FIRST SATURDAY PDX
  • "For Here or To Go?" - A Conversation with Curtis Chin, June 28, 2025
  • Season 2024 - 2025
    • Quick Preview of Season 2024 - 2025
    • Season Schedule (2024 - 2025)
    • Lesser and Well Known Chinese Species at Hoyt Arboretum 14 September, 2024
    • OCTOBER DIM SUM/ YUM CHA BRUNCH, 12 October, 2024
    • Heroism and Survival: Women’s Daily Lives in Japanese-occupied Shanghai (1937-1945), 2 November, 2024
    • Collecting Stories: Chinese Art through the Historians' Lens​, 7 December, 2024
    • Imperialism, Architecture, and Oberlin College: A Brief History of the "Golden Temple" , 4 January, 2025
    • 2 Feb 2025: Spring Banquet - Year of the Snake 4723
    • ​Down the Cultural Crosswords: The Chinese Dialect of Xining, 1 March, 2025
    • Chinese "Paintings of Beautiful Women" and their Global Circulation in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries, 5 April, 2025
    • Remembering the Dead in Late Medieval China (7th–10th c.), 10 May, 2025
    • "For Here or To Go?" - A Conversation with Curtis Chin, June 28, 2025
  • About First Saturday PDX
  • THE FIRST 20 YEARS
  • PAST SEASONS & PROGRAMS
    • Past Seasons & Program Highlights >
      • Season 2023 - 2024 >
        • Quick Preview of Season 2023 - 2024
        • Season Schedule (2023 - 2024)
        • * DIM SUM/ YUM CHA BRUNCH!! 9 September, 2023 *
        • A Question of Hu, 7 October 2023
        • "Mother of all Technologies": Accumulating Culture Through Chinese Textiles, PART 1 - November 4, 2023
        • "Mother of all Technologies": Accumulating Culture Through Chinese Textiles PART 2 - December 2, 2023
        • Xu Bing: Beyond the Book from the Sky, 6 January, 2024
        • Spring Banquet: Year of the Dragon 4722, 17 Feb, 2024
        • Year of the Dragon 4722
        • Making Hakka Women Visible: 6 April, 2024
        • Well Known and Lesser Known Chinese Species at Hoyt Arboretum - 4 May, 2024
        • Celestial Bridges: An Introduction to Architecture Over Water and Space From China's Past, Part One, 8 June, 2024
      • Season 2022 - 2023 >
        • Quick Preview of Season 2022 - 2023
        • Season Schedule (2022 - 2023)
        • A Visit to the Soreng Gallery of Chinese Art ​at the ​Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art​, 10 September, 2022
        • ​China’s Last Imperial Frontier: Late Qing Expansion in Sichuan’s Tibetan Borderlands 15 October, 2022
        • Girls with Big Ideas: Gidget and Song of Youth 5 November, 2022
        • * DIM SUM/ YUM CHA BRUNCH!! 19 November, 2022 *
        • Following the Thread: China Along the Road of Silk 3 December, 2022
        • The Chinese Massacre in Hells Canyon 7 January 2023
        • Year of the Rabbit 4721
        • Spring Fundraiser Banquet Lunch/ Auction 18 FEB, 2023
        • "Model Letters" and the Audiences of Calligraphy in Early Modern China , 4 March, 2023
        • Women in the History of Tea in in China, 1 April, 2023
        • Tea and Wine: A New Look at the Song Dynasty Poetry of Li Qingzhao (李清照), 13 May, 2023
        • Summer Tour of the Garden of Awakening Orchids: 3 June, 2023
        • 2 Feb, 2025 - Spring Banquet: Year of the Snake 4723
      • Season 2021 - 2022 >
        • Quick Preview of Season 2021 - 2022
        • Season Schedule 2021 - 2022
        • The Oregon Chinese Diaspora Project, 2 October 2021
        • Connecting to our Natural World: The Portland Botanical Gardens, 6 November 2021
        • Lan Su Chinese Garden: ​The Vision of a Classical Chinese Garden, 4 December 2021
        • ​Re-visioning ​Chinese History, ​900-1350: ​The New Look of Song and Yuan, 8 January, 2022
        • Chinese New Year 2022/ Year of the Tiger 4720, 5 February, 2022
        • Auspicious Seals and Chops, 5 February 2022
        • The Erhu and Erhu Music, 5 March, 2022
        • Pictorial Naturalism and "Truth": Contextualizing the Eleventh-century Luohan Sculptures of Lingyan Temple in China, 2 April, 2022
        • Celebrated Stories in Sichuan Shadow Theater,7 May, 2022
        • The Daode Jing's Forgotten Forebear: The Ancestral Cult 4 June, 2022
      • 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 ​
        • Chinese New Year 2021/ Year of the Ox 4719
        • Artistic Exchange Between China and Europe in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries 6 March, 2021
        • For Here or To Go : A Conversation with Curtis Chin, June 7, 2025
        • The Scholar’s Retreat: Loss and Resilience in the Chinese Landscape and Garden 3 April 2021
        • Simmering, Whisking, Steeping: Methods for Preparing and Consuming Tea in Premodern China
        • Silk and Sericulture: Beauty Inspired by a Social Contract
      • Season 2019 - 2020 >
        • 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
      • Season 2018 - 2019 >
        • 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 2018
        • 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 - Mark Vossbrink March 2, 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 ​​
      • Season 2017 - 2018 >
        • 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
      • Season 2016 - 2017 >
        • Quick Preview of Season 2016 - 2017
        • Season Schedule 2016 - 2017
        • Contemporary Chinese Society: A View from the Films of Zhang Yimou, 6 May 2017
        • Chinese New Year Brunch, 4 February 2017
        • The Uyghurs: History of a People at the Center of Asia, Part 1, 4 March 2017
        • Creating a Tea Aesthetic ​in Tang Verse, 3 June 2017
      • Season 2015 - 2016 >
        • Season Schedule 2015 - 2016
        • Guzheng and Erhu: A Dialog Between the Strings, 2 April 2016
      • Season 2014 - 2015 >
        • Season Schedule 2014 - 2015
      • Season 2013 - 2014 >
        • Nurture and Healing:​Chinese Medicine for Summer - Dr Elise Wong, 14 June, 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
  • Videos
  • Partners
  • Join our Email List/ Contact Us
  • Volunteer
  • Zoom!
  • Stop Asian Hate Resources

