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Thursday, December 1, 2011 - 19:30

True Lies: Understanding China's Economic Indicators

Tom Orlik, Economist;

Wall Street Journal Correspondent

Is China's development sustainable? Are China's low-income consumers ready to spend? How does China affect global markets? In his new book, Understanding China's Economic Indicators, leading economist and market analyst Tom Orlik identifies some of China's most significant economic data, explaining why they matter, how they are collected and computed, how reliable they are and what their impact is on equity, commodity and currency markets. Orlik helps make sense of data on everything from Chinese GDP growth to inflation, unemployment, real estate and household consumption. ...
Thursday, November 17, 2011 - 19:30

21st Century Antiques: Jingdezhen Porcelain Today

Benjamin Creutzfeldt, M.A.

What is “the art of antiquing?” How do the methods of production shape the fine porcelain industry today? Why is ancestor worship important when emulating past masters? Join Benjamin Creutzfeldt, Jingdezhen porcelain-maker and former specialist at Christie's Chinese Department, for an in-depth look at how the lively exchange of artistic endeavor continues between the Jingdezhen porcelain industry and world markets, and among artisans, scholars and collectors in the pursuit of producing fine porcelain in the spirit of China's earliest innovations, once the envy of the world. ...
Thursday, November 10, 2011 - 19:30

The Year of Magical Tension: Ten Things You Need to Understand about the Contemporary Chinese Art Scene Now

Phil Tinari

Editor in Chief, LEAP;

newly announced Director, UCCA

Founding Editor in Chief of China's first bilingual contemporary art magazine LEAP and newly announced Director of the Ullens Center for Contemporary Art, Philip Tinari presents ten key events, figures and developments that have shaped the current art climate in China over the past year. Each example will be looked at through a domestic lens—China's own growing consciousness of art and its social implications—as well as within the global context of China's changing role on the international stage.
Thursday, October 27, 2011 - 19:30

Peering into the Hermit Kingdom: The View of North Korea from China

Barbara Demick

Beijing Bureau Chief, Los Angeles Times

What we can learn about the world's most secretive country from the Chinese side of the border? How does China both protect and challenge the status quo in North Korea today? Award-winning foreign correspondent Barbara Demick has had an unparalleled view into North Korea's isolated state since 2001, when she moved to Seoul for the Los Angeles Times. Her reporting on North Korea won the Overseas Press Club Award for human rights reporting, the Asia Society Osborn Elliott Prize and the American Academy of Diplomacy Arthur Ross Award. She is the author of Nothing to Envy:...
Thursday, October 20, 2011 - 19:30

China in Revolution: The Road to 1911

Liu Heung Shing
Photojournalist;
Editor, China in Revolution: The Road to 1911

The 1911 revolution ended dynastic rule in China and paved the way for the founding of Asia's first republic. Triggered by an accidental bomb explosion in Wuchang (modern-day Wuhan), the revolution marked the culminating point of decades of internal rebellion, foreign aggression and political decline; its leaders drew on a ferment of reformist and revolutionary ideas produced by some of China's greatest modern thinkers. Liu Heung Shing will present China in Revolution: The Road to 1911, a remarkable survey of rare historical photographs from leading collections around the...
Monday, October 10, 2011 - 19:30

India, China and the West: Thoughts on the Colonial Period

Dr. Tansen Sen

Associate Professor of Asian History and Religions,

Baruch College, The City University of New York

The entry of the European colonial powers into Asia changed the fundamental nature of India-China relations. Most writings on this phase of India-China interactions focus on the Opium Wars, the British interest in Tibet and the demarcation of borders between the two countries. Dr. Tansen Sen will present neglected facets of exchanges between India and China that deserve more extensive examination such as: the changing nature of written sources and mutual perceptions; the formation of diasporic communities of laborers, “expatriate patriots” and spying networks; and the Asian...
Thursday, September 29, 2011 - 19:30

From Bound Feet to Stilettos

Lars Ulrik Thom and Simon Rom Gjeroe
Co-founders, Beijing Postcards

When were women first allowed to attend school in the capital? When was the tradition of bound feet abandoned? How did communism affect the idea of how a good woman should behave? Through their engaging narrative of three weddings and a divorce, Lars Ulrik Thom and Simon Rom Gjeroe will take us along the 100-year journey of three women living in Beijing: Grandmother Zhang with “liberation feet,” the retired office worker Sun, and Xue Rui, a career woman in her thirties. Examining their mark on history—their lives, marriages and one divorce—they explore the transformation of the...
Saturday, September 17, 2011 - 19:30

