2014-2015 Schedule
Sojourns in Clear Ripples
Distilling the Essence of Chinese Poetic Gardens
Maihwa Frances Li, Docent,
Portland Lan Su Chinese Garden
September 13, 2014
The classical Chinese garden, often represented by the literati (poetic) gardens in Suzhou, is considered an artful expression of Chinese thought, culture and refinement. What are the elements which embody the concepts of yin and yang through the harmonious arrangement of contrasting elements in such traditional poetic gardens? Learn how design and material selection can be used to convey ideas about humans and the natural world. Maihwa Frances Li will share insights from her several visits to China, including Suzhou, Portland’s sister city.
Maihwa Frances Li, Docent,
Portland Lan Su Chinese Garden
September 13, 2014
The classical Chinese garden, often represented by the literati (poetic) gardens in Suzhou, is considered an artful expression of Chinese thought, culture and refinement. What are the elements which embody the concepts of yin and yang through the harmonious arrangement of contrasting elements in such traditional poetic gardens? Learn how design and material selection can be used to convey ideas about humans and the natural world. Maihwa Frances Li will share insights from her several visits to China, including Suzhou, Portland’s sister city.
Folklore, Asian American Identity, and Cultural Heritage
Dr. Juwen Zhang
October 4, 2014
Cultural heritage not only encompasses monuments and objects, but also non-physical aspects of a particular culture (Intangible Culture Heritage, ICH) often maintained by social values and practices, traditions, customs, expressions, and beliefs which are passed on between generations. While often fragile, intangible cultural heritage is important in maintaining cultural diversity in the face of growing globalization. An understanding of the ICH of different communities helps with intercultural dialogue, and encourages mutual respect for other ways of life. The safeguarding of cultural intangibles includes the study of folklore, which is the focus of this presentation. What is folklore? Who are the folk? How can folklore be essential to Asian American Identity? Why is cultural heritage widely talked about nowadays? What ICH is being transformed cross-culturally in the USA and why is cultural sustainability becoming a hot topic? Through this program, Dr. Juwen Zhang will attempt to answer these questions by linking those ideas to our own everyday practices.
Dr. Juwen Zhang
October 4, 2014
Cultural heritage not only encompasses monuments and objects, but also non-physical aspects of a particular culture (Intangible Culture Heritage, ICH) often maintained by social values and practices, traditions, customs, expressions, and beliefs which are passed on between generations. While often fragile, intangible cultural heritage is important in maintaining cultural diversity in the face of growing globalization. An understanding of the ICH of different communities helps with intercultural dialogue, and encourages mutual respect for other ways of life. The safeguarding of cultural intangibles includes the study of folklore, which is the focus of this presentation. What is folklore? Who are the folk? How can folklore be essential to Asian American Identity? Why is cultural heritage widely talked about nowadays? What ICH is being transformed cross-culturally in the USA and why is cultural sustainability becoming a hot topic? Through this program, Dr. Juwen Zhang will attempt to answer these questions by linking those ideas to our own everyday practices.
Paintings, Poetry and Politics in Beijing’s Southern City, 1770-2014
Dr. Michele Matteini
November 1, 2014
A look at the cultural life in a Beijing neighborhood from 1770 to 2014, a very special place of art and politics during the Qing Dynasty, the Revolutionary Era, and modern times. By the turn of the 19th century, Beijing’s Southern City (Xuannan District) had become synonymous with the thriving urban culture, enterprising scholarly elite, and cosmopolitan character of the Qing capital. Today, Xuannan evokes the nostalgic accounts of Republican-period “Old Beijing,” but the significance of the neighborhood cannot be fully understood without taking into account its early history. This presentation by Dr. Michele Matteini examines the making of Xuannan as a site of cultural production in the context of High Qing China (ca. 1770s-1820s). With a focus on the pictorial and literary representation of Xuannan, we will explore how an image of Xuannan was first constructed and disseminated across the city of Beijing and the empire.
Dr. Michele Matteini
November 1, 2014
A look at the cultural life in a Beijing neighborhood from 1770 to 2014, a very special place of art and politics during the Qing Dynasty, the Revolutionary Era, and modern times. By the turn of the 19th century, Beijing’s Southern City (Xuannan District) had become synonymous with the thriving urban culture, enterprising scholarly elite, and cosmopolitan character of the Qing capital. Today, Xuannan evokes the nostalgic accounts of Republican-period “Old Beijing,” but the significance of the neighborhood cannot be fully understood without taking into account its early history. This presentation by Dr. Michele Matteini examines the making of Xuannan as a site of cultural production in the context of High Qing China (ca. 1770s-1820s). With a focus on the pictorial and literary representation of Xuannan, we will explore how an image of Xuannan was first constructed and disseminated across the city of Beijing and the empire.
