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Spring - San Diego Chinese Historical Museum
San Diego Chinese Mission Building 404 Third Avenue San Diego, CA 92101 T: 619 338 9888 F: 619 338 9889 www.sdchm.org [email protected] A FEAST FIT FOR A TIGER Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Extension 328 J Street San Diego, CA 92101 Alex Stewart, Museum Staff SPRING 2010 The mission of SDCHSM is to collect, preserve and share the Chinese American experience and Chinese history, culture and art and to educate the diverse community and its visitors. MUSEUM HOURS Tuesday-Saturday 10:30am-4:00pm Sunday 12pm-4pm Closed Mondays Admission $2 Members Free Group tours are available upon request. Please share this information with your local school or organization. CHA the tea plant, an infusion of tea leaves Written by Wang Xizhi 王羲之 303 - 361 B.C.E 茶具 a tea service set 茶館 tea house, tea shop 茶道 tea ceremony 茶房 waiter A gray and rainy evening did not dampen anyone’s spirits at this year’s annual banquet. Tickets to the event sold out weeks in advance, and we were honored to have so many people so eager to attend our big annual celebration. We apologize to those who were unable to get tickets, but we must admit, having more supporters than we can fit into one restaurant is a good problem to have. Indeed, it was a star-studded evening at the Pearl Restaurant in Rancho Bernardo. Banquet guests enjoyed the Latin music of Anacani, who starred on The Lawrence Welk Show for ten years. Museum patrons enjoy a Chinese New Year feast at While she is well versed in serenading audiences in Pearl Restaurant in Rancho Bernardo. both Spanish and English, Anacani even learned to sing the Chinese love song Embroidered Pouch 綉荷包 especially for our banquet. Most of the other prominent guests were not part of the entertainment for the evening, but they are partially responsible for making everything the museum does possible. Such dignitaries included County Supervisor Ron Roberts, former city councilman and museum cofounder Tom Hom, Viejas Chairman Charlie Brown, owner of Genghis Khan Furniture Annie Chen, and too many major museum donors to possibly name here. But Tom Hom, Tom Lee, Lily Lin, and Michael Yee all received special recognition for their years of service to the museum. Following Anacani, Helena Yuen 陳惠美 sang two more Chinese songs, How Do You Say 你怎麼說 and Sound of Applause 掌聲響起, while guests enjoyed their New Year feast featuring everything from lobster to Peking duck. Rebecca Tang also performed two songs from a musical written by Dr. Howard Rubenstein called Romance of the Western Chamber, which is based on the famous Chinese story of the same name. From the musical selections the audience heard at the banquet, we anticipate its eminent Broadway debut. Of course, for some, the real highlight of the evening was the announcement of the silent auction * Genghis Khan Furniture, As I Know It and drawing winners. Once again, Genghis Khan Furniture donated numerous fabulous antiques * Along the River: Women in the Qing for guests to marvel at and vie over in the silent Ming Shang He Tu auction. And after wisely investing in tickets for the * The Art of Catherine Woo drawing, some lucky guests got to take home gift certificates to renowned attractions like SeaWorld * The Spirit and Passion of Chinese Brush Painting and Legoland, fine restaurants like Roppongi and In This Issue Continued on Page 19 Spring 2010 The San Diego Chinese Historical Society & Museum is funded in part by the Commission for Arts and Culture, City of San Diego PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE D San Diego Chinese Historical Society and Museum Board President Lilly Cheng ear Friends and Supporters of the San Diego Chinese Historical Museum, Happy Chinese New Year to you and your families and I wish the Year of the Tiger will bring you joy and happiness! On February 6th, the museum celebrated our annual banquet and we felt very blessed to see so many of you there. Our entertainment was fantastic including two singers, Anacani and Helena Yuen, who presented melodies familiar to us all. As a final surprise, we enjoyed two dynamic and enchanting songs from a musical written by Dr. Howard Rubenstein based on the famous Chinese story Romance of the Western Chamber. The banquet dinner was delicious, and the atmosphere was wonderful. In such an economic downturn, we were delighted that so many were able to come and support our banquet. In fact, the banquet was sold out weeks before the actual event, which was incredibly encouraging to us. We paid special tributes to Tom Hom, Michael Yee, Lily Lin and Tom Lee for their exemplary contributions and leadership of our museum. Our deepest gratitude goes to Genghis Khan Furniture for their continuous support of our museum, especially through giving us so many wonderful artifacts for silent auctions and museum displays. As many of you know, we have begun a campaign for an endowment for our museum. We have made some gains, but we still need your help. During the banquet, Alex and Agnes Chuang provided a check of $10,000 toward the endowment fund, and we are very appreciative of their generosity. Indeed, it is such events that make us feel affirmed by the individuals who care about us. On February 20th and the 21st, the museum actively participated in the annual Chinese New Year Food and Cultural Fair downtown. Over a thousand people came to visit our museum and many even stopped to browse and purchase items from our sale. We are deeply grateful to all of the volunteers who made this event such a huge success. There will be many new programs and exhibitions coming up in the year 2010. We will continue to seek your advice and counsel in order to continue improving our services to you. Thank you from the bottom of my heart, Lilly Cheng BOARD OF DIRECTORS HONORARY CIRCLE MUSEUM STAFF Dr. Lilly Cheng, President Marion So So,, Secretary Ruth Carpenter Dr. Alexander Chuang Diana Marjip - Chuh Sawyer Hsu Donna Lee Dr. Teh-Hsuang (Tom) Lee Dr. Polly Liew Linda Tu Dr. Sandra Wawrytko Dolly Woo Sandy Woods Shian-shi Yao 2 Jenny Benson Eleanor Bregman, Esq. Dr. & Mrs. William & Margaret Chang Dr. & Mrs. Shu-Sing & Yui-May Chang Dr. Winnie Wong Chase Peggy Cheong Drs. Shu & Kuang-Chung Chien David Du Gorman & Dolores Fong Dr. & Mrs. Y.C. & Luna Fung Dr. & Mrs. Richard & Sophia Henke Tom & Loretta Hom Jeffrey Hsieh Dr. J. Jim Hsieh Dr. & Mrs. Walter & Liang C. Ku Theresa Lai Dr. & Mrs. Shao-Chi & Lily Lin Betty Ma Dr. & Mrs. Harry & Constance Mow Larry & Theresa Song Drs. Charles & Lily Wang Edward G. & Ellen G. Wong Dr. & Mrs. Savio & Pattie Woo Drs. Jung Fu & Jennie Wu Dr. & Mrs. William & Amy Yuan Executive Director: D Dr. r. Alexander Chuang Treasurer: Dr. Teh-Hsuang (Tom) Lee Curator of Chinese American History: Murray Lee Museum Operations Coordinator: Norman Fong Education Coordinator: Alex Stewart Graphic Designer: Jessica Matsumoto Administrative Assistants/Docents: Alex Stewart, Mary Anne Lacaman, Jessica Matsumoto, Priscila Echeverria, Joseph