Guan Wei's recent work reflects in its many dimensions a central concern of late-20th Century life, that of renewable resources. Through the refraction of Ex/Inspire, however, we can also see more perhaps of Guan's own history and the place of renewal in it; for Guan himself is a descendant of the defunct Manchu nobility of China, one with a history as a renewable resource in its own right,
     In the mid-17th Century a well-organised force of warriors calling themselves the Manchus invaded China,  Overthrowing the Ming Dynasty they established the Great Qing or Pure Dynasty in its place. The conquerors ruled from Beijing and garrisoned troops, organised under Eight Banners and therefore called 'Bannermen', around the country to maintain

law and order. The Manchus were sturdy horse-riding fighters, but they had a softer, more cultivated side. They had assimilated and recycled in their own dress, behaviour and attitudes much of the best of Chinese culture, as well as a wealth of heterodox habit that was particular to their own, as they ruled over the massive Chinese empire for the next two and a half centuries they acquired the civilised arts of that ancient land and added their own unique touch to them. Under their domination some of China's finest fiction, theatre, poetry and palace-gardens were created,
     Guan Wei is a modern descendant of one of the most illustrious of the Manchu Bannermen families that occupied China over three hundred years ago, His surname, Guan, is