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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260912T200000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260912T213000
DTSTAMP:20260902T212025Z
CREATED:20260902T212025Z
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SUMMARY:Between China and the West: Gu Hongming’s Cultural Homecoming
DESCRIPTION:Few figures in modern Chinese intellectual history have generated as much fascination and controversy as Gu Hongming (1857–1928). His extraordinary life\, lived across cultures and civilizations\, continues to raise profound questions about cultural identity\, intellectual tradition\, and the relationship between China and the West. As discussions of global order and intercultural dialogue take on renewed urgency\, revisiting Gu Hongming’s life and thought offers a timely opportunity to reflect on the historical encounters between China and the wider world. \nThe Renwen Society of China Institute is pleased to present an online lecture by Dr. Chunmei Du\, Professor and Chair of the Department of History at Lingnan University\, Hong Kong\, on September 12\, 2026 (8:00–9:30 PM EDT). Based on her newly published Chinese book\, Gu Hongming’s Eccentric Chinese Odyssey (Qishi Yilü: Gu Hongming Huanxiang Ji\, 2026)\, the lecture offers a fresh perspective on one of the most intriguing figures in modern Chinese history. \nGu Hongming (1857–1928) remains one of the most controversial figures in modern Chinese intellectual history. Born in British Malaya and educated in Europe\, he stunned many by remaking himself as a loyal supporter of the Qing dynasty and a devoted defender of Confucianism. He championed monarchy and Confucian morality\, even defending practices such as footbinding and the queue\, while proclaiming the superiority of the “spirit of the Chinese people” over modern Western civilization. Seen by many of his Chinese contemporaries as an ultraconservative\, he nonetheless rose to prominence in the West as a prophetic voice from the East \nToday\, as shifting geopolitics revive debates about “the West versus the Non-West\,” Gu Hongming’s reflections feel strikingly contemporary. His critique opens up space for intercultural dialogue from a perspective that is at once insider and outsider. His legacy also speaks to ongoing efforts to reimagine “authentic” Chinese culture as a powerful vehicle for projecting global soft power. \nPublished in 2026 by Social Sciences Academic Press\, the Chinese edition of Gu Hongming’s Eccentric Chinese Odyssey traces Gu’s intellectual and psychological journey against the sweeping currents of global history. Following this “cultural amphibian” across geographical\, cultural\, and racial boundaries\, the book explores his lifelong search for belonging. It brings to life a trickster-sage who moved restlessly between worlds\, never fully at home in either. That in-between existence shadowed him with personal loss\, yet it also gave him the distinctive voice that carried his ideas into global civilizational debates. \nIn this lecture\, Professor Du will draw on her research and the writing of Gu Hongming’s Eccentric Chinese Odyssey to reexamine Gu Hongming’s intellectual world and his lifelong search for cultural belonging. Through the story of this remarkable “cultural amphibian\,” she will explore how Gu crossed geographical\, cultural\, and racial boundaries while navigating between civilizations\, and how his complex legacy continues to illuminate questions of intercultural understanding\, dialogue\, and identity in today’s world.