Ho Administration Consultant: Tom Hom Display Consultant: Daisy Kuan Community Relations Coordinator: Michael Yee San Diego Chinese Historical Museum CONTENTS ON THE COVER: A FEAST FIT FOR A TIGER 2 PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE 3 MUSEUM UPDATE 4 GENGHIS KHAN FURNITURE, AS I KNOW IT 5 THE ART OF CATHERINE WOO 6 IN MEMORIAM 7 HISTORICAL PHOTO GALLERY OLD SHANGHAI: NANJING ROAD 8 IN LIKE A TIGER... SAN DIEGO CHINESE HISTORY TRIVIA QUESTIONS 9 CURATOR’S CORNER 10 / 11 MUSEUM PHOTO GALLERY 12 THE SPIRIT AND PASSION OF CHINESE BRUSH PAINTING 13 EDUCATION UPDATE 14 ALONG THE RIVER: WOMEN IN THE QING MING SHANG HE TU 15 A TREAT FOR THE EYES AND EARS 16 APHAFIC UPDATE 18 FUNDING AND DONOR SUPPORT ENDOWMENT FUND UPDATE Spring 2010 MUSEUM UPDATE MUSEUM UPDATE By Alexander Chuang, Executive Director Spring is typically the museum’s busiest season of the year, and the first few months of 2010 have been busy indeed! Thanks to a listing in the Union Tribune and to the nearby American Historical Society convention, January’s walking tour boasted an impressive fifty participants! A few days later on January 16th, the museum was invited to participate in the Downtown Multicultural Fair for the second year in a row. Visitors to the museum booth learned about the history Lilly Cheng and Alex Chuang present an award to of San Diego’s Chinatown, had their names Catherine Yi-yu Cho Woo. written in Chinese calligraphy, and learned the Chinese game “three in a row” . On January 23rd, the museum collaborated with the Red Lotus Society for their Chinatown Cultural Peace Party by performing Chinese calligraphy demonstrations for guests at the event. On January 24th, SDCHM again collaborated with the Chinese Art Society, co-sponsoring the youth art exhibit at their 14th annual International Art & Music Festival. One of the highlights of this season took place on the evening of February 6th when the museum hosted its 14th Annual Banquet. The event was a great success! Guests at the banquet enjoyed themselves tremendously as they feasted on a ten-course dinner, were entertained by live music, and had the opportunity to win fantastic prizes during the silent auction and prize drawing. This season has also been a busy time for the museum’s in-demand education and outreach programs. Museum staff members have been going off-site to give presentations at schools and other institutions nearly every day of the week! The museum also debuted two new CEPs on ancient Chinese science and technology and on Chinese brush painting and poetry. You can read more about them in the newsletter’s Education Update on page 13. Downtown San Diego’s 28th Annual Chinese New Year Food and Cultural Fair took place on February 20th and 21st. The museum was a major focus of this weekend event with over a thousand guests visiting SDCHM over the two-day period! Visitors to the fair could also enjoy delicious food, numerous vendor booths, craft activities for children, and a main stage with live entertainment. On February 27th, SDCHM collaborated with the Mingei International Museum for their Lantern Festival program. Education Coordinator Alex Stewart delivered an insightful presentation on the history of the Lantern Festival celebration, led a an interactive storytelling session, demonstrated a lantern making activity, and with the assistance of Agnes Chuang explained how to make tang yuan 湯圓, a sweet dumpling traditionally eaten during the Lantern Festival. It is always wonderful when we have the opportunity to collaborate with other museums and institutions in our efforts to reach out to the community and share the Chinese and Chinese-American culture! During the month of March, SDCHM was asked to host exhibits at two local colleges. On March 18th the museum installed an exhibit at Mesa College, which illustrates the history of San Diego’s Chinatown and the role of the Chinese immigrant community in San Diego’s early development. The exhibit will be on display through September. On March 23rd, SDCHM sponsored an exhibit booth on the topic of Chinese calligraphy during San Diego State University’s Spotlight on China event. On March 20th, Dr. Catherine Yi-yu Cho Woo 卓以玉 presented her much-anticipated lecture on the topic of Chinese brush painting and its relationship to poetry. Everyone in attendance enjoyed the presentation tremendously. I hope that with the arrival of spring everyone is enjoying the longer days and the warmer weather. I look forward to seeing you all at the museum! - AC 3 SDCHM EXCLUSIVE Genghis Khan Furniture, As I Know It By Alexander Chuang, Executive Director When museum visitors ask about shopping for Chinese antiques, we always refer them to the same place: Genghis Khan Furniture. They have been a San Diego institution for thirty-two years, located at 1136 Morena Blvd. in San Diego. Among the various Chinese furniture and antique stores in San Diego, Genghis Khan stands out far above the rest in terms of merchandise and service to customers and to the community. The success enjoyed by Genghis Khan is no accident; it is due to the hard work, honesty, and the generosity of its owner and employees, not to mention the exquisite quality of its merchandise. When you walk into the store you can expect a warm welcome from owner Annie Chen, her sisters Alice and Nancy, or manager Sandra Johnson who has been working at Genghis Khan for over mid 1800’s wedding carriage from Yun Cheng, A temple bell made in 1835, on exhibit at the Sun twenty-five years. The knowledgeable AShanxi on display at the museum. Yat-Sen Memorial Extension. staff will take the time to listen and show Recently, they have donated a stone well from the Qing you pieces that match your interests. They will explain the history and design elements of the furniture Dynasty, which is a lovely addition to the garden. When we and artifacts, and they will openly tell you which pieces are bought several stone pieces for an upcoming museum exhibit, genuine antiques and which are contemporary reproductions. they even gave us one additional piece of Qing Dynasty stone It is this sincerity that has enabled Genghis Khan Furniture to carving as a gift. It is not only excellent customer service that has earned establish such an excellent reputation. Annie Chen is truly in a unique class of business owners Genghis Khan Furniture its reputation, but also its large in that her kindness extends beyond her business and selection and fantastic display of furnishings and artifacts into philanthropic efforts within the community. Each available in the store. In addition to the main floor gallery, year Genghis Khan Furniture sponsors a fundraising table the store has a second floor with more pieces to choose from. and contributes unique gifts for the prize drawing at our David Chen, manager of the store’s warehouse and repair shop museum’s annual banquet. In recent years, the store has even and husband of Annie Chen, also directs repairs right in the donated ten valuable pieces for each year’s silent auction at the shop for the customer’s