Outing: Wine God Bridge Village with Lijia Zhang

Lijia Zhang

Author

Join prominent social commentator Lijia Zhang on a guided tour through her neighborhood, Wine God Bridge village (Jiuxianqiao). While walking through narrow streets, enjoy an authentic experience seeing the real and changing China: an informal labor market, the real market, a rubbish collection center and her Ayi's home. Lijia will discuss many of the pressing issues facing this local Beijing community and all of China, including migration, the income gap, poverty and social security. Lijia Zhang was born and raised in Nanjing. She is the author of Socialism is Great! A Worker's...
Thursday, September 15, 2011 - 19:30

Shooting for the Stars: Jesuit Scientists and Artists in Imperial Beijing (1600-1800)

Prof. Eugenio Menegon

Department of History, Boston University

The first sustained religious, cultural and scientific encounter between China and Europe started in the 1600s. On the European side, the actors were a group of Catholic missionary priests and scientists, the Jesuits; on the Chinese side were scientists, Han and Manchu officials, and the emperor of China himself. Bringing Christianity to China was the main goal of the Jesuits; yet, in the process, they also brought European notions of astronomy, geography, mathematics and geometry; perspective and naturalistic painting; rococo architecture and French gardening; and clocks and red wine....
Thursday, September 8, 2011 - 19:30

In Search of White Gold: Tsa'lam – The Ancient Himalayan Salt Route

Jeff Fuchs
Explorer and Author

BIS warmly welcomes the return of explorer Jeff Fuchs, the first westerner to trek the ancient Tea Horse Road, and now, to share his traverse of the daunting eastern Himalayan Tsa’lam—the ancient Salt Road. Largely forgotten, the Salt Road remains culturally, historically and geographically one of the least documented routes on earth. For centuries, nomads travelled to every corner of their windblown mountain kingdoms to search for precious salt. Passing along the fabled Kunlun mountains in southern Qinghai province, few people can recall having travelled the demanding and map-less...
Thursday, May 26, 2011 - 19:30

BIS 30th Anniversary Special Presentation—China: The Next 30 Years

With panelists:

Jamil Anderlini, Beijing Correspondent, Financial Times
Annie Wang, Author and Editor

Joerg Wuttke, General Manager and Chief Representative, BASF China
James Chau, Television Presenter, CCTV-9; (Moderator)

BIS is pleased to announce the second of two BIS 30th anniversary special presentations — China: The Next 30 Years. A panel of distinguished guests will share their perspectives and predictions on what China's future may bring — a no-holds-barred discussion of what's ahead as we envision and approach the middle of the 21st century. James Chau of CCTV-9 will moderate. The panelists are: Jamil Anderlini, Beijing Correspondent, Financial Times Jamil Anderlini has been Beijing Correspondent for the Financial Times since April 2007. He was...
Thursday, May 12, 2011 - 19:30

BIS 30th Anniversary Special Presentation—China: The Past 30 Years

With panelists:

Michael Crook, 60-year China Hand
Caroline Puel, Asia Bureau Chief, Le Point

H.E. Eugeni Bregolat, Ambassador of Spain
Edward Gargan, former Beijing, Hong Kong and South Asia Bureau Chief, The New York Times; (Moderator)

In celebration of 30 years dedicated to exploring, discussing and sharing China's rich history and culture and subjects far and wide, BIS is pleased to announce the first of two BIS 30th anniversary special presentations — China: The Past 30 Years. A panel of prominent China hands will discuss the extraordinary events of the past three decades and share insights on an era that has re-shaped China and the world. Ed Gargan will moderate. Michael Crook, Third Generation China Hand Born in Beijing shortly after the founding of the PRC, Michael lived...
Saturday, April 16, 2011 - 10:00

Outing: National Museum of China

National Museum of China

16 Dong Changan Jie

Tiananmen Square, East Side

After three years of renovations, the National Museum of China is finally open to the public and is now the largest museum of its kind in the world, housing over one million cultural and historical artifacts. Join BIS on a special visit to this stunning new space, including a curator-led tour of two current exhibitions, Ancient Chinese Buddhist Sculpture and The Road of Rejuvenation: A History of Modern China from 1841 to the Present. This event is limited to 30 BIS members only and is SOLD OUT. Please note that...
Thursday, April 14, 2011 - 19:30

China Boom or Bust: The Economic Miracle and the Dangers of Unbalanced Growth

Michael Pettis
Professor of Finance, Guanghua School, Peking University;
Managing Director, Shenyin Wanguo Securities (Hong Kong)

China has managed growth rates of over 10% on average for nearly three decades, surpassing Japan this year as the world's second largest economy. Policymakers and advisors are increasingly worried about unbalanced growth and most commentators claim that the investment boom is leading to serious problems in many sectors, chief among them, real estate. Beijing-based financial expert and Wall Street veteran Michael Pettis will argue that imbalances and over-investment are an inevitable consequence of China's growth model and a very difficult adjustment lies ahead. Michael Pettis is...
Thursday, April 7, 2011 - 19:30