Confucian Sacred Landscapes
Dr. Linda Walton
December 6, 2014
The concept of ‘sacred landscape’ is not commonly associated with Confucianism. Dr. Linda Walton will explore this notion along with the concept of numinosity (ling) by focusing on the academy (shuyuan), the Confucian counterpart to Buddhist and Daoist institutions. Beginning with the establishment of shrines to Neo-Confucian scholars at academies founded during the Song (960-1279), we will examine the construction of sacred space at sites associated with these scholars: where they were born, held office, or taught students. Shrines were often the centerpieces of academies, and as scholars traveled among these academies, a kind of pilgrimage route of Neo-Confucian sites evolved. This tradition continued throughout the later imperial period, well into the late Qing (1644-1911), but we will jump from the Song into the early 21st century to conclude with a look at the restoration of Neo-Confucian academies in contemporary China. How are ideas about Confucian tradition being revived today through the reconstruction of academies as sites of cultural heritage tourism? Can we still use the concept of sacred landscape to describe how these sites are understood?
Dr. Linda Walton
December 6, 2014
The concept of ‘sacred landscape’ is not commonly associated with Confucianism. Dr. Linda Walton will explore this notion along with the concept of numinosity (ling) by focusing on the academy (shuyuan), the Confucian counterpart to Buddhist and Daoist institutions. Beginning with the establishment of shrines to Neo-Confucian scholars at academies founded during the Song (960-1279), we will examine the construction of sacred space at sites associated with these scholars: where they were born, held office, or taught students. Shrines were often the centerpieces of academies, and as scholars traveled among these academies, a kind of pilgrimage route of Neo-Confucian sites evolved. This tradition continued throughout the later imperial period, well into the late Qing (1644-1911), but we will jump from the Song into the early 21st century to conclude with a look at the restoration of Neo-Confucian academies in contemporary China. How are ideas about Confucian tradition being revived today through the reconstruction of academies as sites of cultural heritage tourism? Can we still use the concept of sacred landscape to describe how these sites are understood?
Journey With the Uyghur Culture in Xinjiang, China
Dr. Tugrul Keskin,
Professor of International and Middle Eastern Studies, PSU
January 10, 2015
Learn about Xinjiang, a region in northwest China, its Uyghur people, and its long history of trade, commerce, and a coming together of disparate cultures, leading to cultural exchanges in ideas and precious goods between East and West along the Silk Road. Beaten into the land by traders' caravans and conquering legions about 2,000 years ago, it was the interstate highway of the ancient world, a crossroad between different civilizations. Xinjiang is also the homeland for the Uyghur culture, a large minority Turkic ethnic group living in Eastern and Central Asia. Dr. Tugrul Keskin and Yierfan Aierken, a student from Xinjiang attending PSU, will introduce us to some of the history and flavors of this region and share with us the culture of the Uyghur people in helping us understand their developmental journey towards modernization in the “New Frontier.”
Dr. Tugrul Keskin,
Professor of International and Middle Eastern Studies, PSU
January 10, 2015
Learn about Xinjiang, a region in northwest China, its Uyghur people, and its long history of trade, commerce, and a coming together of disparate cultures, leading to cultural exchanges in ideas and precious goods between East and West along the Silk Road. Beaten into the land by traders' caravans and conquering legions about 2,000 years ago, it was the interstate highway of the ancient world, a crossroad between different civilizations. Xinjiang is also the homeland for the Uyghur culture, a large minority Turkic ethnic group living in Eastern and Central Asia. Dr. Tugrul Keskin and Yierfan Aierken, a student from Xinjiang attending PSU, will introduce us to some of the history and flavors of this region and share with us the culture of the Uyghur people in helping us understand their developmental journey towards modernization in the “New Frontier.”
Chinese New Year Brunch: Welcoming the Year of the Ram 羊 , 4713
First Saturday PDX Planning Committee
February 7, 2015
A special celebration of reunion.
Venue: Szechuan Chef Restaurant, 5331 SW Macadam Ave, #115, Portland, OR 97239.
Chinese New Year Brunch: Welcoming the Year of the Ram 羊 , 4713
First Saturday PDX Planning Committee
February 7, 2015
A special celebration of reunion.
Venue: Szechuan Chef Restaurant, 5331 SW Macadam Ave, #115, Portland, OR 97239.