convenience. Being so modest, Annie Chen and the employees of Genghis banquet. These generous contributions have done a great deal to elevate the interest of banquet guests and to raise funds for Khan have never asked for anything in return. They feel that it is their duty and responsibility to give back and do something the museum. In addition to these kind efforts, Genghis Khan Furniture good for the community, and they have proven this time and has donated several magnificent pieces that are now a part of again through their dedication to our museum and to other SDCHM’s permanent collection. An antique bridal carriage organizations. I hope that other merchants will follow the from Yun Cheng 運城 in Shanxi Province 山西省 that example set by Genghis Khan Furniture whose purpose is beautifully adorns the front entrance of the museum and a to not only make money, but also to serve the community. Qing Dynasty 清朝 temple bell just inside the museum’s I wish them the best for their continued prosperity and extension building are greatly admired by museum visitors. happiness! - AC Not only did they freely give us these major pieces, but their staff delivered them and placed them in the museum gallery. 4 San Diego Chinese Historical Museum SDCHM EVENT The Art of Catherine Yi-yu Woo By Priscila Echeverria, Museum Staff On the afternoon of Saturday, March 22nd, a sizeable crowd that the first character 木 (pronounced mù), which is fairly gathered in the museum’s extension building for the lecture, literal in its representation in that it resembles a tree, means “The Art of Catherine Yi-yu Cho Woo 卓以玉.” The multi- “wood” in Chinese and forms part of every tree name. She talented poet, painter, lyricist, and jewelry designer led the further explained that the second character 公 gōng indicates audience through an explanation the pronunciation of the word for of her work and revealed that her “pine,” sōng. After revealing the art has been greatly influenced by logic behind the Chinese character the experiences of her childhood for pine, Dr. Woo quipped that and from having left China as a “learning Chinese cannot be that young woman to live and study difficult if, after all, every fourth in the United States. She wittily person on earth speaks it!” She compared herself to a “café ole.” followed this discussion with her Just as this drink combines the poem, “Thousand Year Pine,” flavors of coffee, chocolate, which painted a vivid picture of cinnamon and cream, she draws a pine tree forest as it endures influence from the rich traditions the seasons. To wrap up her of two cultures and adds a little discussion of the pine, Dr. Woo of her own spice to the mix. displayed a slide of her jewelry Dr. Catherine Woo presents a lecture on her paintings and poetry. Perhaps it was her constant forged from silver wire. In her moving around as a child that inspired her to pursue so many description she emphasized the change of plane of the silver different disciplines and not limit herself to expressing herself spokes from thin to thick and vice-versa, and asked openthrough just one. She also mentioned that her father began endedly whether the design was reminiscent of pine needles. teaching her Chinese classics when she was in fourth grade, Dr. Woo’s lecture continued with several examples such as this and this no doubt helped to instill in her a love of language, in which she elaborated on a theme with various mediums and literature, the art of crafting words. thereby used her many talents to describe a single subject from As she progressed through her lecture, Dr. Woo displayed multiple points of view. a series of slides depicting her paintings, poetry and jewelry. As Dr. Woo recited her poems and displayed slides of her These images and poems were often grouped around a central paintings, calligraphy, and jewelry, she intermittently played theme. While discussing her painting, Pines, she explained songs that borrowed their lyrics from her poetry – a wonderful that in Chinese culture, the pine tree is a popular image. The complement to the visual imagery. Dr. Woo finished her pine symbolizes longevity and is considered one of the “Three lecture with a brief question and answer session and was then Friends of Winter” 岁寒三友 along with the plum tree and presented a certificate of appreciation by Executive Director bamboo. After her explanation, Dr. Woo displayed some Alexander Chuang and Board President Lilly Cheng. calligraphy that depicted the Chinese character for “pine” 松 Following the lecture, visitors were invited to partake in (pronounced sōng). Dr. Woo, who teaches Chinese language, a reception across the street in the museum garden where delivered a short lesson for the non-Chinese speaking audience attendees could sit surrounded by nature and reflect on the members (of whom there were quite a few!). She explained beautiful imagery of Dr. Woo’s paintings and poems. - PE COVER CALLIGRAPHER: Wang Xizhi 王羲之 303-361 C.E. Calligrapher Wang Xizhi was the most notable calligrapher during the Jin Dynasty 晉朝 (265-420 CE). He is still considered one of the best calligraphers in China’s history. Legend has it that Emperor Wu 晉武帝, the founder of the Jin Dynasty, liked Wang Xizhi’s work so much that he collected all of it. When Emperor Wu died, all of Wang Xizhi’s work was buried with him. None of Wang Xizhi’s original works remain today, but some of his best writings were preserved on carved stone tablets. Stone rubbings taken from them have been reproduced and reprinted widely; they have been studied by generations of students and used as examples to learn and practice the art of calligraphy. Unfortunately, rubbings of the stone carvings have also led to the calligraphy carvings’ deterioration. The Jin Dynasty was the only period that saw the country unified between the Wei 北魏 (386-534 CE), Jin and the Southern and Northern Dynasties 南北朝 (420 - 589), but this achievement was not lasting. Although the Jin Dynasty was short and full of conflict, the mixture of nationalities accelerated through long-term contacts and mutual influences. Spring 2010 5 IN MEMORIAM In Memory of Shing-Chi Lam Shing-Chi Lam, 69, died of hemorrhagic stroke on February 13, 2010 in San Diego, California. His final days were spent surrounded by family and friends whom he had touched in many ways. Shing-Chi was born on January 1, 1941 in Hong Kong. He graduated from Hong Kong Pui-Ching High School in 1958, attended Hong Kong Baptist University and was a teacher for over 25 years. He married Lai-Fong on July 4, 1971 in Hong Kong and they have three children. They have lived in San Diego, California since 1987. He was a teacher of many students, but he was regarded more as a loyal friend. He was a great planner who knew exactly what he wanted for himself and his family. He enjoyed traveling, fine dining and spending time with family and friends. Though he was retired from being a math teacher, he continued to Shing-Chi Lam challenge and exercise his mind by playing Sudoku. Lam Shing-Chi is survived by his beloved wife Lai-Fong; two