In ancient China one’s Zodiac sign was fixed by the position of
the planet Jupiter during the year of one’s birth (it takes
twelve years for Jupiter to orbit the sun). On this level, Ai
Weiwei Circle of Animals/Zodiac Heads represents a system of
measuring time and distinguishing characteristics of the human
psyche linked to the heavens above. In the mid-eighteenth
century the Qianlong Emperor, ruler of the Qing (Ch’ing)
dynasty—a Manchu (not Chinese) by birth—was fascinated by
European technology. On the condition that they not proselytize,
he invited European Jesuit priests into the Forbidden City,
where they worked as scientists, engineers, architects, and
artists. These priests spoke, read, and wrote Chinese fluently;
in this way they could easily communicate with the most eminent
Chinese and Manchu scholar-officials in the Forbidden City. Sent
to China by the Vatican with the mission of converting China to
the Catholic Church (in which they largely failed), these
priests nonetheless had an enormous influ