangpu River, across from the historic city center of Shanghai in Puxi. Formerly a little-developed agricultural area linked only by ferries, Pudong has grown rapidly since the 1990s and emerged as China's financial...
district, which is a dynamically growing economic development zone. The bull is located in a square with four stock price screens across the river from the city's financial district. The newly opened square is being called Bund Financial Square.
Like its Wall Street counterpart, the Bund Bull's male genitalia is rumored to produce good luck when stroked. Pursuit of this kind of good fortune has contributed to the Bull's needing to be cordoned off and guarded, unlike the Wall Street Bull. Despite a constant security, visitors attempt to climb the bull to pray for good luck and hang bags on the horns while taking pictures. Eventually, the cordoning was discontinued due to the strong public desire to be close to the bull.