daughters: Cindy and Wendy; son Hon; son-inlaws: Roman and John; daughter-in-law Man; and four grandchildren Evan, Amber, Preston, and Brayden. And the outpouring of sentiments and donations from his friends and students, some of which are printed below, are testament to the many lives he touched: Shing – Chi was a student and teacher at Pui-Ching School in Hong Kong. My husband, Kwan Lok So, was also an alumnus of Pui-Ching School in China and that was how we met Shing-Chi many years ago when we moved to San Diego. The school has a tradition of strong ties among the alumni across geographic areas and over age difference. Shing-Chi was the epitome of this tradition as one witnessed the outpouring support, tributes at the memorial service and the donations to the Chinese Historical Museum by his friends and students. Due to my duty to take care of the museum sales at the Chinese New Year’s Fair of the same weekend, I was not able to attend his memorial service. However, I heard the alumni and students’ singing of the school anthem at his service was very moving. I am sure he will be missed by many of his alumni, students and friends. On a lighter note, being a food lover like Shing-Chi, I will miss sharing meals with him and will think of him when we eat at his favorite restaurant, Jasmine. - Marion So IN MEMORY OF RAYMOND WING LEE Raymond was born on August 15, 1926, raised in San Diego, served in the U.S. Navy during WWII, graduated from Woodbury College of Business in Los Angeles, and remained in the Los Angeles area where he worked and raised a family. Raymond’s memorial service was held in January 2010 at Rose Hills Memorial Park & Mortuary in Whittier, CA. SDCHM sends our condolences and best wishes to the Raymond Wing Lee family, especially to wife Ida, son Craig, daughter Teri (Aalseth), daughter of Ida, Shari Loo, son of Ida, Kevin Loo, and their families. We are so fortunate to have him as our math teacher, and to enjoy his friendship later in life. He really is a 外嚴內慈的好老師 “good teacher who’s strict on the outside and kind on the inside.” He was exactly what the monkey heads needed, discipline and tolerance. We respect all our teachers, but he was one of the few teachers who got the monkey heads’ total unquestionable respect. - David I was always his student and his boy scout. I’ll miss him. - Lau Hung-yan Teacher Lam was not just a math teacher to many of us. I remember him as a scout leader, a great basketball player and a great person as he had helped many of his students not only Continued on Page 19 6 San Diego Chinese Historical Museum HISTORICAL PHOTO GALLERY Old Shanghai: Nanjing Road Nanjing Road 南京路, the best-known commercial street in Shanghai (1898) Nanjing Road (1905) A tram stop on Nanjing Road (1930’s) PHOTOS & TEXT: Old Shanghai A Lost Age. Text by Wu Liang. Photos by China No.2 Historical Archive Shanghai Library. Copyright© 2007 Foreign Language Press. Beijing, China. Spring 2010 7 SDCHM IN THE COMMUNITY I N LIKE A TIGER... By Priscila Echeverria, Museum Staff February 14, 2010 marked the beginning of the New Year (4708 on the Chinese lunar calendar), a date widely celebrated across much of the Asian continent. But in downtown San Diego, February 20th and 21st were the dates to celebrate the arrival of the Year of the Tiger at the 28th Annual Chinese New Year Food & Cultural Fair. Festival attendees were treated to a weekend filled with exciting performances of every kind from music, dance, and Chinese opera, to martial arts, acrobatics, and Asian Story Theater. Visitors also had the chance to sample an array of delicious foods and partake in a variety of fun activities. This may be the Year of the Tiger, but it was the lion that held the spotlight during the fair’s opening ceremony. The colorful and playful lions paraded through the street and as they passed, visitors crowded around for the chance to place a red envelope 紅包 with money in the lion’s mouth. Red envelopes containing “lucky money” are traditionally Lion dancers entertain the crowd at the Chinese New given to younger, unmarried relatives as gifts during Chinese New Year. Year Food and Cultural Fair. Feeding envelopes to the lion is thought to bring good luck and prosperity for the rest of the year. The Museum welcomed visitors during the fair with over a thousand people touring SDCHM over the two-day period! Visitors perused the museum’s permanent collection with a newly installed case of eight rare, hand-made and painted ceramic Chinese opera characters from the early twentieth century. Visitors at the museum’s extension building across the street had the opportunity to view two thousand years of history on display in the exhibit, Five Dynasties of Chinese Pottery as well as view a special exhibit of Chinese New Year prints. Also on display were the winning children’s paintings featured in the Chinese Art Society’s annual International Music and Arts Festival and Youth Art Show. The museum would like to recognize the many volunteers who generously donated their time during the fair. Thank you to everyone who joined us in ushering in the New Year! May everyone enjoy a happy, healthy, and prosperous Year of the Tiger! - PE s an diego chinese american history trivia part one By Murray K. Lee, Curator of Chinese American History While attending Chinese New Year banquets and walking among the people at the Chinese Food and Cultural Fair, I often wonder how much those attending really know about San Diego’s early Chinese American history. The percentage of people who go on the walking tours, attend historic presentations, and look at the museum’s exhibits represents a very small part of the local population. One would expect readers of this newsletter to be a little more knowledgeable, so I have prepared some trivia questions to test our readership’s knowledge. How many can you answer? I will give the answers in the next newsletter, or if you can’t wait, contact me at [email protected] Good luck! 1. This year (2010) is a census year. Who was the census taker for the Chinatown area in 1930? 2. Downtown San Diego has never had alleys. But early Chinatown had an alley. What was its name? 3. In the 1930s the children of Chinatown played in the streets. What was on Island Avenue around Second Avenue that lured the children to that location? 4. From the museum’s courtyard you can see some windows on the second story of the adjoining brick building to the east. Two Chinese families used to live in that building. What were the occupations of the fathers? 5. A certain tree was the center of attention for the boys on Third Avenue in the 1930s. What kind of tree was it and exactly where was it located? 8 6. Today on Third Avenue there is a replica of the Anita-Regal Hotels that used to be on Fourth Avenue. What is missing from the front of these replicas? 7. On the replicas of these hotels, what architectural feature has been altered? 8. The late Rollie Quon lived in an herbal store on the ground floor of these buildings at 418 Fourth Avenue. Who gave him his name and why? 9. The museum extension has the address 328 J Street. What organization occupied this location beginning in 1919? 