UCLA Center for East Asian Studies
February 2002
Ongoing Exhibitions | Lectures,
conferences and performances
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Through February 16, 2002
Post War Japan Photo Exhibit
The White Room Gallery, 8810 Melrose Ave., West Hollywood
Sponsored by the White Room Gallery, the first part of a series of exhibits on post world war II Japan. Photographers include Shigeichi Nagano and Koji Inoue.
Shigeichi Nagano's documentary photography of postwar Japan provides a human portrait of a land in transition. His style of photojournalism, which combined both visual and narrative elements, was perfectly suited to the rapidly changing era in which he rose to prominence. Through an early stint in the late 1940s on the editorial staff of the Sun News Weekly, he worked alongside famous photographers such as Ihei Kimura, and through the early 1950s as a documentary photographer for the Iwanami Library of Photography. His career spanned an era in which a dramatic story of devastation and rebirth was unfolding in Japan, an era crying out for a more narrative style of documentation. Through his thoughtful choice of subject matter and artfully rendered juxtapositions of old and new, traditional and foreign, his crisp, monochrome prints depicted a nation swaying ambivalently between a nostalgic longing for the past and a newfound optimism toward the future.The current exhibit focuses on Nagano's photojournalistic work from the 1949-1964 period.
For hours and more information call 310-859-2402 or Email: info@whiteroomgallery.com.
February 8-21, 2002
International Contemporary Calligraphy Exhibition: Art of Ink--2002 LA
Korean Cultural Center
5505 Wilshire Blvd.
Los Angeles
(323) 936-7141Participating Artists: Masami Ajimoto, Chieh Fu Chang, Won H. Chung, Hans Hanbo Cui, Jenny Hunter Groat, Young Ae Hahn, Rose Sigal-Ibsen, Harumi Kaieda, Sun Wuk Kim, Andre Kneib, Wook Bae Lee, Mary E. Rodning, Ronald G. Robertson, Nancy Rupp, Richard E. Strassberg, Seyburn Zorthian.
For further information, email: Info@kccla.org
February 16-July 14, 2002
The Way of Rama: A Prince in Exile
San Diego Museum of Art
1450 El Prado, Balboa Park, San Diego, California
(619) 232-7931Beginning this weekend, Museum visitors can follow the twists and turns of one of India's greatest epics, The Ramayana, in paintings from the Museum's Edwin Binney 3rd Collection of South Asian paintings. The Way of Rama focuses on the adventures of the Hindu god Rama and his wife Sita. Rama, like Krishna, is an incarnation of the great god Vishnu, born as a mortal in order to bring divine powers into the course of events on earth. While Krishna brought the power of play and devotion, Rama brings the virtue of a righteous son, husband, brother, and king.
In images made at various courts on the sub-continent between the fifteenth and nineteenth centuries, Rama's legendary honor and nobility are witnessed. He bravely accepts banishment from his father's kingdom and battles fierce demons in the depths of the forest. When the ten-headed King of the Demons, Ravana, uses trickery to capture his beautiful wife Sita, Rama is heartbroken, but soon Hanuman and his army of monkey warriors come to Rama's aid. Together they set out to find Sita and to destroy the Demon King.
This third exhibition in the Who's Who/What's What Series of South Asian paintings from the collection of Edwin Binney 3rd runs through July 14.
Museum hours: Tuesday through Sunday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursdays 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Closed Mondays.
Lectures, conferences, and performances
February 1, 2002
"Industrialization and Social Changes in Korea: the Emergence of Neofamilism"
Yong-Chool Ha
Seoul National University3-4:30 pm
243 Royce HallThis talk will raise theoretical-comparative and Korea-specific empirical questions. Theoretically it raises the question of how to understand social changes in late industrializing countries. Predominant political economic approaches to Korean studies have focused too much on the state in an attempt to understand economic success, while neglecting impacts of state involvement in the economy on social changes. Most sociological studies have failed to understand the unique social consequences of Korean style industrialization as they have employed conventional Western sociological categories, such as class and strata. Thus in Korean studies there has emerged a wide gap between political economy approaches and political sociology. This talk attempts to narrow this gap by proposing a new way of understanding the social consequences of industrialization in Korea.
