Past Events | Beijing International Society

You are here

  1. Home
  2. Past Events
Wednesday, December 10, 2003 - 19:30

Memories of the Boxer Rebellion

Adam Williams

Author, The Palace of Heavenly Pleasure

Hong Kong-born Adam Williams comes from a family of merchants, medical missionaries and railway builders who have worked in and around North China for four generations. Drawing on stories he heard from his grandmother as a child, he has recently written a historical novel set during the period of the Boxer Rebellion that swept China in the 1900s. Adam's book, The Palace of Heavenly Pleasure, was hailed by the London Times “as good as an adventure story gets”. Published in August 2003, this novel is on one level romantic fiction. It also sheds light on a turbulent period...
Thursday, December 4, 2003 - 19:30

Architecture of Old Shanghai

Tess Johnston
Author and Historian

Tess Johnston has been researching the history of Shanghai's Western buildings for over twenty years. Author of several coffee-table books on Shanghai, Tess and her photographer, Deke Erh, have taken thousands of photographs of the best of the city's architecture, much of which is now gone forever. From their photo archives they have selected over a hundred slides of the most interesting buildings, which Tess will present in her slideshow for you. She will accompany the showing with her lively commentary and anecdotes about each building shown.
Thursday, October 23, 2003 - 19:30

Tangka Tibetan Tapestry: A Disappearing Chinese Art

Jiang Qiqi
Art Expert

Ms. Jiang Qiqi is one of the respected names in the Chinese Art World and well known in the Chinese arts and cultural circles, both in China and abroad, for her efforts in promoting Chinese Arts and Crafts. She has organized Chinese art exhibitions in Switzerland, Germany and the Royal Palace in Spain. Among her most notable projects has been the filming of the series 'Travelling in the Kingdom of Ceramics', a first in historical documentary TV, which was taken in various kiln locations in China. She will talk on Tangka Tibetan tapestry used by the nomadic Tibetans for their...
Saturday, October 18, 2003 - 09:00

Outing: The Commune at the Great Wall

The Commune at the Great Wall was the dream of Beijing developer, Zhang Xin and her husband. Their grand vision was to build a contemporary architectural museum for private houses in a valley of 8 square kilometers, next to the Great Wall, near Badaling. They invited 12 Asian architects to each build their experimental dream house in an effort to “promote and influence a whole generation of architects, developers and consumers in China”. As patrons of architecture they wish to share this dramatic concept with us. Hans, the manager of The Commune, has invited BIS members to visit...
Tuesday, October 14, 2003 - 19:30

Half the Sky: Chinese Women Artists in the 1990s and the Millennium

Joan Lebold Cohen
Author, Photographer

How have Chinese women found their voices in recent years and how do they express themselves? They are from a new generation of Chinese women artists living in China and the West. What they wish to express and the vehicles they use for creation result in powerful works of art. As they conceptualize their issues of concern, they realize their visions. One cannot help but be overwhelmed by the outstanding quality and international nature of the artwork, some of which was produced before those artists had travelled abroad. Joan Lebold Cohen, who many members will remember gave a...
Thursday, October 9, 2003 - 19:30

Criminal Justice and Sino-American Relations

Professor J. Cohen
Law Professor

Since the first American ship arrived in China in 1784, criminal justice has been a frequent flashpoint in U.S.-China relations. The establishment of the People's Republic in 1949 witnessed several serious disputes over criminal law and procedure relating to American diplomats, missionaries and business people, and this was said to be one of the reasons why the U.S. refused to recognize the new regime in Beijing. Espionage charges led to China's subsequent convictions of other Americans, all of whom were released as Sino-American relations began to thaw in the early 70s. Yet the recent era...
Thursday, September 25, 2003 - 19:30

Building Bridges between Chinese and Western Music

Yu Long, Conductor; Founder, Beijing Music Festival

Yu Long is a Chinese conductor of international prestige. He has been invited to be guest conductor by many famous orchestras such as the Rundfunk Sinfonieorchester Berlin, the Radio Symphony Orchestra in Liepzig, the Academy of Saint Martin in the Fields, the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra and more. He has a special interest in opera productions and, over the years, has developed a wide repertoire. He has produced operas for the Urban Council of Hong Kong for five successive years and also conducted operas in European opera houses, such as the Hamburg State Opera. Born in...
Thursday, September 18, 2003 - 19:30