10. In 1894 there was a Tom Lee who lived at 1424 Arctic St. For what was he taxed $50, and what is the name of that street today? San Diego Chinese Historical Museum SDCHM AND THE COMMUNITY CURATOR’S CORNER By Murray K. Lee, Curator of Chinese American History Some members of the American Historical Association on the APHD Walking Tour on January 9th. Special “Trail Blazers Award” being accepted by Midge LeClair, one of the organizations early founders (1964), at the Congress of History annual conference Some of the audience after the presentation at the Riverside Metropolitan Museum Kristine Wade and her husband with Murray and Gladys at Candelas Restaurant Lilly Cheng acknowledges the museum staff at the Annual Banquet Lucky Lion Dancers on stage at the 28th annual Chinese Food and Cultural Fair Gladys and I visited the Riverside Metropolitan Museum on January 7 in order to present “In Search of Gold Mountain, The History of the Chinese in San Diego” at the request of Danielle Leland, Associate Curator of Education. Two members of the Save Our Chinatown Committee (SOCC) were in attendance and expressed their desire to bring a group to San Diego to visit our museum and to take a Chinatown tour. Later, Judy Lee of SOCC inquired about whether the museum could donate museum and walking tour tickets to be auctioned at SOCC’s Chinese New Year banquet. The museum donated the tickets along with a copy of the Five Dynasties of Chinese Pottery exhibit catalog. I led a tour of the Asian Pacific Historic District on January 9, which included many people who were in town for the American History Association convention being held nearby. From January 30 to February 28, I attended four Chinese New Year banquets in celebration of the Year of the Tiger, and of course I also attended the annual Chinese New Year Food and Cultural Fair in downtown San Diego. On February 25, Kristine Wade of “Cocktails and History” requested that I give a talk about Chinatown history at Candelas Mexican Restaurant located in the historic building next door to the museum. Once inside, the low Spring 2010 lighting required that we improvise with the presentation, so we used a laptop computer to exhibit photos from the presentation, “Little Known Stories, Mysteries, and Puzzles of San Diego’s Early Chinese.” On March 5 and 6 the Congress of History’s 45th Annual Conference was held at the Education Center of the College Avenue Baptist Church across the street from the Police Museum. This year’s theme was “Untold Tales of History of San Diego and Imperial Counties.” I prepared a paper entitled “Means of Survival in San Diego’s Early Chinatown,” but due to a downloading error ended up presenting the same paper given to those at “Cocktails and History.” The audience enjoyed it nonetheless. Jennifer Bowman, student producer of “The Generations Project” at BYU, recently contacted me regarding her project that takes people on a journey of discovery in order to learn about their ancestors and hopefully, in the process, find some unexpected answers to questions they have about themselves. The Generations Project would like to offer this opportunity of discovery to the Chinese American Community. They are particularly interested in the descendants of Ah Quin, and I was able to put them in contact with one of Ah Quin’s great granddaughters. If there are other people in the Chinese community who are interested in this project, please contact me. - ML 9 MUSEUM PHOTO GALLERY 14th Annual Banquet Beautiful gift baskets assembled by Banquet Chairperson Donna Lee Museum patrons enjoy a New Year feast. Board member Polly Liew with Anacani Tom Hom, former city councilman and museum co-founder, is recognized at the banquet. Museum board Vice President Michael Yee, receives an award at the banquet. Honorary Circle member and former board member Lily Lin, is honored at the banquet. Museum Treasurer Tom Lee is recognized at the banquet. Anacani serenades banquet guests . Helena Yuen the banquet. Anacani entertains the crowd with Latin music. Dr. Howard Rubenstein with Rebecca Tang, who performed selections from his musical Romance of the Western Chamber. Dr. Richard Henke helps Michael Yee, Donna Lee and Lilly Cheng draw prize winners. 10 performs Chinese songs at San Diego Chinese Historical Museum MUSEUM PHOTO GALLERY 2010 Chinese New Year Fair & Spring Cep’s Lion dancers take the stage at the Chinese New Year Food and Cultural Fair. The CCBA dragon poses in front of the museum. Lions and dragons share the stage at the opening ceremony of the fair. Board member Polly Liew and Board President Lilly Cheng inside the museum during the fair Agnes Chuang, Mary Anne Lacaman and Shao-Wu Chuang manage the Sun Yat-Sen Extension during the New Year Fair. Marion So, Theresa Lai and Annie So sell Chinese merchandise outside the museum entrance Professor Fang-hui Chou writes the names of the Tom family in calligraphy at the fair. Former museum treasurer, Carmen Tom, with her family at the museum during the New Year Fair Eleanor Bregman, Marion So and Kathy Wong help with the museum sale during the fair. Jessica Matsumoto and Priscila Echeverria pose with Michael Yee at the New Year Fair. Alex Stewart gives a lecture on the Five Dynasties of Chinese Pottery to a group from the San Diego Asian Arts Council. Members of the Asian Arts Council group look at Han Dynasty vessels. Spring 2010 11 SDCHM EXCLUSIVE The Spirit and Passion of Chinese Brush Painting By Dr. Howard Meyer, Museum Member It was getting rather late in the evening, but since I was already sitting at my painting table, I just wanted to add another layer of diluted crimson to the petals of my peony painting. I knew I was pushing myself in an unwise direction especially when my gongbi 工筆 style requires total concentration and nearly a full reservoir of energy. Commonly known as “fine line,” the technique of this style involves drawing an ink outline onto the paper before adding color in thin layers of wash. Sometimes nine to fourteen layers can be applied before the desired intensity is reached. Feeling tired, I decided to paint smarter and not harder. I leaned back in my chair and closed my eyes for a few moments, while hoping for a quick burst of vitality. It was here, with my red feather Dr. Howard Meyer with his brush paintings brush placed on its porcelain rest that I imagined I took a few steps into the courtyard and briefly stood or dreamed that... I found myself in Shandong 山東 Province, situated in the motionless. It was like a grand buffet spread out before my eyes eastern part of China on the lower reaches of the Yellow River and soul like a Chinese celebration. I was overcome by feelings 黃河. I was walking up a long and winding mountain path, and of joy, delight and happiness, as well as some uncertainty. I was the challenging climb thankfully was eased by what seemed to now standing on a long brick path with my eyes leading me to the be a hundred ancient carved steps. I