URL:https://potluckasianamerica.org/event/between-china-and-the-west-gu-hongmings-cultural-homecoming/
LOCATION:
CATEGORIES:Discussion,Lecture,Virtual
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260915T183000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260915T200000
DTSTAMP:20260902T212754Z
CREATED:20260902T212342Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260902T212754Z
UID:10003293-1789497000-1789502400@potluckasianamerica.org
SUMMARY:Curator’s Talk: Strolling Together in the World of Chinese Art
DESCRIPTION:Join three expert art historians in unraveling China Institute Gallery’s anniversary exhibition\, China Institute Gallery at 60\, 1966–2026: Selections from Three Millennia of Chinese Art. Bringing decades of collective expertise\, the speakers will recount the multifaceted stories and messages embedded within these works. They will unpack their ancient history\, whether as objects of private scholarly treasures or as public assertions of dynastic power\, while also remarking on their modern history in the Gallery’s 122 past exhibitions over the past 60 years. \nThe presentations will span a wide variety of media\, featuring classical paintings and ceramics alongside garden rocks\, jades\, and other small objects that recreate the complete sensory tapestry of Chinese cultural life. \nThrough three keynotes and a panel discussion\, the cherished tradition of scholarly dialogue will be revived. We invite you to stroll alongside our curators\, to observe\, admire\, and contemplate these works in intimate detail. \n\nKeynote One: “Pursuit of the Afterlife”\nSpeaker: Dr. Annette Juliano 朱安耐\nFor the ancient Chinese\, the pursuit of the afterlife meant ensuring the deceased’s transition to another realm. This required anticipating their needs and correctly preparing the tomb.  An ancient sage summarized the process: the deceased were treated “as though dead and yet still alive\, as though gone and yet still present.” Well-cared-for ancestor spirits meant good fortune for living. Neglected spirits turned into implacable ghosts. My discussion will center around the enormous creativity this pursuit inspired in Chinese culture – making objects for the tomb\, such as mingqi (clay spirit objects). I will incorporate objects from the exhibition as well as from other sources. \n\nKeynote Two: “The Scholar’s World”\nSpeaker: Dr. David Ake Sensabaugh 江文苇\nOver the past six decades\, China Institute has held many exhibitions that have introduced the world of the Chinese scholar. I will concentrate on just a few works from exhibitions on gardens\, rocks\, books\, and seals. These were all subjects of groundbreaking exhibitions\, and we are fortunate to have been able to reassemble several works from those exhibitions. I will discuss paintings from the Ming dynasty depicting gardens and rocks; rocks from the Qing dynasty; rare books published in the late Ming dynasty; and hardstone seals and books of seal impressions from the early Qing dynasty. All of them open up aspects of life in traditional China. \n\nKeynote Three: “What Makes a Great Chinese Painting?”\nSpeaker: Dr. Alfreda Murck 姜斐德\nChina Institute Gallery at 60 has fifteen excellent paintings on display. They range in date from the Southern Song (12th–13th century) to a few months ago. They range in size from small fans to a hanging scroll two and a half meters tall. Selected to represent ten exceptional exhibitions\, many of these paintings exhibit the factors that make for a great work of art. I will talk about five factors that make a painting compelling. Most of my examples come from paintings in the exhibition; a few are from other sources. Full disclosure – these are subjective judgments but based on years of studying and admiring Chinese paintings.
URL:https://potluckasianamerica.org/event/curators-talk-strolling-together-in-the-world-of-chinese-art/
LOCATION:China Institute of America\, 100 Washington Street\, New York\, NY\, 10006\, United States
CATEGORIES:Art,Discussion,Lecture
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260926T200000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260926T213000
DTSTAMP:20260902T214122Z
CREATED:20260902T213249Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260902T214122Z
UID:10003294-1790452800-1790458200@potluckasianamerica.org
SUMMARY:Su Dongpo: An Enduring Light of Chinese Civilization
DESCRIPTION:Few figures in Chinese history have embodied the richness and complexity of Chinese culture as fully as Su Shi (1037–1101)\, better known as Su Dongpo. Poet\, essayist\, calligrapher\, painter\, statesman\, and philosopher of life\, Su achieved distinction in an extraordinary range of fields. To understand Su Dongpo\, however\, is to explore something larger than the accomplishments of a single literary genius. His life and writings offer a window into some of the deepest currents of Chinese thought and culture. \nThe Renwen Society at China Institute is pleased to present an online lecture\, “Su Dongpo: An Enduring Light of Chinese Civilization\,” by renowned scholar and lecturer of Chinese classical literature Ben Wang\, on Saturday\, September 26\, 2026. Focusing on three representative works from Su Dongpo’s later years\, Crossing the Sea (《渡海》)\, Watching the Tidal Bore (《观潮》)\, and Xing Xiang Zi (《行香子》)\, the