General Highlights:

Education

Mandarin for Future Mandarin Teachers Summer Professional Development Program ~ Early Bird Registration Starts

Mandarin for Future Mandarin Teachers（MFMT）was established in 2006 through CI@CI, a partnership between China Institute and East China Normal University（ECNU）. This summer program provides scholarships for a select group of pre-service and in-service Chinese language teachers to take professional development courses taught by distinguished ECNU professors who are leading scholars in their respective fields. More...

Contemporary Chinese Films Course ~ Begins February 3, 2012

Join us for a detailed analysis of five films made by Zhang Yimou, Lu Yue, Jia Zhangke, and others. Students will see a highly sophisticated use of cinematic technique. In addition, a Western film（Cinema Pardiso）will be included in discussion for comparison to illustrate the differences and similarities in cinematic technique, culture, and history. More...

Chinese New Year Celebration for Families ~ February 5, 2012

Greet the Year of the Dragon with a traditional Chinese lion dance, Kung Fu demonstration, and various family workshops. More...

A Multi-disciplinary Workshop：Teaching Through Puppetry and Performance ~ February 15, 2012

Chinese puppetry and performance has a long and rich theatrical tradition, and it's also a great way to engage your student learners by introducing fun and colorful cultural aspects to your classroom. Whether you are an art teacher, a Social Studies teacher, or a Chinese language teacher, this multi-disciplinary workshop will spark your creative powers and provide practical ideas for interdisciplinary curriculum units to take back to your school. More...

Understanding Taiwan's Place in World History ~ Begins February 21, 2012

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. This course is strongly suggested for anyone interested in future Teach China study tours to China and Taiwan. More...

Understanding China Through Literature and the Arts ~ Begins February 29, 2012

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...

Corporate Programs

Book Signing - Startup Asia：Top Strategies for Cashing in on Asia's Innovation Boom ~ February 7, 2012

Rebecca A. Fannin gives a close-up view into the key growth trends shaping venture capital and entrepreneurship in Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Bangalore, Delhi, Mumbai, Singapore, Taipei, Hanoi, and Ho Chi Minh City. She shows how a new generation is no longer looking to the West for cues but is instead crafting its own local business models and succeeding in tackling the risks of doing business in Asia's developing markets. More...

Arts & Culture

Exhibition-Related Lecture - The Afterlife, Architecture, and Drama：Jin-Yuan Tombs in Southern Shanxi ~ February 9, 2012

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...

Short Course on the Arts and History of China, Part I ~ February 14 & 28, 2012

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 on 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...

Sinomathèque Film Series：Fortune Teller（Suan Ming）, directed by Xu Tong（2010）~ February 21, 2012

"The colorful life of a countryside fortune teller provides a candid and deeply revelatory look at people living on the fringes of Chinese society. Li Baicheng is a charismatic fortune teller who services a clientele of prostitutes and shadowy figures whose jobs, like his, are commonplace but technically illegal in China. He practices his ancient craft in a village near Beijing while taking care of his deaf...wife Pearl, who he rescued from her family's mistreatment. Winter brings a police crackdown on both fortune tellers and prostitutes, forcing Li and Pearl into temporary exile, during which they visit their hometowns and confront old family demons. Li's humble story is punctuated with chapter headings reminiscent of Qing Dynasty popular fiction..." -dGenerate Films More...

Members' Events

Chinese New Year Soirée with the Young Associates ~ February 4, 2012

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...Renwen Society
Renwen Lecture：Zisha Teapot in the Intellectual Life of China ~ February 12, 2012To help Chinese art lovers and collectors gain insight into the appreciation and collection of zisha or purple-clay teapots, the Renwen Society at China Institute is inviting Professor Kang Er, Director of the Art Center at Nanjing University, to give a lecture on this unique artifact. Made out of fine clay that turns reddish brown or purple black after firing, zisha teapots embody the grace and refinement of Chinese culture. From a functional point of view, it is a nourishing vessel that changes with the aroma, flavor and color of tea. From an aesthetic perspective, it is an instrument of seduction, edification and cultivation. From a cultural standpoint, it is a carrier of knowledge, an ideal marriage of yin and yang, as well as a perfect union of Confucian, Taoist and Buddhist teachings. Professor Kang is a connoisseur and expert on zisha teapots and has given a series of talks on the subject on CCTV to millions of viewers. He has also written a TV drama on zisha teapots. More...

Renwen Lecture：Pre-Qin Xiaozhuan（Small Seal Script）~ February 18, 2012

In the popular history of Chinese characters, the Small Seal Script, an ancient calligraphy style, is traditionally considered to have been systemized by Prime Minister Li Si during the reign of the First Emperor of China during the Qin Dynasty. However, a recent study shows that the Small Seal Script actually emerged as a mature writing style in a much earlier time period. Please join Renwen Society for a lecture by Mr. Zheng Qingyun, a scholar and collector of ancient Chinese texts carved on jade, who draws from 5000 years of Chinese history to shed new light on pre-Qin Small Seal Script. His research challenges popular beliefs about this ancient text form. More...