Sponsored by the UCLA Center for Korean Studies. Please call (310) 825-3284 for additional information.
February 3, 2002
Workshop: The Healing Movements of Sacred Buddhist Dance
10 am-6 pm
Pacific Asia Museum
46 N. Los Robles Ave.
Pasadena, CA 91101The workshop will include an introduction to the theory and movement style of the sacred dance practice of the Vajrayana priests of Nepal with an emphasis on dance as a meditation practice and path of physical and spiritual healing. Topics include sacred gestures and their meaning, visualizing energy patterns and deities and understanding the body as a mandala and vehicle of transformation of awareness. Tickets are $30.00 before Jan. 20th and $36.00 after Jan. 20th.
February 4, 2002
Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni - An afternoon with the author
4 pm
Hatlan Theater, UCSBBorn in Calcutta, writer and poet Chitra Divakaruni is the author of six books, including The Mistress of Spices, The Unknown Error of Our Lives and Arranged Marriage, winner of the 1996 American Book Award. Her novel The Vine of Desire has just been published. The UCSB will have copies of Divakaruni's books available for purchase.
February 6, 2002
East Meets West: The Ancient Silk Road
Ronald Mellor,
Professor
UCLA1 pm
6275 Bunche HallSponsored by Phi Alpha Theta. For more information, see: www.studentgroups.ucla.edu/pat.
February 6, 2002
Studying a Southeast Asian Diaspora Chamic-speaking Muslims in Hainan Island, their pre-Vietnam past, Malaysian descendants, and international connections
Keng Fong Pang
Visiting Scholar, UCLA Center for SE Asian Studies3-4:30 pm
10383 Bunche Hall, UCLASponsored by the UCLA Center for Southeast Asian Studies. For further information call 310-206-9163.
February 7, 2002
"The Reconstruction of Afghanistan after 23 Years of Destruction"
Hasan Nouri
William Carroll3-5 pm
51 Kinsey Hall, UCLAHasan Nouri, born in Afghanistan, is President of Rivertech Inc., Chairman of the Board of International Orphan Care, and a Founding Member of the Afghanistan - America Foundation. He is the winner of six awards by five national engineering societies. In 1996 he received the prestigious Hoover Medal. Other recipients of the Hoover Medal include Presidents Hoover, Eisenhower and Carter.
William Carroll, Former President of the American Society of Civil Engineers and Former President of World Federation of Engineering Organizations. Former Chairman of the Board of Montgomery-Watson Engineers and recipient of the Hoover Medal in 1994.
Co-sponsored by UCLA Burkle Center for International Relations and World Affairs Council of Orange County, in conjunction with Town Hall Los Angeles. On-line information about BCIR Seminars is available at http://www.isop.ucla.edu/bcir.
February 7, 2002
The Archaeology of Urbanism: New Research from South Asia
Monica L. Smith,
Assistant Professor
University of Pittsburgh
Candidate for a position in Old World archaeology,
Dept. of Anthropology, UCLA4 pm
352 Haines Hall
Reception to followCities are the most complex form of human social organization, consisting of a social and physical space that enables and compels people to become interdependent. How did ancient cities develop and thrive? Is there any relationship between the success of ancient cities and modern ones? Ongoing archaeological research at the sites of Sisupalgarh in India and Mahasthangarh in Bangladesh provides information about how South Asian cities of the early centuries A.D. were zones of "negotiated consensus" among groups and how they were viewed as advantageous locales by both elites and ordinary dwellers.
Sponsored by UCLA Dept. of Anthropology.
February 8, 2002
"Issues in conflict between Tangunists and Korean Christians "
Mahn Yol Yi
Sookmyung Women's University3-4:30 pm
243 Royce HallSponsored by the UCLA Center for Korean Studies. Please call (310) 825-3284 for additional information.
February 8, 2002
Art of Ink-2002 LA
International Contemporary Calligraphy Exhibition
Opening Reception
6-8 pm
Korean Cultural Center
5505 Wilshire Blvd.
Los Angeles
(323) 936-7141Participating Artists: Masami Ajimoto, Chieh Fu Chang, Won H. Chung, Hans Hanbo Cui, Jenny Hunter Groat, Young Ae Hahn, Rose Sigal-Ibsen, Harumi Kaieda, Sun Wuk Kim, Andre Kneib, Wook Bae Lee, Mary E. Rodning, Ronald G. Robertson, Nancy Rupp, Richard E. Strassberg, Seyburn Zorthian.
