General Highlights:

Brick carving is a traditional folk art that was used to decorate architecture and adorn tombs. Excavations in recent decades have uncovered unique and theatrically-themed brick carvings from the Shanxi province, revealing a passion for theater and opera in this region during the Jin dynasty（1115 - 1234）. The tombs of Shanxi, adorned with beautiful, intricate brick carvings and other décor, illustrate two kinds of popular entertainment：Za Ju, formal performances of written plays and San Qu, performances related to village festivals. An entirely reconstructed tomb will offer visitors a window into the ways ancient art patrons transferred the artistic joys of life into the afterlife. Theater, Life, and the Afterlife：Tomb Décor of the Jin Dynasty from Shanxi, brings to life the intersection of the brick carving and theater traditions. More...

Year of the Dragon（1916, 1928, 1940, 1952, 1964, 1976, 1988, 2000, 2012）! Please join us for our Annual Chinese New Year celebration at Cipriani's 42nd Street in New York City. The evening includes a cocktail reception, a banquet style dinner, an awards ceremony, traditional entertainment, the Red Envelope collection and dancing. More...

In What the U.S. Can Learn from China, Ann Lee adopts a counterintuitive approach and suggests taking a look at America's greatest competitor for answers on how America can stay competitive well into the next century. From Confucian philosophy to governance to foreign aid, she details the policies and practices that have made China a global power and outlines those that may be incorporated into the U.S. capitalist political system. Filled with sharp insights and thorough research, the book adds much needed nuance to the debates over China's role in the global economy and as a rising world power. More...

In celebration of the Year of the Dragon and in commemoration of the Institute's first president, Paul Chih Meng, Arts & Culture presents a special talk and book signing by The Honorable Ambassador Nicholas Platt. In this highly acclaimed memoir, CHINA BOYS：How U.S. Relations with the PRC Began and Grew - A Personal Memoir, diplomat Nicholas Platt describes preparations for the historic Nixon visit to China in 1972 and the interplay within the U.S. delegation during the visit itself. He recounts setting up America's first resident diplomatic office in the PRC, headed by David Bruce, and first encounters between Americans and Chinese, including Olympic athletes, orchestra maestros, Members of Congress, airplane manufacturers, bankers, scientists, and inner city youths. He further reveals the forging of the first links between the Pentagon and the People's Liberation Army following the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and shows how all these diverse practical ties later evolved into today's huge and crucial relationship. He also examines the role played by nongovernmental organizations in building U.S.-China relations. More...

Join Dr. Hsin-Mei Agnes Hsu, Resident Scholar and Consulting Archaeologist to UNESCO World Heritage Centre and Discovery Channel's Ancient Manmade Marvels series, for an introductory virtual tour of China's great museums. This multimedia course to the arts and history of China from the earliest cultures to the Song dynasties will help students better understand China Institute's new exhibition, Theater, Life, and the Afterlife：Tomb Décor of the Jin Dynasty from Shanxi（February 9 - June 17, 2012）. No prior coursework on Chinese culture is required. More...

Renowned scholar and leading architectural historian, Dr. Nancy Shatzman Steinhardt is Professor of East Asian Art in the Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations at the University of Pennsylvania and Curator of Chinese Art at the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. She is author of Chinese Traditional Architecture（1984）, Chinese Imperial City Planning（1990）, and Liao Architecture（1997）, editor and adaptor of A History of Chinese Architecture（2002）, co-editor of Hawaii Reader in Traditional Chinese Culture（2005）, and has written more than 60 scholarly articles and more than 30 book reviews. She has given more than 120 public lectures and conference talks. Dr. Steinhardt has received fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, National Endowment for the Humanities, American Council of Learned Societies, American Philosophical Society, Graham Foundation for Advanced Study in the Fine Arts, Social Science Research Foundation, and Chiang Ching-kuo Foundation. More...

This four-day intensive course will explore Taiwan's fascinating and unique historical development, always with an eye to how it fits into larger regional and global historical patterns that K-12 teachers typically cover in their courses. Topics covered include the Age of Exploration and the Chinese response to European presence in Asia, the Age of the Revolution in the 19th and 20th centuries, the Cold War, the development of a 21st century global economy and ongoing debates about how to understand Taiwan's social and political status from various perspectives. More...

This 36-hour professional development course for K-12 teachers surveys 5,000 years of Chinese culture and society through focused interactions on a broad scope of diverse mediums of artistic expressions. From poetry to painting, music to metallurgy, and including everything in between, the guided group discussions and hands-on activities in this course are designed to be used in the classroom and aim to spark a lifelong passion for Chinese culture in the hopes of positively impacting the lives and imaginations of American students. More...

A delightful evening of cross-cultural networking and learning classic & contemporary Chinese games such as Go, Mahjong, and Chinese Chess. More...

Tickets are on sale now. Casino games, dancing, cocktails and hors d'oeuvres. Red and gold themed or traditional festive attire. Must be age 21 and above. More...

Until a Chinese painting or calligraphic work is mounted, it cannot be framed or hung. Like matting in Western art, mounting can often add value to a piece of art. Furthermore, the mounting method employed often serves as the basis for ascertaining the authenticity of ancient works of art. To help Chinese art lovers and collectors gain insight into traditional Chinese mounting techniques, the Renwen Society at China Institute is inviting Professor Bin Zhou to give a lecture on the topic on Sunday, January 15, 2012 from 2 to 4 pm. Professor Bin Zhou is the Director of the Center of Calligraphy at East China Normal University in Shanghai, China. He is a renowned scholar and calligrapher. As a bonus to the attendance of this rare lecture, those interested can bring their calligraphy or painting works to try their hands at mounting under the guidance of Professor Zhou. This lecture will be in Chinese. More...

中國書畫裝裱與中國的書畫同是中國文化的重要組成部分。書畫的展示、收藏、保存離不開裝裱，書畫裝裱得體與否直接影響到書畫作品的藝術效果。中國書畫裝裱在鑑定古代書畫真偽上越來越被專家所重視，裝裱的形制已成為書畫真偽鑑定的歷史斷代重要證據之一。為幫助書法愛好者進一步了解中國書畫裝裱藝術，華美人文學會1月15日下午2時至4時特邀著名書法家、華東師範大學中國書法教育與心理研究中心主任、博士生導師周斌教授做關於此話題的專題講座。此次講座的內容包括：

1、試圖從中國書畫與裝裱藝術發展作為切入點，從文化學立場上歷時地對裝裱藝術的歷史傳承進行介紹，配有豐富的PPT進行講解，知識性、趣味性強；

2、對裝裱中核心的"托裱"過程作簡要示範，聽眾可以攜帶書畫習作一起參與托裱活動，實踐性強；

3、通過對中國裝裱藝術的歷史發掘，在主講人的個人實踐基礎上，介紹書畫做舊的工藝，進一步美化書畫作品，上手快，應用性強。

Sunday, January 15 ~ 2 - 4 PM

Free member / $5 non-member
To register and learn more about this lecture, please visit  http://chineselectures