FIRST SATURDAY PDX
  • Welcome to First Saturday PDX
  • Current Season (2020 - 2021)
    • Quick Preview of Season 2020 - 2021
    • Season Schedule 2020 - 2021 >
      • Collecting Under Socialism: Philately in 1950s China, 12 September, 2020
      • Myriad Treasures: Celebrating the Reinstallation of the Soreng Gallery of Chinese Art Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art, 3 October, 2020
      • The Real Mulan? Tales of a Female Rebel in 18th century China 7 November, 2020
      • Spice it Up! ​How the Chile Pepper Flavored Chinese Culture 5 December, 2020
      • A Century of Collecting Chinese Painting at Oberlin College 9 January, 2021 ​
  • PAST SEASONS & PROGRAMS
    • Past Seasons & Program Highlights >
      • Season 2019 - 2020 >
        • CNY/ 20th Anni 2021
        • Quick Preview of Season 2019 - 2020
        • Season Schedule 2019 - 2020
        • Mawangdui: The Tomb of China’s Sleeping Beauty, 7 December 2019
        • Field Notes from Sichuan: Learning To Be a Foreigner, 5 October 2019
        • In Search of Korean Liberation in China, 2 November 2019
        • From an Architect's Perspective: 3, 5, 7, 9 Column Halls: Status and Hierarchy in a Confucius Society, 7 December 2019
        • China Under the Covers - ​A Bookbinder’s Journey to the Roots of Books 11 January, 2020
        • Lunar New Year Lunch, 1 February, 2020
        • Early Phonetic Rendering Schemes for Chinese Characters, 7 March 2020
        • The Garden of Elk Rock at Bishop's Close, 4 April 2020
      • 2018 - 2019 Season >
        • Quick Preview of Season 2018 - 2019
        • Season Schedule 2018 - 2019
        • Notable Women of Portland, 8 September 2018
        • Mooncakes: A Hallmark of Tradition of the Mid-Autumn Festival, 6 October 2020
        • Music: A Universal Language for Healing and Touching the Soul, 3 November 2018
        • China: In the Pursuit of Happiness, 1 December 2019
        • Babur's Gardens: An Illustrated Introduction, 5 January 2019
        • Chinese New Year Lunch 2 February, 2019
        • Living with Penjing: Three Dimensional Poetry, 2 March 2019
        • Discovering the Intellectual and Sensory Essences of Chinese Literati Gardens, 6 April 2019
        • Sino-Japanese Cultural Connections in the Yuan Dynasty, 4 May 2019 ​​
      • 2017 - 2018 Season >
        • Quick Preview of Season 2017 - 2018
        • Season Schedule 2017 - 2018
        • Developing Patronage: Chinese and Asian Pacific Heritage, 9 September 2017
        • Every Plant Has a Story to Tell: Bamboo, 7 October 2017
        • Wonders to Enjoy: Chinese Snuff Bottles, 4 November 2017
        • Sichuan Shadow Theater: Messages from Hell Courts, 2 December 2017
        • Legacy of the Qing Manchu Culture: The Sibe of Northwest China, 6 January 2018
        • Chinese New Year Brunch, 3 February 2018
        • Classical Tradition: Ancient Musical Instruments of China, 3 March 2018
        • Ancient Traders of the Silk Road: The Uyghur People of Xinjiang, 7 April 2018
        • "Poetic Exposition on Heaven and Earth": A Third-Century Chinese Verse on How the Cosmos Began, 28 April 2018
        • Word Play: The Art of Xu Bing, 2 June 2018
      • 2016 - 2017 Season >
        • Preview of Season 2016 - 2017
        • Season Schedule 2016 - 2017
        • Contemporary Chinese Society: A View from the Films of Zhang Yimou, 6 May 2017
        • The Uyghurs: History of a People at the Center of Asia, Part 1, 4 March 2017
        • Chinese New Year Brunch, 4 February 2017
        • Tea Poetry of the Tang Dynasty, 3 June 2017
      • 2015 - 2016 Season >
        • Season Schedule 2015 - 2016
        • Guzheng and Erhu: A Dialog Between the Strings, 2 April 2016
      • 2014 - 2015 Season >
        • Season Schedule 2014 - 2015
      • 2013 - 2014 Season
      • 2012 - 2013 Season
      • 2011 - 2012 Season
      • 2010 - 2011 Season
      • 2009 - 2010 Season
      • 2008 - 2009 Season
      • 2007 - 2008 Season
      • 2006 - 2007 Season
      • 2005 - 2006 Season
  • Videos
  • Partners
  • Join our Email List
  • Contact Us
  • Volunteer
  • Zoom!
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​2013 – 2014 Season          
​The Fragrance of Discovery


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Carving Authority and Creating History
Dan Lucas
September 14, 2013


For over 3,000 years in China, chops and seals have been used in lieu of signatures on personal and official documents, contracts, and art for acknowledgement or authorship.  Seals are carved from various materials and used with red cinnabar paste.  The carving and collecting of chops was a part of the Chinese literati milieu.  Today, this ancient art is kept alive mostly by calligraphers and artists.  Dan Lucas provides a brief history of the art, how seals are made and used, and various examples.