REMAINDER OF SEASON 2019 - 2020 DEFERRED


In this time of increasing concern, the safety and good health of our attendees , supporters, volunteers and their loved ones is our priority.  With that in mind, and following the Oregon Governor’s Executive Order issued March 23, 2020, we have cancelled the remainder of our 2019 – 2020 season.

We are looking toward the 2020 - 2021 season starting in September and look forward to seeing you then.  Please check back here for news and updates; subscribers can also receive updates via email. 

 
As a reminder, if you would like more information on COVID-19, please visit the OHA, CDC, or WHO websites, or contact your medical provider.  Please be mindful of any symptoms you may have, and take care of yourself and those around you. 

If you have any questions for First Saturday PDX, please don't hesitate to email us at

​
[email protected]. 
  
Wishing you good health, 
 
The First Saturday Program Planning Committee 

 




First Saturday
 PDX  
is a monthly opportunity to enrich our understanding and increase awareness of a wide range of China-related topics.  Free of charge, we provide presentations to cover arts and culture, history and international relations related to the Middle Kingdom.

 

​
quick season preview
current season schedule
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The history of First Saturday PDX  is deeply entwined with the opening of the Portland Lan Su Chinese Garden (originally Lansuyuan, Garden of the Awakening Orchid)  in September, 2000. Modeled after the literati gardens of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), this landscaping achievement literally has roots dating back thousands of years and transplanted from Portland's Sister City of Suzhou.   Like its ancient forebears, Portland's Chinese Garden has many layers of hidden meanings.   Full appreciation of the garden requires a deeper understanding of Chinese culture, history, and traditions, particularly those from the Ming Dynasty - thus our program was born.   Our logo, the white peony, is an auspicious traditional floral symbol of China, known as "the king of flowers".  Often called the "flower of wealth and honor" it is used to represent spring, prosperity, wit and virtue. 
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What began as a continuing education program for the Garden’s docents expanded to include any interested in broadening perspectives about China and its impact on the world.  As a not-for-profit  organization dedicated to building bridges and increasing awareness,  First Saturday PDX  is proud to offer all of our presentations free of charge. We are able to do this because of the generosity of our guest speakers, our programming committee members, and faithful volunteers, all of whom donate their time - as well as an invaluable collaboration with Portland State University's Institute for Asian Studies and support from the Northwest China Council. 