Music of the Guqin:
Introduction and Musical Rendition
Jim Binkley
March 7, 2015
The qin is an ancient, plucked seven-string musical instrument of China, traditionally favored by scholars as an instrument of great subtlety and refinement. It is the “instrument of the sages” associated with Confucius. Professor Binkley will provide a short overview of the history and nature of the music composed for the qin as well as playing some tunes which are on the order of Southern Sung or “older” and Ming. Unlike western music, the pieces tend to have some set of one or more memes associated with them.
Introduction and Musical Rendition
Jim Binkley
March 7, 2015
The qin is an ancient, plucked seven-string musical instrument of China, traditionally favored by scholars as an instrument of great subtlety and refinement. It is the “instrument of the sages” associated with Confucius. Professor Binkley will provide a short overview of the history and nature of the music composed for the qin as well as playing some tunes which are on the order of Southern Sung or “older” and Ming. Unlike western music, the pieces tend to have some set of one or more memes associated with them.
The American Chinese Experience
Dr. Jacqueline Peterson-Loomis
Retired WSU History Professor
April 4, 2015
A report on two exhibits to be held in January, 2016 at the Oregon Historical Society about the history of the American Chinese experiences in the U.S. One a national traveling exhibition, “American Chinese: Exclusion/Inclusion” organized by the NY Historical Society in collaboration with the Museum of Chinese in America; and another, which is locally curated with OHS support “History of Portland’s Chinatowns” (second largest in the nation during the 19th century) the developed in conjunction with the Chinese Elders Book Project.
Dr. Jacqueline Peterson-Loomis
Retired WSU History Professor
April 4, 2015
A report on two exhibits to be held in January, 2016 at the Oregon Historical Society about the history of the American Chinese experiences in the U.S. One a national traveling exhibition, “American Chinese: Exclusion/Inclusion” organized by the NY Historical Society in collaboration with the Museum of Chinese in America; and another, which is locally curated with OHS support “History of Portland’s Chinatowns” (second largest in the nation during the 19th century) the developed in conjunction with the Chinese Elders Book Project.
Negotiating Cultures: Chinese Christian Converts in the Ming-Qing Era
Dr. Desmond Cheung
PSU Assistant Professor of History
May 2, 2015
The Ming-Qing transition in the 17th century saw the birth of the first substantial communities of Chinese Christians, which were drawn from nearly all levels of society. Although European missionaries were crucial in introducing the ‘foreign’ religion, numerous converts also played important roles in translating and adapting it to fit in their own culture as well as in the debates over the compatibility of Christianity in China. Dr. Desmond Cheung will present some of the key questions in this important history of intercultural dialogue and its continued relevance thereafter.
Dr. Desmond Cheung
PSU Assistant Professor of History
May 2, 2015
The Ming-Qing transition in the 17th century saw the birth of the first substantial communities of Chinese Christians, which were drawn from nearly all levels of society. Although European missionaries were crucial in introducing the ‘foreign’ religion, numerous converts also played important roles in translating and adapting it to fit in their own culture as well as in the debates over the compatibility of Christianity in China. Dr. Desmond Cheung will present some of the key questions in this important history of intercultural dialogue and its continued relevance thereafter.
Guardians of the Dharma, or of the Empire?:
Pacific University's Luohan handscroll by Zhou Xun (1649-1729)
Dr. Ann Wetherell, PSU Adjunct Professor of Art History
June 13, 2015
This talk explores an unpublished handscroll of Buddhist luohans ('stream crossers') in the collection of Pacific University. Signed by the professional artist Zhou Xun, who worked in Nanjing in the early part of the Qing dynasty, this energetic painting has much in common with the gently humorous images of luohans that gained popularity in the late Ming and Qing periods. However, aspects of this painting, in light of the biography of the artist, suggest a darker message of protest against the Manchu state.
Pacific University's Luohan handscroll by Zhou Xun (1649-1729)
Dr. Ann Wetherell, PSU Adjunct Professor of Art History
June 13, 2015
This talk explores an unpublished handscroll of Buddhist luohans ('stream crossers') in the collection of Pacific University. Signed by the professional artist Zhou Xun, who worked in Nanjing in the early part of the Qing dynasty, this energetic painting has much in common with the gently humorous images of luohans that gained popularity in the late Ming and Qing periods. However, aspects of this painting, in light of the biography of the artist, suggest a darker message of protest against the Manchu state.
Our educational program series has been developed in collaboration with PSU’s Institute for Asian Studies, and is free and open to the public. First Saturday PDX full season schedule and descriptions available HERE
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
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