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​Zhu Zaiyu:
A Ming Music Sage and Artist Genius

Dan Huynh
October 5, 2013


Learn why music is a science and a universal language.  Celebrating PSU’s new School of Music, Dan Huynh, longtime Garden docent, introduces a Ming prince, Zhu Zaiyu, a humanist dedicated to science and the art of music.  He developed the Theory of Equal Temperament in 1581, which influenced music worldwide and became the modern, universal standard tuning system for all instruments.

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The Art of Chinese Floral Arrangements:
History and Heritage

Mark Vossbrink
November 2, 2013


A skillfully executed Chinese floral arrangement is the equivalent of a painting that is not only pleasing to the eye, but also balanced in its composition, harmonious with nature, integrated into everyday surroundings, and not an aloof, dominant force.  Historically, this art form was stimulated by artistic pottery and porcelain advances in China.  Mark Vossbrink offers both an overview of this ancient Chinese art and a wealth of practical ideas for applying traditional methods within a contemporary setting.  With a nod to Suzhou, traditionally a center for gardening and floral arts in China, explore flower symbolism and the selection of blossoms for their nobility, charm, and distinct beauty.


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Clay Vessel-Flute (Xun):
An Ancient Dragon Egg-like Instrument

Juwen Zhang
December 7, 2013


This presentation will focus on the xun, a wind instrument of China with a very ancient heritage going back to the legendary Bao Xin Gong or Fuxi, the first male ancestor in Chinese mythology.  Several of these baked clay instruments were found in the unearthing of the terra cotta soldiers at Xian.  Dr. Juwen Zhang details the making and playing of this popular folk instrument as well as its cultural symbolism.

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Chinese New Year Brunch: 
Welcoming the Year of the  Horse
  
馬 , 4712 

First Saturday PDX Planning Committee
​January 18, 2014

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Yuanmingyuan, Garden of Perfect Brightness
Lillian Li
February 1, 2014


Learn about Yuanmingyuan, the Garden of Perfect Brightness, an imperial palace paradise for the Qing court.  The historical importance lies in how Anglo-French troops pillaged, looted, and destroyed the garden in 1860 following the Second Opium War.  It has become a symbol of China’s subjugation to foreign powers in the 19th century, and hence, a focal point of modern Chinese nationalism.  Enjoy a fascinating visual account of the history, environmental aesthetics, art, politics, and symbolism of a unique and lost national cultural treasure.

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Lamas, Khans and Emperors:
​Masterworks of Tibetan Buddhist Art and Architecture from China, Mongolia and Tibet

Kevin Greenwood
March 1, 2014


The relationship between China and Tibet has a long, complex, and interconnected history.  Dr. Kevin Greenwood highlights those connections as exemplified in great masterworks of Tibetan Buddhist art and architecture that were made for and sometimes by the most important religious and political figures of their eras: reincarnate lams, great khans, and emperors.



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Hell Scrolls:
​Death, Redemption, and Remembrance Illustrated

Kenneth Brashier
April 5, 2014


From a collection of 10 hell scrolls spanning the past three centuries, we take a journey to gain an understanding of the Chinese notions of hell, its underworld courts, and gruesome retributions.  Dr. Kenneth Brashier guides us through the historical, artistic, and literary forces that gave hell its shape in China.

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Portland’s Other Chinese Gardens:
​Organic Vegetable Farmers

Tracy J. Prince
May 3, 2014


During her research of Goose Hollow and Slabtown, Dr. Tracy Prince discovered an intriguing chapter of the city’s history about the Chinese community, and their gardening and farming activities, which impacted the development of the city a century ago.  Through many never before seen photographs, learn about these “other” Chinese gardens in some of our oldest neighborhoods.


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Nurture and Healing:
​Chinese Medicine for Summer

Elise Wong
June 14, 2014


Traditional Chinese medicine practices, including herbal medicine, acupuncture, massage, exercise, and dietary therapy, share common concepts developed in China and based on a tradition of more than 2,000 years.  Dr. Elise Wong explains the philosophy of treating the individual rather than the disease through insight and nurturing, and how practices, while carried forward, have evolved between the pre- and current Communist eras.  Dr. Wong focuses on Chinese medicine for summer with a topical account of nurturing and healing.