paused to watch the sunrise far end of the yard. I began walking slowly through a landscape through the eastern morning mist. I was surrounded by historic of flowers, truly a kaleidoscope of colors and fragrances. Further pine trees that highlighted magnificent scenery. With only a few along, a panorama of black, green and golden bamboo in front more steps to reach level ground, it was here, actually unfolding of pine trees was gently dancing in the breeze. The sound of through the clouds, that I came upon a glimpse of an old, water was gently flowing over large rocks orchestrating the music for many glorious singing birds. square building. People of all ages were busy painting, practicing and learning Again, I slowed to catch my breath, when an old woman stood before me with arms extended and a welcoming smile. She said, time-honored brush techniques. Master artists, teachers, and a “Before you are permitted to enter the courtyard, you must first great calligrapher were demonstrating powerful brush strokes, walk around the building with one of the Masters. Carefully and writing poetry in its highest art form. Even young children observe everything and when you reach the ancient gate, he will were sharing exquisite details of flowers, animals, birds and landscapes. I sensed a great deal of teaching and learning, of ask what you saw.” Walking briskly, I observed a man painting a green and knowing the hows and whys in helping one another create purple orchid. Steps further, a woman was painting bamboo. masterful works. I listened as a wise man explained to young artists about the Then I watched the first definitive strokes by a young man painting a chrysanthemum. Upon reaching the final corner, “Four Treasures” of Chinese Brush Painting. He vividly described I viewed a youngster in the midst of gracefully capturing the how inksticks were carefully made of pine soot and glue. Then he demonstrated by grinding a vertically held inkstick and used plum blossom. I had observed carefully as asked and now eagerly approached a slate inkstone to make beautiful ink. He spoke of brushes the ancient and overpowering gate. It stood splendidly, touching made of bamboo with types of hairs; from horses, wolves, goats, the sky, covered in 10,000 years of incrusted patina over faded rabbits and other animals; next, the fourth treasure being the vermillion. “What have you seen?” “I saw Noble Ones and they paper, as invented in China. I briefly sat and watched a woman share with adolescent girls, are the ‘Four Gentlemen.’” He nodded at me and then ever so slowly opened the heavy gate. Somehow, I just knew that this the Six Essential Elements of Painting 繪畫六法 as set down by moment was my honored invitation to enter the classic world Xie He 謝赫 in the fifth century of the Common Era. She spoke of Chinese Brush Painting. I bowed graciously, looked up, and mostly of vitality and the character and heart of the artist. Yet, in another area, under the shade of a pine tree, a young artist he was gone. Continued on Page 15 12 San Diego Chinese Historical Museum SDCHM EDUCATION EDUCATION UPDATE By Alex Stewart, Museum Staff The first few months of every year, the museum is inundated with requests for educational presentations. Each year seems busier than the last, and this year we’ve even added a couple new components in order to inform and entertain people of all ages. I finally had the opportunity to roll out our new Ancient Chinese Science and Technology presentation with a group of sixth graders at The Children’s School in La Jolla. They enjoyed discussing the numerous groundbreaking Chinese inventions, and they even had a chance to reproduce a couple of the most prominent: a compass and woodblock prints. Other students have enjoyed a hands-on exploration of Chinese brush painting and its relation to poetry with a new CEP designed by Priscila Echeverria. Those familiar to the art know that the brush strokes used in painting typically are taught first through calligraphy. So now, students enjoying an introduction to Chinese language with our calligraphy lesson can also opt to try out their newfound knowledge of Chinese characters by attempting to recreate them with a brush and ink. While this lesson was designed for children, we discovered that it can be enjoyable for anyone with a curiosity about Chinese language. A class open to the public at Serra Mesa Library ended up being composed entirely of adults, but they asked a lot of insightful questions about Chinese language and thoroughly enjoyed trying their hand at calligraphy. This just goes to show that you are never too old to enjoy and learn from the museum’s educational offerings. Members of the San Diego Asian Arts Council and docents from the Mingei International Museum recently have enjoyed lectures about our Five Dynasties of Chinese Pottery exhibit. This marvelous collection will be on display for a couple more months, so you still have time to bring your friends or community group to the museum to see it and witness a presentation. And don’t forget that May is Asian Pacific Islander American Heritage Month, and we would love to help teach your business colleagues, friends, or students all about how immigrants from Asia and the Pacific have helped make San Diego into America’s finest city. - AS SPRING CEPS Presented January - March 2010 CEPS AND MUSEUM TOURS: UCSD International Center Garfield High School Magnolia Science Academy Santa Fe Montessori Balboa Library Bird Rock Elementary Holmes Elementary School The Children’s School Loma Portal Elementary La Jolla Elementary Club Altura Bear Valley Middle School Bonita Learning Academy Hedenkamp Elementary School of the Madeline Birthday Party Presentation Serra Mesa Library Audobon Middle School Sacred Heart Academy Coronado Middle School Del Mar Pines Rancho Santa Fe Elementary The Kroc Center SD Asian Art Council Adult Language School TOTAL: 25 students 20 students 120 students 51 students 25 people 90 students 32 students 25 students 90 students 25 students 5 people 324 students 60 students 160 students 62 students 25 students 35 people 50 students 25 students 175 students 25 students 75 students 13 people 14 people 13 people 1564 STUDENTS COMMUNITY OUTREACH REPORT • JANUARY - MARCH 2010 January 7, 2010 In Search of Gold Mountain Riverside Metropolitan Museum Lecturer: Murray Lee January 9, 2010 APHD Walking Tour American Historical Association Docents: Michael Yee and Murray Lee January 16, 2010 Downtown Multicultural Fair The museum participated in this annual event with a booth that featured calligraphy and how to play traditional Chinese games. January 23, 2010 Chinatown Cultural Peace Party Red Lotus Society Spring 2010 January 23, 2010 San Diego International Music & Arts Festival Fourteenth Annual event with performances and presentations from talented individuals. February 13, 2010 APHD Walking Tour Docent: Michael Yee February 18, 2010 SDSU Exploritas Docent: Priscila Echeverria February 20 & 21, 2010 28th Annual Chinese New Year Food & Cultural Fair Vendors, performers