Please note that registration is required for access to any online streaming (Zoom) presentations and also for in-person events to give us a head count . This information will be available on the Upcoming Presentation page and program announcements, when applicable. We look forward to you joining us!
2022 - 2023 Season Schedule
Welcome to the First Saturday PDX 2022 - 2023 season! This collection of programs will be a hybrid group, with in person programs and online presentations. Although all our events are free, registration is required for each event; available on the Upcoming Presentation page.
This season we have China-related subjects involving a trip to the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art in Eugene, a comparison of Gidget and Lin Daojing from the 1950's, exploring the Central Asian Textiles of the Silk Road, an in person gathering around the dim sum brunch table, the Role of Women in the the History of Tea in China, the Late Qing Expansion in Sichuan's Tibetan Borderlands, a look at Chinese Calligraphy, and the story of the Massacre at Hell's Canyon, followed by a half hour of further discussion and socializing in our virtual First Saturday PDX Tea House for the online programs, or lunch family style at a Chinese restaurant for in person programs. This season begins on 10 September, 2022 running through 3 June, 2023.
This season we have China-related subjects involving a trip to the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art in Eugene, a comparison of Gidget and Lin Daojing from the 1950's, exploring the Central Asian Textiles of the Silk Road, an in person gathering around the dim sum brunch table, the Role of Women in the the History of Tea in China, the Late Qing Expansion in Sichuan's Tibetan Borderlands, a look at Chinese Calligraphy, and the story of the Massacre at Hell's Canyon, followed by a half hour of further discussion and socializing in our virtual First Saturday PDX Tea House for the online programs, or lunch family style at a Chinese restaurant for in person programs. This season begins on 10 September, 2022 running through 3 June, 2023.
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A Visit to the Soreng Gallery of Chinese Art at the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art
Anne Rose Kitagawa and Ina Asim 10 September, 2022 Renowned for its large and important assemblage of Chinese art, the JSMA’s holdings include one of America's most impressive collections of court textiles, along with superlative examples of traditional Chinese painting, sculpture, ceramics, jade, glass, lacquer, metalwork, furniture, and a small, but growing selection of contemporary Chinese objects. We will have a guided tour of the Soreng Gallery and have access to the adjacent galleries of Japanese and Korean Art. Further information and images here |
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China’s Last Imperial Frontier:
Late Qing Expansion in Sichuan’s Tibetan Borderlands Xiuyu Wang, PhD 15 October, 2022 Dr Xiuyu Wang speaks to us on Qing China’s attempt to integrate eastern Tibet at the turn of the nineteenth century. Dr Wang draws on archival and ethnographic research to analyze the interactions between local authorities in Eastern Tibet and Qing imperial officials during the region's incorporation in the 19th and 20th centuries. Further information here Video here |
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Girls with Big Ideas: Gidget and Song of Youth
Wendy Larson, PhD 5 November, 2022 Published within a year of each other in the late 1950s, Yang Mo’s Song of Youth and Frederick Kohner’s Gidget became wildly successful cultural phenomena, one in China and the other in the United States. Both were made into films shortly after publication, expanding their influence. Dr Larson considers both novels and in an uncanny comparison, the young protagonists Lin Daojing and Gidget similarly defy the gender expectations of their times. They fight inequality with an optimistic state of mind, which tells us a great deal about the respective environments in which they live. Further information here Video here |
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First Saturday PDX's Dim Sum/
Yum Cha Brunch First Saturday Planning Committee 19 November, 2022 |
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It's been too long since we have gotten together in person and we think it's time to rectify that! Come join First Saturday PDX for dim sum - a casual no host brunch (approx. $20/ person) where we catch up over many small dishes of "heart's delight".
Further information here |
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Following the Thread: China Along the Silk Road
Mariachiara Gasparini, PhD 3 December, 2022 As a non-verbal form of communication, textile material and wall painting representations provide a different perspective on the intercultural and artistic interaction along the so-called Silk Road between China and the “outside” world. Dr. Gasparini will discuss the development of silk production and its use in China and the acquisition of foreign cotton and wool and their interplay over the centuries beyond their religious Buddhist consumption. Further information here |
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The Chinese Massacre in Hells Canyon
R. Gregory Nokes 7 January, 2023 Hundreds of thousands of Chinese men journeyed across the Pacific to American shores in the 1800s, seeking a better life, for themselves and their families in China. Covered up at the time, and long-forgotten since, the massacre of nearly three-dozen Chinese gold miners in Oregon’s Hells Canyon in 1887 stands as one of the worst crimes in Oregon history. Gregory Nokes reveals how a gang of white horse thieves robbed them of their gold, killed them all, and threw their bodies into the Snake River in what can only be understood as a savage act of racial hatred. Further information here |
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Spring Banquet Lunch/ Auction Fundraiser
First Saturday PDX Planning Committee 18 February, 2023 12:15 - 2:30 pm First Saturday PDX invites you to attend our annual 10 course banquet lunch and fundraiser at Happy Dragon Chinese Restaurant at 707 NE 82nd Ave, Portland Oregon 97220. Join us while we celebrate our continuing programs, the new year and the coming spring with friends and family. Our silent auction and raffle items await your knowledgeable bidding! Further information here. |
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"Model Letters" and the Audiences of Calligraphy in Early Modern China
Dr Lei Xue March 4, 2023 Shutiaoshi (书条石), stone slabs with engraved calligraphy, are commonly found in Chinese gardens. Join First Saturday PDX as Dr Lei Xue shows us how these stones were once made to produce compendia of ink rubbings, known as fatie, which served as copybooks for calligraphers. While the trend of installing these stones on walls in gardens may have had earlier precedents, it was largely reinvented during a politically charged interaction between the Machu emperor Qianlong (r. 1735–96) and cultural elites in the Jiangnan region. The display of shutiaoshu in gardens also presaged a modern form of spectatorship that differs from the traditional way of viewing calligraphy. |
Further information here |
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Women in the History of Tea in China
Dr. James Benn 1 April, 2023 Women are often entirely absent from historical accounts of tea culture in China, yet that absence defies common sense. Women in premodern China, picked and processed tea leaves, they prepared and served tea for themselves or for others, they designed important items of teaware, and they had opinions on rituals around tea. In this talk, Dr Benn will look at the surviving sources from the Tang dynasty onwards in order to reveal a more balanced portrayal of women in the history of Chinese tea. Further information here Video here |
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Tea and Wine: A New Look at the Song Dynasty Poetry of Li Qingzhao 李清照
Melody Ren, MA 13 May, 2023 Melody Ren discusses how one of the greatest (female) poets in China from the Song Dynasty (960 - 1279) made a significant contribution to Chinese literature. Her poems referencing tea and wine, which held great cultural value in the Song Dynasty, offer a glimpse into the emotional depth and complexity associated with the consumption of these beverages. Further information here Video here |
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Summer in the Garden of Awakening Orchids
Lan Su Chinese Garden and First Saturday PDX Committee 3 June, 2023 We take an in person early summer stroll through the beautiful Garden of Awakening Orchids also know as Lan Su Chinese Garden, accompanied by seasoned docents to walk us through the significant details of the architecture, inscriptions, and flora. Join us for lunch afterwards! Further information here |
Our instructive program series has been developed with support by PSU’s Institute for Asian Studies, Northwest China Council, Lan Su Chinese Garden and Portland Chinatown Museum. It is free and open to the public.