For further information, email: Info@kccla.org
February 8, 2002
100 Years of Piano Music in Japan
8 pm
Japan Foundation
2425 Olympic Blvd. Suite 100E
Santa Monica 90404Junko Ueno Garrett will examine and perform some of the key piano pieces created in the 20th century and its influence on Japan.
$10 per person. For information and ticket reservation call 310.449.0027, ext 104 To register Online visit the website:
http://www.jflalc.org/art_culture/piano.html.
February 9, 2002
Islam: Empire of Faith
Film Screening and Discussion
1 pm
Mark Taper Auditorium, Los Angeles Public LibraryThrough historical reenactments and interviews with prominent scholars in the field, the video recounts the epic rise of the Islam faith and civilization and its contributions and achievements to world civilization. The following scholars will speak and take questions after the screening.
Nancy Micklewright
The Getty Grant Program
Amir Hussain
Religious Studies, California State University, Northridge
Moderator:
Levon Marashlian
History, Glendale CollegeFree admission and open to the public. Sponsored by the Asia Society of Southern California. For further information, telephone (213) 624-0945.
February 9, 2002
Beijing Acrobats
8 pm
Marsee Auditorium
El Camino Center for the Arts
16007 Crenshaw Blvd.
Torrance, CAThis is the 16th American tour of one of China's oldest acrobatic troupes. Tickets are $12-$26. Call (310) 329-5345 for more information.
February 10, 2002
Okinawa Music and Dance
1 pm
George and Sakaye Aratani Japan America Theatre
244 South San Pedro Street Los Angeles, CA 90012Traditional music, folk dancing and classical dance from Okinawa.
For tickets and information, call the box office at 213.680.3700.
February 11, 2002
Death and Social Order in Tokugawa Japan: The Danka System and the Cultural Politics of Ancestor Worship
Nam-lin Hur
History, The University of British Columbia3 pm
Hacienda Room
Faculty Center, UCLASponsored by the UCLA Center for Japanese Studies. If you have questions, please contact the office at 310-825-8681.
February 12, 2002
Lunar New Year Celebration
12 pm
Free Speech Area, Cal State LACelebrate the Year of the Horse! The event will include performances by the Martial Arts Club, the Korean Classical Music and Dance Company, and more!
Call the Cross Cultural Centers at (323) 343-5001 for more information.
February 13, 2002
"Fasting & Feasting: Merit and Reciprocity in Buddhist Ritual"
Kim Gutschow
Brandeis University3:30 pm
243 Royce Hall, UCLASponsored by the UCLA Department of East Asian Languages & Cultures and the UCLA Center for Buddhist Studies.
February 14, 2002
The Road Home (film-China)
7:30 pm
UCSB, Campbell HallZhang Yimou (Raise the Red Lantern) directs this tender-hearted and gorgeously filmed love story set in a provincial region of China and starring the exquisite Zhang Ziyi from Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. (2000, 100 min.)
February 15, 2002
Images of Vietnam 1969-1970
2002 Tet Festival: A Photographic Exhibition
Michael Burr,
Vietnam Veteran4-10 pm
Garden Grove Park
Westminster Ave.
Garden Grove, CA
Booth 171For more information call, (310)399-4767 or email: M.Burr@gte.net
February 15, 2002
East Asia Bound Up, Tied Up, and Buried: How Country Studies Balkanized an Intellectual Field
Prof. Bruce Cumings
University of Chicago4-6 pm
306 Royce Hall, UCLAThe locus and placement of academic boundaries in the field of East Asian studies grew out of a complex history shaped by language barriers, Sinological tradition, imperialism and colonialism, the divisions of the Cold War, the demands of the U.S. Government, the rise of particular ways of doing social science and history, the interests of multinational corporations, and the inclinations of particular universities and scholars. As a result the field carries all the liabilities of "area studies," but reduces the "area" (namely East Asia) to country studies (and even half-country studies, as in Korea). Nonetheless the strengths of this field are many and the skills of its scholars formidable, yet all too few of them are recognized today by the major academic disciplines.
