A Dispassionate Logic in Contemporary Chinese Art and Cinema: Globalization, Nationalism, and Post-Socialist Trauma

This talk gives a general outlook on contemporary Chinese art and cinema that has attracted a critical attention from both Chinese and Western scholars in the past decade (1995-2005). As China is rising as a new economic power in Asia, the work of so-called Chinese “avant-garde” artists and filmmakers needs to be examined in the … Read more

Sound of Silk

Lecture recital on Chinese songs from the musical heritage of Han to the present. This lecture recital will focus on three main areas: (I) Different types of Chinese songs and their historical backgrounds–Ancient, Folk and Contemporary Art (II) Significant Chinese traditional singing techniques versus Western classical styles–Throaty/nasal versus Open/mask (III) Demonstration of live performance

Chinese Names and Genealogical Records for Jiapu

The genealogies have long been used by historians, archaeologists, sociologists, ethnologists, and demographers in their investigation of past human behavior on social and historical evidences relating to a lineage organization or a clan. Chinese genealogical records, also called pudie 譜牒, zongpu 宗譜, zupu 族譜, jiapu 家譜, zipu 支譜, or jiacheng 家乗, has been used for … Read more

Books, Scholars, Tradition, and Society: Learning and Studying in Song Dynasty (960-1279 AD)

Song China was a unique time in China’s history. It witnessed spectacular developments in philosophy, literature, education, urbanization, commerce, government, and sciences and technology. However, national crises abounded, too. Humiliating encounters with its neighbors both literally and figuratively dwarfed this otherwise cultural giant. Scholars took upon themselves the responsibility of upkeeping and safeguarding the culture … Read more

Chinatowns Beyond New York City

According to the latest data, there are two million three hundred thousand Chinese Americans in the United States. They reside in all over the 50 states, ranging from 1549 in Alaska to 914,033 in California, and Chinatowns have been here with formed in many states.

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The Changing Communist Party and the Rise of China

China’s domestic political arrangements often fuel misgivings about the rise of China in the West. While liberals are optimistic about the effects of China’s economic change on long-term political liberalization, realists remain skeptical of China’s illiberal political institutions and see aggressive deterrence as the best strategy to confront an ascending China. Central to the perception … Read more