and cultural demonstrators entertained thousands. February 27, 2010 Mingei Lantern Festival Lecturer: Alex Stewart March 13, 2010 APHD Walking Tour Docent: Murray Lee March 18, 2010 Old Chinatown Exhibit San Diego Mesa College On display through September 2010 March 23, 2010 Scholars without Borders: Spotlight on China San Diego State University Exhibit Presenters: Alex and Agnes Chuang 13 CHINA’S PAST ALONG THE RIVER: WOMEN IN THE QING MING SHANG HE TU 清明上河圖 (PART 2 OF 2) By Joseph Ho, Museum Staff Viewing the Qing Ming Shang He Tu in the light of gender covered sedan chair, hiding the bride within. separation conclusively supports contemporary literary Running alongside the sedan chair are two men carrying accounts idealizing the secluded lives of women in the Song wooden cases strung on a pole between them; these are the Dynasty 宋朝 (960–1279 C.E.). Quite noticeably, there are no dowry boxes. Since women in the Song could not directly inherit female children to be seen in the Qing Ming Shang He Tu; all the property or money from their parents, as hereditary sons did, mothers present have male children, a they were traditionally provided with physical idealization of the traditional a substantial dowry when married. saying, “To give birth to a son is a great This dowry served to determine the fortune; to give birth to a daughter is wife’s position over concubines in the but a small happiness.” This may also be patriarchal household, allowed her to a representation of the maternal ideals have some degree of financial power advocated by the Book of Filial Piety independent of her new family, and for Women 女孝經, in which detailed served as a buffer against destitution instructions are given for the care of in case she was widowed or in financial sons, while the care of daughters consists straits. In the Qing Ming Shang He merely of “teach[ing] them the four Tu, women can be seen standing just virtues” and, of course, “maintain[ing] beyond their household doorways the separation between male and and peeking around wall corners to female to avoid suspicion…shar[ing] watch the loud wedding group pass by; neither towel nor comb.” The complete they are perhaps quietly envying the lack of young or teenage girls may substantial dowry boxes, or reliving also be due to the stern requirement melancholy memories of their own acknowledged by the Song scholar Sima marriage ceremonies. Guang 司馬光: “A girl ten or older does The women who are not engaged not go out, which means she remains in idly watching the going-ons of the permanently inside.” outside world are instead fully absorbed Traditionally, the family consisted in the traditional “women’s work” of a patriarchal, patrilineal structure, mandated by the female Han historian headed by the senior man with descent Ban Zhao 班昭 in her classic work, The Qing Ming Shang He Tu owned by Executive lineage calculated through the male the Nujie 女誡. The characteristics line; married daughters-in-law were Director Alex Chuang) of womanly work, according to the thus expected to leave their own families to live with their Ban Zhao, consisted of “Whole-hearted devotion to sew and husband’s household. When a girl was of marriageable age, to weave, to love not gossip and silly laughter; in cleanliness her parents arranged a marriage for her through personal and order (to prepare) the wine and food for serving guests.” In connections or a matchmaker – usually a socially connected various places in the Qing Ming Shang He Tu, women of varying woman of the village, a skilled relative, or in larger cities such classes – from plain, blue-robed servant girls to upper middlea Kaifeng, a professional specializing in arranging auspicious class women in colored dress – can be observed hanging up marriages. The majority of the women in the Qing Ming Shang laundry, drawing water from the riverside households for baths He Tu would have been engaged their spouses in this manner, and cooking, practicing embroidery in anterooms and women’s having had little or no say in the final marriage decision. The quarters, and sticking their heads out of kitchen windows for marriage ceremony itself would be characterized by the cutting a quick breather. Although textiles – especially the cultivation of social ties between the bride and her parental household; of silkworms and the manufacture of silk – was a vital part of this was made even more apparent by the ostentatious ritual women’s work and livelihood in the Song Dynasty, no graphic “fetching” of the bride by a procession of musicians, attendants, evidence of women’s textile production exists in the Qing Ming the husband on horseback, and carriers with a decorated sedan Shang He Tu. This could have been due to the possible cessation chair. This is exactly the procession that can be seen wending its of textile work during the nation-wide festival, or an omission way into the city at the rightmost edge of the Qing Ming Shang – purposeful or accidental – on the part of Zhang Zeduan. He Tu; musicians with trumpets and gongs precede the gaudily Continued on Page 17 14 San Diego Chinese Historical Museum SDCHM & THE COMMUNITY A Treat for the Eyes and the Ear s By Priscila Echeverria, Museum Staff Once again, the San Diego Chinese Historical Museum co-sponsored the Children’s art exhibition at the Chinese Art Society’s annual International Music and Arts Festival and Youth Art Show held on Sunday, January 24, 2010 at the Poway Center for the Performing Arts. The children’s artwork was impressive, with many pieces demonstrating an artistic maturity far beyond the years of the young artists. The artists were categorized by age, ranging from 4-18 years. The winners from each category were shining examples of the impressive results that can be achieved when a love and appreciation of the arts is cultivated at a young age. This appreciation of the arts was also demonstrated later that evening by the praiseworthy behavior of the young audience members who sat quietly and respectfully through the two-hour performance portion of the evening. The Mistress of Ceremonies even commented on the excellent behavior of the many Suli Xue performs a violin solo children in the audience. The lineup of artists was truly exceptional at this year’s event with a great range of top-notch performers. The show opened with the San Diego Civic Youth Orchestra—another excellent example of the capacity of young talents to excel through passion and dedication. The evening’s other highlights included piano soloist Jun Sun, Qi Zhang’s performance of the “Peacock Dance,” and a magnificent violin solo by Suli Xue 薛蘇里. The violinist was later joined by three other gifted musicians—Zhiming Han on the dizi 笛子, Pinfei Tang on the cello, and Cynthia Hsiang on the piano. The quartet performed two very beautiful and moving compositions. The show ended with a high-energy performance by a hip-hop dance troupe, the “Super Galactic Beat Manipulators.” The annual festival was a delightfully entertaining and inspiring way to spend an evening. Those who missed the