Bruce Cumings is the Norman and Edna Freehling Professor of International History and East Asian Political Economy at the University of Chicago. An American Academy of Arts and Sciences Fellow and a MacArthur Fellow, Professor Cumings in the author of 13 published and forthcoming books, including the two-volume magnum opus, The Origins of the Korean War.
Co-ponsored by UCLA Center for Korean Studies and UCLA Comparative and Interdisciplinary Research on Asia. For further information, call (310) 825-3284 or (310) 794-8944.
February 15-17, 2002
Chinese New Year Festival
Held annually in the heart of Chinatown to preserve the heritage of Chinese-American community, to promote cultural diversity in the city of Los Angeles, and to celebrate the Chinese Lunar New Year. For further information contact the Chinese Chamber of Commerce of Los Angeles at (213) 617-0396 or email info@lachinesechamber.org.
February 16, 2002
"The Changing International Environment and North South Korean Relations"
Chongsik Lee
Political Science, University of Pennsylvanianoon
JJ Grand Hotel, 620 S. Harvard Blvd. in KoreatownThe presentation will be in Korean. Sponsored by the Society of Korean American Professionals. Chaejin Lee of Claremont McKenna College will serve as discussant. The seminar and luncheon cost $20. Call 310-471-0885 for more information and to make reservations.
February 16, 2002
Year of the Horse Chinese New Year Festival
1-4 pm
Pacific Asia Museum
46 N. Los Robles Ave.
Pasadena, CA 91101Organized by the Chinese Arts Council, this event features a lion dance performance and traditional folk dancing accompanied by live traditional Chinese music. Children can participate in dough doll making, Chinese Calligraphy and Chinese Brush Painting workshops. Visitors may catch a glimpse of the future with the aid of a palm reader. Traditional Chinese New Year treats will be available for sampling. A traditional Chinese fashion show will add to the festivities. Chinese New Year is the most important and most festive holiday of the year. It signals the end of winter and the coming of spring, and falls on the first day of the new moon. 2002 marks the Year of the Horse. People born in this year are cheerful, popular and quick-witted. This event is free to the public.
February 16, 2002
103rd Annual Golden Dragon Parade
2-5 pm
Los Angeles ChinatownA parade to celebrate the Chinese Lunar New Year for the Year of the Horse 2002. The one-mile Lunar New Year Golden Dragon Parade is held annually in the heart of Chinatown to preserve the heritage of Chinese-American community and to promote cultural diversity in the city of Los Angeles. For further information contact the Chinese Chamber of Commerce of Los Angeles at (213) 617-0396 or email info@lachinesechamber.org.
February 17, 2002
Asian Empires and the Secrets of Dragon Robes
12-4 pm
San Diego Museum of Art
In front of the Museum
1450 El Prado, Balboa Park, San Diego, CaliforniaFrom 12:00 noon to 4:00 p.m., Chinese lion dancers and a Mulan fan dance will set the tone for this celebration of the arts and cultures of Asia, timed to coincide with the Chinese New Year. Festival participants will discover the secrets hidden in an emperor's dragon robe and enjoy demonstrations of ancient art techniques, hands-on art making projects, and free tours of the Museum's galleries.
Families will also enjoy making flying windsocks; learning the art of Chinese brush painting, including how to grind ink; and creating their own personal chops, a unique stamp that represents the artist's signature in the Chinese painting tradition. The day's festivities also include a giant puzzle, giveaways, Chinese zither music and much, much more.
February 19, 2002
Islam, Gender, and Identity
12 pm
Los Angeles A Room, U-SU, Cal State LAThis panel will feature Dr. Jassamine Rostam from UCLA and Dr. Nancy Gallagher and Dr. Adrienne Edgar from UC Santa Barbara. They will explore the different ways that Islam mediates the identities of both men and women in various parts of Central Asia and the Middle East. The panel will also include a discussion on contemporary feminist issues and female activism in the Islamic world.
Call the Cross Cultural Centers at (323) 343-5001 for more information.