Since 2001, ​First Saturday PDX  has offered over 170 public programs.  Following the academic calendar,  our season runs from September to June on the first Saturday of every month from 9:30 - 11:00 am, and is free and open to the public. Our location on the second floor (Rm 230) has an elevator and is wheelchair friendly, with unrestricted viewing and comfortable desks for taking notes.  

Each presentation is typically followed by a no host lunch  with our presenter where we continue the discussion and have some good food, Chinese style
- come eat with us.
​
​​
  • See our Current Season description and images from completed programs HERE.
  • See our  Upcoming Presentation
  • View our Past Seasons Programs 
  •  Join our Email List  and receive information of upcoming events  
  • Email us at [email protected] or  drop us a note  
  • Volunteer with us 

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  • See what we're up to on our Facebook page ​HERE



​Our instructive program series has been developed in collaboration with PSU’s Institute for Asian Studies, and is free and open to the public.  Our regular monthly location has an elevator and is wheelchair friendly with unrestricted viewing and tables for note taking.  9:30 - 11:00 am  (click on address for directions):  For further information on our upcoming presentations, go to our Current Season Schedule page.  

Our Monthly Location: 
Portland State University, Academic & Student Recreation Ctr,  Room 230 (ASRC, 2nd Floor)
1800 SW 6th Ave, Portland OR 97201