Carpets and Rugs, Kyrgyz not Samarkand

Rupert Smith

Rupert Smith has been buying and selling old rugs and textiles for many years. His last talk to BIS was on Tibetan rugs and carpets, which was a very popular event. We are very pleased that he will be in Beijing in September and will be introducing us to Kyrgyz rugs. Rupert tells us that here in Beijing the rug dealers tend to refer to Kyrgyz carpets as Samarkand, admittedly some Kyrgyz carpets have Xinjiang designs but their colour and making are totally different to Xinjiang or "Samarkand" pieces. Kyrgystan has been open to foreigners for more than ten years now so further...
Saturday, September 13, 2003 - 09:00

A Walk with the Eunuchs

Michael Crook and Ginny Anami

Ginny Anami and Michael Crook will take BIS members on this most unusual outing. We will visit the former eunuch retirement /graveyard village of Changlesi in Fangshan district, which is an interesting walled community with tombs and remnants of an old temple that used to be run by retired eunuchs. Nearby is the pagoda of Yao Guangxiao, the eunuch tutor/priest of Emperor Yongle, the first Ming Emperor to rule from Beijing. We shall also go to the eunuch museum at the Ming dynasty Tian Yi Mu near Fa Hai Si in Shijingshan district. If time permits we will also try to visit the tomb of the...
Thursday, September 11, 2003 - 19:30

A Look at Chinese Contemporary Art

Xindong Cheng

Artist

Xindong Cheng is one of the most prominent dealers in Chinese art and a curator of contemporary and modern art. Born in 1963 in Zhejiang Province. He went to France in 1989, studying at the famous Art School “Ecole du Louvre” and working for the theatre master Peter Brook and the Galerie de France. Since 1996, Xindong Cheng has been building cultural bridges between China and Europe by organizing big exhibitions of Chinese contemporary artists in France and presentations of the French contemporary art scene and famous artists like Dali or Rodin in 30 cities in China. After each...
Thursday, June 5, 2003 - 19:30

A Summer Picnic with Music in the Garden of the British Ambassador's Residence

Wind Ensemble of Five Principle Players of the China National Symphony Orchestra

Come and join us for this last BIS event of the 2002-2003 year. Escape from the noise and bustle of everyday Beijing and enjoy the trees, grass, flowers, peace and tranquility of the British Embassy Residence Garden. Bring your picnic, wine, picnic rug, (umbrellas), and find a spot on the lawn with your friends before settling down to a magical evening listening to Mozart, Haydn, Vivaldi, etc. The membership desk will be open at 6:00pm giving members plenty of time to arrive and set up their picnics. The Wind Ensemble will begin the performance at 7:00pm and will finish at about 8:...
Thursday, May 29, 2003 - 19:30

Another Look at Chinese Regional Furniture

Richard Latham, Antique furniture collector

Many members will remember Richard Latham from the interesting and fact filled lecture he gave to B.I.S. in June 2002. There was just no enough time, at the lecture, to view all of his slides or ask all the questions that members had. As promised Richard Latham is returning to follow on from that first lecture about antique Chinese furniture. Using slides Richard Latham will continue his exploration and identification of the essentially regional decorative styles, which characterise the antique furniture available in the markets around Beijing. His talk will focus upon the local influences...
Thursday, April 17, 2003 - 19:30

Japanese Cloisonné Enamels and Their Roots in Chinese Art

Fredric T. Schneider

Throughout his career as an attorney, investment banker and hedge fund manager Fredric T. Schneider has been interested in Japanese art. For the past ten years he has focused on Japanese cloisonné and has amassed a large collection. He has interviewed dozens of workers involved in the manufacture of Japanese and Chinese cloisonné and visited many studios and workshops in both countries. Japanese cloisonné enamels produced during the Meiji and Taisho Periods of the second half of the 19th and early 20th centuries are among the most beautiful and technically sophisticated decorative art...
Saturday, April 12, 2003 - 09:00

Outing: The Old Legation Quarter

Immediately south of Dongchang’an Jie lies a rectangle of streets and buildings known to foreigners as the old legation quarter. Two roads, Taijichang and Zhengyi, cut through it from north to south, while from east to west it is traversed by Dongjiaomin Xiang. The legation quarter has in a sense done a disappearing trick. Demolition and new construction have obliterated some of the former compounds and buildings. The very name “legation quarter” has for years been unacceptable to Chinese officialdom. The memory of past weakness, which in 1860 forced the Chinese to capitulate to...
Thursday, April 10, 2003 - 19:30