From the Imperial Workshops to International Auction Houses: Qing Ceramics Then and Now

Mike Bruhn, Director
International Business Development
China Guardian Auction Company

Chinese ceramics embody and reflect the culture and development of Chinese imperial history. Today, Chinese porcelain makes a different kind of headline news, spurred by staggering auction sales and the emergence of a new and influential class of Chinese collectors. Mike Bruhn has advised patrons and trustees of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Tate Modern, the British Museum, the V & A, the Guimet and many others. In this talk, he will take us through representative works of Qing dynasty porcelain and discuss the aesthetic and technical merits of the period, the influence of...
Thursday, March 31, 2011 - 19:30

China's Internet Obsession

Dr. Marina Yue Zhang, Author, China 2.0,
Jeremy Goldkorn, Founder and Editor-in-chief, Danwei.org
David Wolf, Advisor and Blogger, SiliconHutong.com

The over 400 million netizens of China are among the best-connected in the world, while there are said to be 800 million mobile-phone users in active communication around the country. How are these two interconnected worlds influencing the young in school, at work, at home and at play? How and where is the Internet leading, and how is it being managed and controlled? A moderated panel of experts assembled by BIS, including Dr. Marina Yue Zhang, author of China 2.0, Jeremy Goldkorn, founder and editor-in-chief of Danwei.org and David Wolf, advisor to Internet companies and...
Thursday, March 24, 2011 - 19:30

Dreaming in Chinese: Mandarin Lessons in Life, Love and Language

Deborah Fallows, Ph.D.

Author; Linguist

A linguist by training, Deborah Fallows discovered that her struggles and triumphs in studying Mandarin provided small clues to deciphering the behavior and habits of the Chinese people and the culture's conundrums. In her new book, Dreaming in Chinese: Mandarin Lessons in Life, Love and Language (Walker & Co. US; Shortbooks, UK, 2010), Ms. Fallows describes how bits of the language—a word, a phrase, or an oddity of grammar—became windows into understanding romance, humor, relationships and the overflowing humanity of modern China. Deborah Fallows is a Harvard graduate...
Thursday, March 17, 2011 - 10:00

Uncovering Buried Treasure in Pearl Buck: Morning Tea with Hilary Spurling

Hilary Spurling, Author

Acclaimed British journalist and biographer, Hilary Spurling, actively seeks out the intense inner lives of her subjects, ferreting out secrets that can surprise even their own families. Discussing her most recent success, Burying the Bones: Pearl Buck in China, Spurling will share with BIS some of her own secrets about the life of Pearl Buck, the daughter of early 20th century US missionaries, author of novels of life in China and winner of the 1938 Nobel Prize for Literature. Hilary Spurling is at the height of an award-winning career that has spanned more than 30 years...
Thursday, February 24, 2011 - 19:30

From 'Made in China' to 'Designed in China': Contemporary Chinese Fashion and the New Chinese Consumer

Hung Huang
CEO, China Interactive Media Group;
Publisher and Fashion Entrepreneur

Chinese consumers have increasingly coveted Western luxury brands, with China now the world´s second-largest market for luxury goods. Is the Chinese market ready to embrace Chinese brands and designs? Can China move beyond its status as "factory to the world" and show its creative capability? Publisher and fashion entrepreneur Ms. Hung Huang will speak about the challenges facing Chinese designers as they aim to produce innovative, high-quality designs that transcend the negative connotations of "Made in China" and reinterpret Chinese motifs. Hung Huang, a Beijing native, graduated...
Thursday, February 17, 2011 - 19:30

New Foreign Policy Actors in China

Dean Knox, SIPRI

substituting for Linda Jakobson

Director, China and Global Security Programme,

Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI)

Understanding the complex nature behind China's foreign policy is of utmost importance to the international community in seeking China's engagement and cooperation. Expanding pluralism within Chinese society and China's growing interdependence upon the international community have led to the emergence of many new foreign policy actors. Some of these new interest groups try to sway official policy and seek additional leverage by influencing each other and public opinion. Others, who often operate on the margins, do not necessarily seek an active role in foreign policy, but at times...
Thursday, January 20, 2011 - 19:30

Dateline Beijing: Reporting China in the 80s

Jane Macartney
China Bureau Chief,
The Times

Jane Macartney, The Times correspondent in China since 2005, will talk about the experience of covering China at the end of the 1980s when the country saw an astonishing outburst of discussion, albeit in "salons" and in newspapers rather than on the Internet, as the end of the Cultural Revolution and the start of reform unleashed a ferment of ideas. She will talk about some of the people and their debates that ranged from academia to the Politburo. She will share how she reported on that intellectual excitement that culminated with student demonstrations on an unprecedented scale...