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


PSU Parking info:  
https://www.pdx.edu/transportation/hourly-visitor-parking 

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​© 2014 - 2025  First Saturday PDX
  • "For Here or To Go?" - A Conversation with Curtis Chin, June 28, 2025
  • Season 2024 - 2025
    • Quick Preview of Season 2024 - 2025
    • Season Schedule (2024 - 2025)
    • Lesser and Well Known Chinese Species at Hoyt Arboretum 14 September, 2024
    • OCTOBER DIM SUM/ YUM CHA BRUNCH, 12 October, 2024
    • Heroism and Survival: Women’s Daily Lives in Japanese-occupied Shanghai (1937-1945), 2 November, 2024
    • Collecting Stories: Chinese Art through the Historians' Lens​, 7 December, 2024
    • Imperialism, Architecture, and Oberlin College: A Brief History of the "Golden Temple" , 4 January, 2025
    • 2 Feb 2025: Spring Banquet - Year of the Snake 4723
    • ​Down the Cultural Crosswords: The Chinese Dialect of Xining, 1 March, 2025
    • Chinese "Paintings of Beautiful Women" and their Global Circulation in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries, 5 April, 2025
    • Remembering the Dead in Late Medieval China (7th–10th c.), 10 May, 2025
    • "For Here or To Go?" - A Conversation with Curtis Chin, June 28, 2025
  • About First Saturday PDX
  • THE FIRST 20 YEARS
  • PAST SEASONS & PROGRAMS
    • Past Seasons & Program Highlights >
      • Season 2023 - 2024 >
        • Quick Preview of Season 2023 - 2024
        • Season Schedule (2023 - 2024)
        • * DIM SUM/ YUM CHA BRUNCH!! 9 September, 2023 *
        • A Question of Hu, 7 October 2023
        • "Mother of all Technologies": Accumulating Culture Through Chinese Textiles, PART 1 - November 4, 2023
        • "Mother of all Technologies": Accumulating Culture Through Chinese Textiles PART 2 - December 2, 2023
        • Xu Bing: Beyond the Book from the Sky, 6 January, 2024
        • Spring Banquet: Year of the Dragon 4722, 17 Feb, 2024
        • Year of the Dragon 4722
        • Making Hakka Women Visible: 6 April, 2024
        • Well Known and Lesser Known Chinese Species at Hoyt Arboretum - 4 May, 2024
        • Celestial Bridges: An Introduction to Architecture Over Water and Space From China's Past, Part One, 8 June, 2024
      • Season 2022 - 2023 >
        • Quick Preview of Season 2022 - 2023
        • Season Schedule (2022 - 2023)
        • A Visit to the Soreng Gallery of Chinese Art ​at the ​Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art​, 10 September, 2022
        • ​China’s Last Imperial Frontier: Late Qing Expansion in Sichuan’s Tibetan Borderlands 15 October, 2022
        • Girls with Big Ideas: Gidget and Song of Youth 5 November, 2022
        • * DIM SUM/ YUM CHA BRUNCH!! 19 November, 2022 *
        • Following the Thread: China Along the Road of Silk 3 December, 2022
        • The Chinese Massacre in Hells Canyon 7 January 2023
        • Year of the Rabbit 4721
        • Spring Fundraiser Banquet Lunch/ Auction 18 FEB, 2023
        • "Model Letters" and the Audiences of Calligraphy in Early Modern China , 4 March, 2023
        • Women in the History of Tea in in China, 1 April, 2023
        • Tea and Wine: A New Look at the Song Dynasty Poetry of Li Qingzhao (李清照), 13 May, 2023
        • Summer Tour of the Garden of Awakening Orchids: 3 June, 2023
        • 2 Feb, 2025 - Spring Banquet: Year of the Snake 4723
      • Season 2021 - 2022 >
        • Quick Preview of Season 2021 - 2022
        • Season Schedule 2021 - 2022
        • The Oregon Chinese Diaspora Project, 2 October 2021
        • Connecting to our Natural World: The Portland Botanical Gardens, 6 November 2021
        • Lan Su Chinese Garden: ​The Vision of a Classical Chinese Garden, 4 December 2021
        • ​Re-visioning ​Chinese History, ​900-1350: ​The New Look of Song and Yuan, 8 January, 2022
        • Chinese New Year 2022/ Year of the Tiger 4720, 5 February, 2022
        • Auspicious Seals and Chops, 5 February 2022
        • The Erhu and Erhu Music, 5 March, 2022
        • Pictorial Naturalism and "Truth": Contextualizing the Eleventh-century Luohan Sculptures of Lingyan Temple in China, 2 April, 2022
        • Celebrated Stories in Sichuan Shadow Theater,7 May, 2022
        • The Daode Jing's Forgotten Forebear: The Ancestral Cult 4 June, 2022
      • 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 ​
        • Chinese New Year 2021/ Year of the Ox 4719
        • Artistic Exchange Between China and Europe in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries 6 March, 2021
        • For Here or To Go : A Conversation with Curtis Chin, June 7, 2025
        • The Scholar’s Retreat: Loss and Resilience in the Chinese Landscape and Garden 3 April 2021
        • Simmering, Whisking, Steeping: Methods for Preparing and Consuming Tea in Premodern China
        • Silk and Sericulture: Beauty Inspired by a Social Contract
      • Season 2019 - 2020 >
        • 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
      • Season 2018 - 2019 >
        • 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 2018
        • 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 - Mark Vossbrink March 2, 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 ​​
      • Season 2017 - 2018 >
        • 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
      • Season 2016 - 2017 >
        • Quick Preview of Season 2016 - 2017
        • Season Schedule 2016 - 2017
        • Contemporary Chinese Society: A View from the Films of Zhang Yimou, 6 May 2017
        • Chinese New Year Brunch, 4 February 2017
        • The Uyghurs: History of a People at the Center of Asia, Part 1, 4 March 2017
        • Creating a Tea Aesthetic ​in Tang Verse, 3 June 2017
      • Season 2015 - 2016 >
        • Season Schedule 2015 - 2016
        • Guzheng and Erhu: A Dialog Between the Strings, 2 April 2016
      • Season 2014 - 2015 >
        • Season Schedule 2014 - 2015
      • Season 2013 - 2014 >
        • Nurture and Healing:​Chinese Medicine for Summer - Dr Elise Wong, 14 June, 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
  • Videos
  • Partners
  • Join our Email List/ Contact Us
  • Volunteer
  • Zoom!
  • Stop Asian Hate Resources