The Song Sisters: China's Leading Ladies

Prof. Diana Lary

One family, the Songs, produced the two most important political women of modern China. Both married major political figure - Song Qingling was married to Sun Yat-sen, and her younger sister Song Meiling to Chiang Kia-shek - and both made important careers of their own. During the Second World War, for example, Song Meiling was probably the most influential woman in the world, as the symbol of Free China, and a major player in international politics. Song Qingling was later the doyenne of the People's Republic. Song Qingling died some time ago, but Meiling is still alive, at the age...
Thursday, March 27, 2003 - 19:30

The Spread of Buddhism from India to China

H.E. Shankar Menon, Indian Ambassador to Beijing

H.E. Shankar Menon, the Indian Ambassador to Beijing will speak on how Buddhism came to China, its transformation in Central Asia and China, and how this is reflected in Buddhist cave art and temples before the 12th Century. He will discuss both, Buddhism's effect on China and how China changed Buddhism. Ambassador Menon read history in university and specialized in Ancient Indian and Chinese History. He has served thrice in the Indian Embassy in Beijing.
Saturday, March 15, 2003 - 09:00

Outing: A Late Winter Ramble Upcountry

Lesley Walter

In this dusty northern capital where the urban skyline celebrates cars, not people, there is one big antidote to winter blahs. One outdoor activity takes full advantage of the mountains, the new roads, and the history surrounding Beijing - country walks, or rambling, or day-hiking. Winter is when the suburbs are blue and clear. Visibility is downright breathtaking, given what we are used to seeing from town. Walled villages, and reservoir and woodcutters’ trails are there to explore, let alone the Great Wall. Winter trails are also clear of the bush that makes getting lost too easy from...
Thursday, March 6, 2003 - 19:30

Lijiang Botanic Garden and High Alpine Research Station

David Paterson, Deputy Director of Horticulture, Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RGBE)

Dave Paterson, Deputy Director of Horticulture at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RGBE), Scotland, UK, will provide an illustrated talk on an exciting new joint venture focusing on the conservation of rare plants found on the beautiful and rugged Yulong Xue Shan (Jade Dragon Snow Mountain) in Yunnan Province. In his 22 years at the RGBE, Dave Paterson has studied the cultivation of sub-alpine plants from the mountain ranges of South West China. His interest in mountain plants has taken him to many beautiful and remote locations in the Chinese Himalayas where he has also been able to...
Thursday, February 27, 2003 - 19:30

Jade: Symbol of Wealth and Power

Michael Bruhn

Jade has been known and treasured in China for the past 7000 years, starting with the Neolithic cultures of Hongshan, Liangzhu and Longshan. However, most Westerners have little or no understanding of its importance as a symbol of wealth and power in China. In this illustrated lecture Michael Bruhn, who has spoken to BIS members before, will concentrate on 18th century jade carvings, which under Qing imperial patronage, developed rapidly. He will explain the various carving techniques used to transform this hard stone into intricately carved pieces of art. He will also talk about the...
Thursday, February 13, 2003 - 19:30

Chinese Porcelain at the Topkapi Museum

Fei Boliang

In 1453, Mehmed II (1432-81) ordered the construction of the Topkapi Palace, which, for the following 380 years, remained the residence of Ottoman sultans and the centre of the empire. In 1924, the second year after the establishment of the Republic of Turkey, the Topkapi Palace became a museum, hosting one of the world's most abundant imperial treasures. The Topkapi Saray Museum's collection of Chinese Ceramics is one of the largest and most important in the world. The Chinese porcelain in the palace can be divided into four groups according to the Chinese dynasties: Song Dynasty (960-...
Thursday, January 23, 2003 - 19:30

Chinese New Year Folk Paintings and Prints

Prof. Bo Songnian

Traditional Chinese painting can be categorized into three large groups; court paintings made to oblige the emperor or nobility; literati paintings for the personal enjoyment of the gentry and scholars; and folk paintings that enjoyed wide spread circulation among the masses. New Year woodblock prints, drawn and carved with regional traits by folk artisans are an important element of Chinese folk pictorial art. They are used to decorate people's homes and surroundings when celebrating the beginning of the New Year. Although court and literati painting made remarkable achievements, New Year...
Thursday, January 16, 2003 - 19:30

Bringing Education to the Yunnan Minorities

Hilary Wheadon

There are 24 minorities living in Yunnan, 22 of which live in Lincang Prefecture in the southwest of Yunnan, on the border with Myanmar. Most of them live in remote mountainous regions with little or no contact with the outside world. Many of the villages have no roads to connect them with the nearest towns, and the villagers have to walk many kilometers over rough ground to go to school or to take their goods to market. The educational facilities in many of the villages are very poor, many schools being run down or unsafe. Although China has a law, which says that children must attend...