February 19, 2002
The Last Mongol Empire: The Dzungars in the 17th and 18th Centuries
Junko Miyawaki-Okada,
Tokyo University of Foreign Studies4 pm
4041 HSSB University of California, Santa BarbaraThe so-called Dzungar “empire,” which held sway over much of the Central Asian steppes from the last quarter of the seventeenth century through the middle of the eighteenth, was the last powerful nomadic confederation in Inner Asia. Its final defeat by the armies of the Qing empire in 1758 signified the loss of the independence they had known since the days of Genghis Khan and signified the “closing of the steppe,” ushering in a new era in continental Eurasian history. Prof. Miwayaki-Okada, one of the world’s leading authorities on the Mongols and the Dzungars, explains the politics and structure of the Dzungar confederation of Oyirad tribes, showing how past authorities on the Dzungars such as Pallas, Howorth, Baddeley, and Zlatkin have misunderstood the nature of Dzungar leadership. She will trace the Dzungar challenge for mastery of the steppe and the ultimate collapse of the confederation in the 1700s.
Prof. Miyawaki-Okada is the author of The Last Nomadic Empire: The Rise and Fall of the Dzungars (Kodansha, 1995) and The History of the Mongols (Tosui, 2002) (both in Japanese), along with over thirty articles in English on Mongol history and historiography.
This lecture is sponsored by the Department of History and the East Asia Center at the University of California, Santa Barbara. For more information, please contact Prof. Mark Elliott, Department of History, UCSB elliott@history.ucsb.edu.
February 19-24, 2002
Swimming to Cambodia
Spalding Gray
Tues.-Sat., 8 pm
Sun. 2 pm
Freud Playhouse"Like the intimate, ongoing chronicles of an old friend, Spalding Gray's biographical monologues have taken us on an emotional thrill ride through the surreal landscape of the American experience, proving over and over again that fact is far stranger than fiction. The piece that sparked a movement, inspired a 1987 Jonathan Demme film, and made Spalding Gray a household name, Swimming to Cambodia returns to L.A. for its 20th anniversary. This offbeat, Obie Award-winning one-man show is a mostly humorous, sometime horrific look at the art, politics and good times during the making of the 1984 Academy Award-winning film The Killing Fields."
Ticket prices: $40 regular admission; $14 UCLA students. Tickets: 310-825-2101; www.uclalive.com; 213-365-3500 Ticketmaster.
February 20, 2002
UCSB Gamelan Ensemble (Indonesian music performance)
12 noon
UCSB Music BowlThe Gamelan, the principal orchestral ensemble of Indonesia, is comprised chiefly of metallic percussion instruments. This ensemble, directed by Mike Pievac, will perform traditional music of Central and Western Java. This is part of the weekly World Music Series presented by UCSB's Ethnomusicology Program.
For more information contact the MultiCultural Center at 893-3411. In case of rain, the event will be held in the Music Building - Room 1145.
February 20, 2002
Special Gayageum (12-String Zither) Performance
Yeonok Jang
3-4:30 pm
243 Royce HallSponsored by the UCLA Center for Korean Studies. Please call (310) 825-3284 for additional information.
February 20, 2002
Is Scripture Text? -- Notes on Scripture, Reading, and Meaning within the Chinese Buddhist Tradition
Alexander Mayer
University of Illinois3:30 pm
243 Royce Hall, UCLACandidate Talk for a Position in Buddhist Studies.
Sponsored by UCLA Department of East Asian Languages & Cultures and UCLA Center for Buddhist Studies. For further information call: 310-206 8235 or 310-825-2089.
February 21, 2002
The Discoveries at the Site of Zhongba and Related Research
Sun Zhibin
Sichuan Institute of Cultural Relics & Archaeology and
Visiting Fellow of the UCLA Center for Chinese Studies12 noon
10383 Bunche Hall, UCLAZhongba, in eastern Sichuan province, is a multiperiod, deeply stratified site in the valley of a tributary of the Yangzi River, about 200 km from Chongqing. For many centuries it was the site of a flourishing salt industry. Extensive excavations at the site began in 1997 under the auspices of the Sichuan Institute of Archaeology, the first time such a site has been excavated in China.
Professor Sun Zhibin, Visiting Fellow at the Center for Chinese Studies, is a graduate of the archaeology wing of the Department of History of Sichuan University, and is now at the Sichuan Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology. In recent years he has been entrusted with the direction of some of the Institute’s most difficult and largest excavation projects. Much of this work has taken place in the area to be flooded as a result of the building of the Three Gorges Dam. Professor Sun is the head of excavation at Zhongba and will present his preliminary synthesis of the finds made to date. His talk, in Chinese, will be translated.