lecture will explore Su’s thought\, emotions\, and philosophy of life through a close reading of his poetry. \nAt the heart of Su Dongpo’s life and thought was an extraordinary sense of balance\, a quality deeply rooted in the Chinese philosophical idea of the “middle.” Confucian ideals shaped his commitment to moral principle\, public service\, and good government\, while Daoist thought helped him cultivate detachment and transcendence in the face of suffering. In his writings\, seriousness and humor\, heroic spirit and tenderness\, sorrow and joy\, engagement with the world and freedom from it could exist side by side. \nThis balance did not mean compromise when fundamental principles were at stake. Su’s refusal to yield to what he regarded as injustice contributed to a political career marked by imprisonment\, repeated demotions\, and exile to increasingly remote parts of the empire. Yet adversity did not diminish his attachment to life. As Ben Wang has observed\, it was precisely Su’s resilience\, perseverance\, and philosophical outlook that enriched his literary achievement. Even during his darkest years\, his writings reveal an abiding love for life and an extraordinary capacity to discover beauty\, humor\, and meaning in the world around him. \nSu Dongpo’s literary achievement was equally remarkable. More than 2\,000 of his shi poems have survived\, while his approximately 350 ci poems helped transform the status and expressive possibilities of the genre. His writing could possess the celebrated quality of haofang (豪放)\, or “heroic abandon\,” yet it could also convey intimacy\, compassion\, humor\, and joie de vivre. Through this unusual breadth of temperament and expression\, Su created a body of work in which seemingly contradictory dimensions of human experience are brought into harmony. \nChina Institute once devoted four semesters and some eighty hours of instruction to Su Dongpo\, and even that could offer only a glimpse of the full range of his poetry\, prose\, calligraphy\, and painting. For this Renwen Society lecture\, after careful consideration\, Ben Wang has chosen three works that he believes capture essential dimensions of Su’s thought and sensibility: Crossing the Sea\, Watching the Tidal Bore\, and Xing Xiang Zi. \nThrough a close reading of these three works\, Ben Wang will examine how Confucian and Daoist traditions came together in Su Dongpo’s understanding of life\, literature\, and public responsibility; how he maintained his moral convictions amid political persecution and personal hardship; and how he ultimately found a distinctive equilibrium among life and death\, sorrow and joy\, suffering and transcendence. The lecture will also consider why Su Dongpo\, nearly a thousand years after his death\, continues to speak so powerfully to generations of readers and remains an enduring light of Chinese civilization.
URL:https://potluckasianamerica.org/event/su-dongpo-an-enduring-light-of-chinese-civilization/
LOCATION:
CATEGORIES:History,Lecture
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20261010T140000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20261010T160000
DTSTAMP:20260902T214200Z
CREATED:20260902T213823Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260902T214200Z
UID:10003295-1791640800-1791648000@potluckasianamerica.org
SUMMARY:America-bound: Lin Huiyin & Liang Sicheng
DESCRIPTION:Over a century ago\, Lin Huiyin (Phyllis Lin) and Liang Sicheng crossed the Pacific to study at the University of Pennsylvania. Their years in the United States broadened their intellectual horizons and profoundly shaped their later contributions to Chinese architectural history\, architectural education\, urban planning\, and the preservation of China’s built heritage. \nOn October 10\, China Institute’s Renwen Society marks this remarkable chapter in their lives with a lecture by Dr. Sidney Wong and Ms. Annie Liang-Zhou. Together\, they revisit the formative years that helped shape two of the most influential figures in modern Chinese architecture. \nThe presentation also examines Lin and Liang’s enduring intellectual connections with American architects\, scholars\, and institutions during the 1930s and 1940s\, highlighting the reciprocal exchange of ideas that enriched both countries. Drawing on original archival research from the University of Pennsylvania and the City of Philadelphia\, Dr. Wong will present newly uncovered documents\, photographs\, and historical records that illuminate this formative period in their lives and reconstruct the remarkable network of people\, places\, and ideas that surrounded their American experience. \nBringing together original archival research with perspectives on historic preservation and family legacy\, the lecture offers fresh insight into the transnational experiences that shaped Lin Huiyin and Liang Sicheng’s careers\, their enduring intellectual legacy\, and the continuing relevance of their work for cross-cultural exchange and heritage preservation today. \nIn-Person Bilingual Lecture (English & Chinese)
URL:https://potluckasianamerica.org/event/america-bound-lin-huiyin-liang-sicheng/
LOCATION:China Institute of America\, 100 Washington Street\, New York\, NY\, 10006\, United States
CATEGORIES:History,Lecture
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