Our educational program series has been developed in collaboration with PSU’s Institute for Asian Studies, and is free of charge and open to the public.​  

View our regular monthly location by clicking on the address below for directions:  
Portland State University, Academic & Student Recreation Ctr (ASRC),  Room 230
1800 SW 6th Ave, Portland OR 97201

Excellent MAX and bus transportation is right by the venue; plan your Trimet trip HERE.   There is also a nearby parking structure at SW 6th and Harrison with an entrance on 6th Avenue is also available.
View PSU Parking info:  

https://www.pdx.edu/transportation/hourly-visitor-parking​​​​
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​​First Saturday PDX 
​(Monthly onsite meeting location)
Portland State University, Academic & Student Rec. Ctr  (ASRC),  Rm 230 
1800 SW
 6th Ave, Portland OR 97201
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​© 2014 - 2021  First Saturday PDX
  • Welcome to First Saturday PDX
  • Current Season (2020 - 2021)
    • Quick Preview of Season 2020 - 2021
    • Season Schedule 2020 - 2021 >
      • Collecting Under Socialism: Philately in 1950s China, 12 September, 2020
      • Myriad Treasures: Celebrating the Reinstallation of the Soreng Gallery of Chinese Art Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art, 3 October, 2020
      • The Real Mulan? Tales of a Female Rebel in 18th century China 7 November, 2020
      • Spice it Up! ​How the Chile Pepper Flavored Chinese Culture 5 December, 2020
      • A Century of Collecting Chinese Painting at Oberlin College 9 January, 2021 ​
  • PAST SEASONS & PROGRAMS
    • Past Seasons & Program Highlights >
      • Season 2019 - 2020 >
        • CNY/ 20th Anni 2021
        • Quick Preview of Season 2019 - 2020
        • Season Schedule 2019 - 2020
        • Mawangdui: The Tomb of China’s Sleeping Beauty, 7 December 2019
        • Field Notes from Sichuan: Learning To Be a Foreigner, 5 October 2019
        • In Search of Korean Liberation in China, 2 November 2019
        • From an Architect's Perspective: 3, 5, 7, 9 Column Halls: Status and Hierarchy in a Confucius Society, 7 December 2019
        • China Under the Covers - ​A Bookbinder’s Journey to the Roots of Books 11 January, 2020
        • Lunar New Year Lunch, 1 February, 2020
        • Early Phonetic Rendering Schemes for Chinese Characters, 7 March 2020
        • The Garden of Elk Rock at Bishop's Close, 4 April 2020
      • 2018 - 2019 Season >
        • Quick Preview of Season 2018 - 2019
        • Season Schedule 2018 - 2019
        • Notable Women of Portland, 8 September 2018
        • Mooncakes: A Hallmark of Tradition of the Mid-Autumn Festival, 6 October 2020
        • Music: A Universal Language for Healing and Touching the Soul, 3 November 2018
        • China: In the Pursuit of Happiness, 1 December 2019
        • Babur's Gardens: An Illustrated Introduction, 5 January 2019
        • Chinese New Year Lunch 2 February, 2019
        • Living with Penjing: Three Dimensional Poetry, 2 March 2019
        • Discovering the Intellectual and Sensory Essences of Chinese Literati Gardens, 6 April 2019
        • Sino-Japanese Cultural Connections in the Yuan Dynasty, 4 May 2019 ​​
      • 2017 - 2018 Season >
        • Quick Preview of Season 2017 - 2018
        • Season Schedule 2017 - 2018
        • Developing Patronage: Chinese and Asian Pacific Heritage, 9 September 2017
        • Every Plant Has a Story to Tell: Bamboo, 7 October 2017
        • Wonders to Enjoy: Chinese Snuff Bottles, 4 November 2017
        • Sichuan Shadow Theater: Messages from Hell Courts, 2 December 2017
        • Legacy of the Qing Manchu Culture: The Sibe of Northwest China, 6 January 2018
        • Chinese New Year Brunch, 3 February 2018
        • Classical Tradition: Ancient Musical Instruments of China, 3 March 2018
        • Ancient Traders of the Silk Road: The Uyghur People of Xinjiang, 7 April 2018
        • "Poetic Exposition on Heaven and Earth": A Third-Century Chinese Verse on How the Cosmos Began, 28 April 2018
        • Word Play: The Art of Xu Bing, 2 June 2018
      • 2016 - 2017 Season >
        • Preview of Season 2016 - 2017
        • Season Schedule 2016 - 2017
        • Contemporary Chinese Society: A View from the Films of Zhang Yimou, 6 May 2017
        • The Uyghurs: History of a People at the Center of Asia, Part 1, 4 March 2017
        • Chinese New Year Brunch, 4 February 2017
        • Tea Poetry of the Tang Dynasty, 3 June 2017
      • 2015 - 2016 Season >
        • Season Schedule 2015 - 2016
        • Guzheng and Erhu: A Dialog Between the Strings, 2 April 2016
      • 2014 - 2015 Season >
        • Season Schedule 2014 - 2015
      • 2013 - 2014 Season
      • 2012 - 2013 Season
      • 2011 - 2012 Season
      • 2010 - 2011 Season
      • 2009 - 2010 Season
      • 2008 - 2009 Season
      • 2007 - 2008 Season
      • 2006 - 2007 Season
      • 2005 - 2006 Season
  • Videos
  • Partners
  • Join our Email List
  • Contact Us
  • Volunteer
  • Zoom!