Sponsored by UCLA Center for Chinese Studies. For further information call (310)825-8683.
February 21, 2002
Women in Islam Panel Discussion
2 pm
Mark Taper Auditorium, Los Angeles Public LibrarySpeakers: Edina Lekovic, Muslim Public Affairs Council
Laela Al Marayati, spokesperson, Muslim Women's League
Mehran Kamrava, Political Science, California State University, Northridge
Moderator: Laurie Brand, Coordinator, Political Violence InitiativeFree admission and open to the public. Sponsored by the Asia Society of Southern California. For further information, telephone (213) 624-0945.
February 21, 2002
Islam: Empire of Faith
Film screening and discussion
6:30 pm
Glendale Public LibrarySpeakers: Mohamed El Amrousi, Art History, UCLA
Mehran Kamrava, Political Science, California State University, Northridge
Moderator: Levon Marashlian, Professor of History, Glendale CollegeFree admission and open to the public. Sponsored by the Asia Society of Southern California. For further information, telephone (213) 624-0945.
February 21, 2002
Museum Piano Recitals: Hae-Jung Kim (Korea)
7 pm
Copley Auditorium
San Diego Museum of ArtA superb, young pianist with sensitivity and grace. Her CDs and performance skill have presenters in awe worldwide as she embarks on her career. A five program piano recital series featuring pianists from around the world will be presented in the James S. Copley Auditorium on Thursday evenings at 7:00 p.m. Single tickets: $15 members/$20 nonmembers ($5 students with current ID).
February 22, 2002
Becoming Van Minh: Vietnamese Radicalism and the Discourse of Civilization [postponed until May 3, 2002]
Mark Bradley
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee11 am-1 pm
4355 Bunche Hall, UCLASponsored by UCLA Center for Southeast Asian Studies. For further information, call 310-206-9163.
February 22, 2002
Challenging the Mandate of Heaven: Social Protest & State Power in China
Elizabeth Perry
Dept. of Government
Harvard University12 noon
279 Haines HallElizabeth J. Perry, Director of the Fairbank Center, is Henry Rosovsky Professor of Government at Harvard. She joined the Harvard faculty in 1997, having taught previously at the Universities of California (Berkeley), Washington, and Arizona. Born in Shanghai, China and raised in Tokyo, Japan, Professor Perry received her Ph.D. in political science in 1978 from the University of Michigan.
Professor Perry's research focuses on popular protest and grassroots politics in China, from the nineteenth century to the present. The recipient of a John Simon Guggenheim fellowship, Professor Perry sits on the editorial boards of nearly a dozen major journals. She is the author of eight books. Her book Shanghai on Strike: The Politics of Chinese Labor (Stanford Univ. Press, 1993) received the John King Fairbank prize of the American Historical Association.
Sponsored by UCLA Center for Chinese Studies and The Social Movements and Political Sociology Working Group. For further information call (310)825-8683.
February 22, 2002
"After the Taliban: the US and the Future of Southwest Asia"2-4 pm 2355 Public Policy, UCLAMohammed Ayoob, University Distinguished Professor of International Relations, James Madison College, Michigan State UniversitySponsored by UCLA Burkle Center for International Relations, UCLA International Studies and Overseas Programs (ISOP), and the University of California Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation (IGCC).
February 22, 2002
"Light in the East: Mission of the Korean Christianity in New Era"Tongshik Ryu3-4:30 pm 243 Royce HallSponsored by the UCLA Center for Korean Studies. Please call (310) 825-3284 for additional information.
February 23, 2002
Lighting the Way The Lantern Festival
1-7 pm
El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historical Monument.
Located just southwest of the Los Angeles Chinatown, north of U.S. Highway 101, south of Cesar E. Chavez Avenue, and east of North Main Street.The Chinese New Year has historically been an occasion to welcome home family members who have journeyed to the afterlife or who simply lived abroad. Our Lantern Festival Street Fair will feature an artistic lantern design contest and display, an art exhibition, dragon dance performances, and a lantern parade. The outdoor performance component will include presentations by over thirty Chinese American artists and performers, including a dragon dance troupe and a classical Chinese orchestra. Guests of all ages and backgrounds can visit and learn about Chinese knotting decorations, Chinese calligraphy, kites, and lantern-making at folk art display booths arrayed on Sanchez Street. Visitors will be able to participate in the entertaining but educational exercise of creating folk art with guidance from our many Lantern Festival artists. Admission is free.
