Thursday, 6 November
Tibetan Textiles: Reviving Traditional Skills
Mr. Chris Buckley, Tibetan Specialist
Venue: Embassy of Kuwait
科威特国大使馆光华路23号 Keweite Dashiguan 23 Guanghua Lu
Membership desk open 7:00 pm for 7:30 pm lecture
ABOUT THE EVENT:
Throughout its history, Tibet has been largely pastoral, with its herds of yaks, sheep and other animals providing the material for producing a variety of textile products, including blankets, tents, clothing and, of course, carpets. However, in recent years many of the traditional skills have been lost.
Chris Buckley, working together with the Tibet Artisan Initiative in Lhasa, has spent the past three years working to recover some of the traditional Tibetan natural dyeing methods. He will talk about Tibet's rich history of textile manufacture (whether in small-scale cottage industries or larger, commercial enterprises), as well as textile uses. He will also discuss the sometimes unexpected environmental and social issues relating to dye choice and textile manufacture in Lhasa and area.
Chris Buckley has lived in China since 1995. He made his first trip to Tibet in 1996, from which time his interest in Tibetan art and culture developed. He received a PhD in chemistry from Oxford, training which has proved beneficial to his latest researches into traditional dyeing technologies.
Thursday, 13 November
Yin Yu Tang, the Many Lives of a Chinese House
Dr. Nancy Berliner
Curator of Chinese Art, Peabody Essex Museum
Venue: Embassy of the Czech Republic
捷克共和国大使馆建国门外日坛路2号 Jieke Dashiguan 2 Ritan Lu
Membership desk open 7:00 pm for 7:30 pm lecture
ABOUT THE EVENT:
Yin Yu Tang, a merchant's house from a small village in the mountainous region of southern Anhui Province, embraces within its walls layers of lives and decorations from two centuries: strikingly designed and carved 18th century windows, 19th century chairs and beds, early 20th century kerosene lamps and Cultural Revolution posters. Today the house stands at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts, where visitors can explore the architecture, decor and stories of the family who inhabited this home for eight generations. The project of dismantling, researching, conserving, and re-erecting Yin Yu Tang, this sixteen bedroom, two story post-and-beam house, took seven years and involved many Chinese and American craftsmen, engineers, architects and historians as well as family members. In her talk, Nancy Berliner, Curator of Chinese Art at the Peabody Essex Museum, will present the multiple layers of lives and moments of Yin Yu Tang, making use of photographs, historic images, family archives and letters.
Nancy Berliner, PhD, is the author of Yin Yu Tang, The Architecture and Daily Life of a Chinese House (Boston, Tokyo, Tuttle, 2003) selected by the New York Times Book Review as a Notable Book of 2003, and has written books and curated exhibitions on Chinese art, culture and furniture for the Peabody Essex Museum, Boston Museum of Fine Arts and many other institutions. She is a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard University, and also studied at the Central Academy of Art in Beijing.
Thursday, 20 November
Breaking with Tradition: The Challenges of Parenting in China
Ms. Yanhong Wheeler,
Parenting Specialist
Venue: The New Zealand Embassy
新西兰大使馆日坛东二街1号 Xinxilan Dashiguan 1 Ritan Dong Er Jie
Membership desk open 7:00 pm for 7:30 pm lecture
ABOUT THE EVENT:
Breast milk or formula? Diapers or split pants? Obedience or individuality? While these questions provoke impassioned debate anywhere in the world, they’re particularly poignant in China, where the government’s one-child policy creates immense pressure on mothers and fathers who will never get a second chance to be a better parent. In this environment, one parenting specialist is causing a stir—and becoming a fixture on bestseller lists. She is Xiao Wu, the “Wee Witch” – the nom de plume for Ms. Yanhong Wheeler.
Yanhong Wheeler challenges traditional Chinese child-rearing methods and cites Western philosophical principles as the basis of her approach. She will discuss her many campaigns against common perceptions that are no longer applicable in China’s swift-moving society. Her lecture will examine the issues that make up the parenting debate as well as the core challenges in cultivating a more diverse and innovative path for China’s children and the country’s future.
Born in Beijing and a graduate of Peking University in English, Ms. Wheeler holds a Masters of Education from Rutgers University (US) and is married to a New Zealander with whom she has two children. She has penned four books and is a celebrated columnist for the Chinese version of “Parents” magazine.
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