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2018 - 2019 Schedule         



Welcome to another First Saturday PDX season of sharing China-related subjects. We have a new collection of programs beginning 8 September, 2018 running through 1 June, 2019.
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​Notable Women of Portland
Tracy Prince & Zadie Schoffer
September 8, 2018   9:30 - 11:00 am​

Based on their recent book, Notable Women of Portland (Images of America), the authors will uncover overlooked parts of Portland history by focusing on women who shaped Oregon.  While highlighting Chinese American stories, there will also be references to more than 10,000 years of the contributions of  women in Native American, pioneer, Progressive Era, World War I, World War II, and post-war history, as well as arts and politics.   
Further information and images here ​
Mooncakes: A Hallmark of Tradition of the Mid-Autumn Festival
Beebee Tam-Beck       
October 6, 2018     10:30 am - 12:00 pm  (please note change in time)
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The Mid-Autumn Moon Festival has customarily been an occasion to celebrate the moon and the sharing and eating of mooncakes among family and friends to signify completeness and unity of family. This program will include the history and a demonstration of the  traditional tools and making of this favored pastry.
Further information and images here
​Further information and images here
Music:  A Universal Language for Healing and Touching the Human Soul
Hong Chou & Brea Murakami
November 3, 2018     9:30 - 11:30 am (extended presentation)
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Join us for a presentation about the therapeutic use of music in China's history by the founder and director of The Wave Elements Global Music Organization and the Pacific Violin Academy.  References will be made to traditional and current scientific findings.

​China:  In the Pursuit of Happiness
Wendy Larson
December 1, 2018      9:30 - 11:00 am

Through popular culture, literature, and film, the topic of happiness will be investigated as it was discussed by Chinese citizens and promoted by the state, from the 1950's to the present day.  We will look at the 1963 debate on happiness in "China Youth," and trace different perspectives and what they mean in the context of Chinese society.
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Further information and images here

Babur's Gardens:  An illustrated Introduction
Stephen Dale 
January 5,  2019      9:30 - 11:00 am

Babur, the first Mughal Emperor of India, was a descendant of both Timur and Chinggis Khan, thus part Turk and part Mongol. He was a native of the Ferganah Valley in current Uzbekistan where the Han sought to procure the famous “blood sweating” or “heavenly” horses. This illustrated lecture will focus on Babur’s famous Gardens, showing the cultural link between India and China.
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Further information and images here
Chinese New Year Lunch:  Welcoming the Year of the Earth Pig 猪, 4717  
First Saturday PDX Planning Committee
February ​2, 2019      12:30 - 2:30 pm ​

Join First Saturday to welcome in Chinese Lunar New Year 4717 and to share a traditional New Year meal with friends at the Szechuan Chef Restaurant.   There will be items to be raffled and a silent auction.  
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Further information and images here 
​​Living with Penjing:  Three Dimensional Poetry
Mark Vossbrink
March 2, 2019     9:30 - 11:00 am​
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Penjing are dwarf potted landscapes, living poetic sculptures.  In each, art and nature combine to capture the spirit of both.  Join us for a talk about the aesthetics of this art form  and a demonstration of the composition of Chinese penjing.  
​Further information and images  here 
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Discovering the Intellectual and Sensory Essences of  Chinese Literati Gardens  
Seasoned Garden Docents
April 6, 2019     9:30 - 11:00 am

Lan Su Chinese Garden is a special gift, offering Portland residents and worldwide visitors an "urban oasis of tranquil beauty and harmony."  It is an authentic literati or scholar’s garden with subtle, concealed meanings designed to "make large what is small" and vice a versa.    Join us to enjoy spring in a specially arranged private tour of the Garden. 
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​Further information here 
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Sino-Japanese Cultural Connections in the Yuan Dynasty ​
Yoshiaki Shimizu
 May 4, 2019      9:30 - 11:00 am
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Learn about a unique period of cultural exchanges between Japan and China.  In the Yuan dynasty when the political control of China was under the Mongols, the cultural relations established during the thirteenth and part of the fourteenth centuries between Japan and China were the longest and the closest experiences in the area of religion and arts between the two countries. Japanese visitors and Buddhist pilgrims studied in China for months and sometimes years. Such bi-national encounters profoundly transformed Japan's subsequent history.
​Further information and images here 
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Five Centuries of Overseas Chinese Architectural Designs
David Kohl  - RESCHEDULED
June 1, 2019      9:30 - 11:00 am
​An illustrated lecture of offshore Chinese architecture developed by Chinese sojourners since the days of East India Companies who lived in locales such as Singapore, Macao, San Francisco, Malacca, Melbourne, Amsterdam and Djakarta.  Discover some common elements and factors, which influenced the construction of temples, clan houses, gardens, and Chinatowns.
Our instructive program series has been developed in collaboration with PSU’s Institute for Asian Studies, and is free and open to the public.  We are also pleased to partner with Northwest China Council with their technical support.

View our regular monthly location,  9:30 - 11:00 am  (click on address 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​