This festival is made possible in part by a grant from the City of Los Angeles, Cultural Affairs Department.
February 23, 2002
Lighting the Way The Lantern Festival--Lantern Competition
1-7 pm
El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historical Monument.
Located just southwest of the Los Angeles Chinatown, north of U.S. Highway 101, south of Cesar E. Chavez Avenue, and east of North Main Street.The Lantern Festival is a colorful display of traditional Chinese lanterns that typically marks the end of the celebrations of the Chinese New Year. To help us celebrate the theme of this joyful Festival, we are currently accepting contest entries from elementary school students for miniature lanterns. All entries for the competition will be displayed at El Pueblo's plaza outdoors on the day of the street fair, February 23, 2002, and selected children's lanterns may be used as part of the gallery exhibit. For rules of entry log on to: http://www.camla.org/events/lantcont0202.htm.
The winners of each grade will be announced at the festival, and winning lanterns may be displayed in various El Pueblo locations for up to one month. The Chinese American Museum will send each participating class a certificate of recognition for classroom display. All inquiries for the Lantern Festival Contest should be sent to office@camla.org.
February 23, 2002
"Terrorism as a Threat to Democracy and Pluralism - The Case of India"
A one day conference
8 am-5:30 pm
UCLA Faculty CenterConference Director: Professor D.R. Desai, UCLA
Sponsored by the Doshi Chair in Indian History, UCLA and UCLA Burkle Center for International Relations.
This lecture series is sponsored by UCLA Burkle Center for International Relations, UCLA International Studies and Overseas Programs (ISOP), and the University of California Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation (IGCC).
February 25, 2002
Rethinking Buddhism in Chinese History: The Bai people of Yunnan and the process of sinification
John McRae,
Indiana University12-1:30 pm
243 Royce Hall, UCLAJohn McRae is an associate professor of Buddhist Studies at Indiana University. As a student of East Asian Buddhism, McRae is especially interested in ideologies of spiritual cultivation and how they interact with their intellectual and cultural environments. Several years ago, based on a previously unpublished handwritten manuscript, art historical materials, and ethnographic data, he became involved in a multi-year cooperative study of esoteric Buddhism and popular religion among the Bai people of Yunnan in southwest China. McRae's colloquium presentation will use data gathered from this project to illustrate a new metaphor for understanding the role of Buddhism in Chinese Buddhist history.
Sponsored by UCLA Center for Buddhist Studies. For further information call: Mani Jad, 310-206-4928 or email: mjad@isop.ucla.edu.
February 25, 2002
Purity and Power in Japan 1600-600
Herman Ooms
Japanese History, UCLA3 pm
Hacienda Room
Faculty Center, UCLASponsored by the UCLA Center for Japanese Studies. If you have questions, please contact the office at 310-825-8681.
February 27, 2002
Class Geographies: Vietnamese Garment Workers' Consumption of Body Products
Thu-Huong Nguyen-vo
EALC and AAS, UCLA3-4:30 pm
10383 Bunche Hall, UCLANguyen-vo will discuss interviews of garment workers in Ho Minh City and its outskirts to explore the workers' consumption of globally and locally produced products to be used on the body: shampoo, soap, perfume, cosmetics, jewelry, clothing and accessories. Rather than a simple class location in the global economy, findings suggest that these bodies are sites where workers balance the dreaming of a geographical and class elsewhere (e.g. overseas, Ho Chi Minh City, middle class) with the assertion of a geographical place and class somewhere (e.g. Viet Nam, rural origins, working class), as global economics intersect with constructions of gender, nation, and locality.
Sponsored by the UCLA Center for Southeast Asian Studies. For further information call 310-206-9163.
February 27, 2002
Mirroring Courtesan Culture: A Hidden Visual Source Unveiled
Ni Yibin
Chinese Art and Culture
National University of Singapore12 noon
10383 Bunche Hall, UCLAIn imperial China scholar-officials lived in a rigid familial and governmental hierarchy. The pleasure quarters were a refuge where they could meet multi-talented courtesans and transcend the pressures and responsibilities imposed upon them by Confucian society.
From the Song dynasty onwards, the flourishing courtesan culture of the lower Yangzi delta region became a symbol of the sophistication and refinement of the Han Chinese cultural tradition. From this the idealized “scholar-beauty” romantic theme in theater and literature drew its inspiration. By the late Ming period, economic prosperity and the popularity of woodblock prints made visuality a prominent aspect of the developing material culture. The image of the courtesan and that of her sisters in the governing class were interestingly blurred, resulting in a mutual appropriation of cultural skills as well as appearances.
Prof. Ni will illustrate his talk with a series of hitherto unexplained images on ceramic ware to show how courtesan culture influenced the depiction of women and the female-male relationship in popular imagery in late imperial China.
Ni Yibin (Ph.D., on the interpretation of English noun phrases with a pragmatic approach, University of London, 1996) is Assistant Professor of Chinese Art and Culture at the National University of Singapore. Among Professor Ni’s publications are, in linguistics, Listening Comprehension for Medical Students (Shanghai, 1984) and (as a main Collaborator) the Oxford-Duden Pictorial Dictionary (Shanghai, 1984), and in Chinese art and culture, the chapters on fine and decorative arts and on the performing arts in China: The Land of the Heavenly Dragon (Edward Shaughnessy, ed.; Chicago, 2000).
Sponsored by UCLA Center for Chinese Studies. For further information, call (310) 825-8683.
February 27, 2002
The Autobiography of a Tibetan Buddhist Hermitess: Remarks on Hagiography, History and Gender
Kurtis Schaeffer
University of Alabama3:30 pm
243 Royce Hall, UCLASponsored by UCLA Department of East Asian Languages & Cultures and UCLA Center for Buddhist Studies. For further information call: 310-206 8235 or 310-825-2089.
February 27-March 3, 2002
17th Santa Barbara International Film FestivalMai's America February 28, 2002 3:30 pm Victoria Hall 33 W. Victoria St., Santa Barbara World PremiereThis film shows the U.S. through the eyes of a spunky, mini-skirted Vietnamese exchange student. Mai’s first host family was depressed, rarely smiling; her second was undergoing severe marital problems. Her best friend was Chris,a transvestite, who has a “reality check” and decides, after all, he is a man. Non-judgmental, eager to learn, Mai observes and befriends everyone. Returning to Vietnam for vacation, she gently observes the differences between the countries and cultures.Director: Marlo Poras; Producer: Marlo Poras; Screenwriter: Marlo Poras; Cinematography: Marlo Poras; Editor: Michele Gisser. USA, 2002. 1:26 minutes.About the director: Marlo Poras lived in Hanoi for two years, producing AIDS education videos for Vietnamese teens. This is her first feature. For more information, visit: www.marloporas.com.Shanghai GhettoFebruary 28, 2002 7:30 pm Metro 4 Theater 618 State St., Santa Barbara World PremiereIn the late 1930’s Germany, as the drums of war and holocaust boomed, only the fortunate or luckiest among the Jews were able to escape. 8,000 miles away was Shanghai, China’s commercial center and already home to two separate Jewish neighborhoods. Over the next several years, approximately 20,000 Jews made the voyage, not knowing what to expect. The newcomers were placed in Hongkew district, already home to desperately poor Chinese and Japanese. Survivors tell their stories, rare archival photos reveal their lives. This is a well-told, valuable chapter of Holocaust survival history.Directors/Producers/Editors: Dana Janklowicz-Mann, Amir Mann; Cinematography: Amir Mann. USA, 2002. 1:37 minutes.About the directors: Both directors attended NYU film school; in January, 2000, they opened Rebel Child Productions.For films screening in March, please visit: www.isop.ucla.edu/eas. Click on the "calendar" link, then go to March 2002.
Where to send announcements:
Please send announcements of East Asia-related events, performances, and exhibitions to
Clayton
Dube
UCLA Center for East Asian Studies
11266 Bunche Hall, UCLA
Los Angeles, California 90095-1487
email: <cdube@isop.ucla.edu>
fax: (310) 206-3555
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