event could still view the winning pieces of children’s artwork, which were on display for the months of February and March in the museum’s extension building. - PE Continued from Page 12 impressed me by describing the styles of Chinese brush painting. He spoke of Xieyi 寫意 and its spontaneous qualities, followed by a vivid description of Gongbi as delicately or meticulously painting in detail and the mixed style as a combination of the two. In a far corner, two scholars discussed traditional and modern ideas and the simplicity of form and expression. I walked the path back to the main gate, which stood much more majestically than before. I passed through the gate and quickly noticed a pair of stone lions that somehow I missed earlier in the day. There was one on either side of me sitting like fearless guardians possessing some mythical protective powers. The sun hung low in the evening sky, as a golden silk curtain far beyond the grown pines. Walking toward the ancient steps, my descent down the steep curving mountain path would be easier and less thoughtful. With the beauty of nature spread below me, I could simply reflect on the glorious events of the day. After just a few steps, my uncertainty now returned and clouded my thoughts. I questioned whether I was a new artist or had I become an ancient explorer seeking only to discover and capture the essence of Chinese brush painting. I do not have the answer, but just maybe a combination of the two. I know most definitely, I have entered into a more enlightened and profound phase in my personal and artistic development. Working vigorously on my painting takes me deep into the core of myself and the experiences of my life. My friend taught me to learn the beauty of imperfection. I am open enough to see and appreciate this journey and the kindness of friends and teachers I’ve met on the way. My passion will continue to encourage me to paint songs of nature, and visually express myself with enhanced proficiency. I will make time to read some of the ancient history, philosophy and principles of Chinese brush painting. I have yet to learn the Masters’ story, which is old, but their brushwork for me can be young. I will always paint from the heart with a spirit that’s burning bright. I will know and appreciate the beauty of each flower and be one with nature. Painting is the perfect dance of yin and yang in the rhythm and harmony of life. My eyes opened slowly and I sat motionless realizing that the introspective questions and uncertainties had vanished. I saw my unfinished painting of peonies and knew they would be waiting patiently for tomorrow. As I stood and moved toward the light switch, I had two final thoughts: simply, that my paintings would always be as vivid as my imagination. And secondly, as shared with me by my friend and artist from Shanghai 上海: 我要學的還很多! Wo yao xue de hai hen duo! I still have a lot to learn! - HM Howard is a member of the American Artists of Chinese Brush Painting - Lung Hsiang Chapter in San Diego. His brush paintings will be on display at the San Diego Botanic Gardens from March 31st - June 7th as a part of the American Artists of Chinese Brush Painting Annual Art Show. Spring 2010 15 APHAFIC aphafic Update By Nancy Lo, APHAFIC President APHAFIC members recently visited two high schools to occupied many areas in Northern China and later took Hong educate students about the history of Japanese aggression Kong, Singapore, Burma and the Philippines despite the fact in China. Professor Pao-Chin Chu, Jack Meng and Nancy Lo that many nations, such as Russia, U.S., France and the U.K., visited Mr. Aaron De Groot’s three history classes of San Diego supported China. High school on January 11th, 2010. Jack Meng, with APHAFIC On August 14, 1945, the Japanese emperor issued an imperial members Mary Yan-Lee, Yoshi Kaneda and Nancy Lo visited rescript to end the war. Major consequences of the war were the Advanced Placement students from 1) the age of European colonialism the Chinese Academy at the Taiwanese in Asia came to an end; 2) China American Community Center on regained Manchuria, Taiwan and the February 26, 2010 to introduce World Penghu Islands off the coast of Taiwan War II history in Asia to students. and became one of the Big Five and a Many people are not familiar with the charter member of the United Nations, entire history of Japanese imperialism with a permanent seat and veto power that led to World War II in Asia, at the UN Security Council; and 3) so Professor Pao-chin Chu gave an The U.S. emerged as the most powerful overview of the history beginning with state on the Pacific. the lesser-known Sino-Japanese Wars. Jack Meng introduced World War The First Japanese Aggressive War 中 Professor Pao-Chin Chu teaches the history II related books, including The Rape 日甲午戰爭 (July 25, 1894 – April 17, of the Sino-Japanese war to students from a of Nanking, an Undeniable History in 1895), also known as the First Sino- history class at San Diego High School. Photographs by James Yin and Shi Young, Japanese war, was primarily a conflict Iris Chang and the Forgotten Holocaust, over control of Korea between China, Best Essays from Iris Chang Memorial then ruled by the Qing Dynasty 清朝 Essay Contest, 2006, Prisoners of the 1644-1911, and Japan, under the regime Japanese: POWs of World War II in the of the Meiji Emperor. Japanese troops Pacific by Gavan Daws, and American occupied much of northeast China Goddess at the Rape of Nanking, the including Lüshun 旅順 (formerly Courage of Minnie Vautrin by Hua-ling known as Port Arthur) on the Liaodong Hu. Nancy Lo gave two books to the Peninsula 遼東半島, Weihai 威海 history classes: The Nanking Massacre, (on the Shandong Peninsula 山東半 70 years of Amnesia by Toronto 島) and Taiwan. China lost the war. ALPHA (www.torontoalpha.org), and On April 17th, 1895, China and Japan APHAFIC members and San Diego Chinese Escape from Henyang, the Memoir of a signed the treaty of Maguan 馬関倏約 Academy teachers: Jack Meng, Man Lin Liu 劉 Six-year-old Refugee Girl by Chung Yao 曼玲, Karen Wu 鄭美妙, principal; Mary Yanor Shimososeki. and translated by Eugene Lo Wei. Lee, Jansen Huang 黃健生,VP; Nancy Lo, Yoshi The second Japanese Aggressive War Kaneda, Vivian Chen 胡依斐, Jenny Chen 陳淑 On February 26th, the APHAFIC started on September 18, 1931 九ー八 真 and another attendee Outreach Committee hosted an evening 事變 when a bomb exploded on the lecture program for the San Diego South Manchuria Railway 南満洲鉄道. The Japanese patrol Chinese Academy credit students at the Taiwanese American claimed that Chinese soldiers opened fire, forcing them to fight Community Center of San Diego. The topic was “Flying back. As a result of this incident, Japan occupied more cities in Tigers and World War II in China.” Jack Meng, APHAFIC Vice Manchuria, solidifying control over the region. President, showed a 45-minute documentary film about the The third Japanese Aggressive war was the Marco Polo Bridge original World War II Flying Tiger pilots and their strategies to Incident or the Lugouqiao Incident 盧溝橋事變; or 七七事 fight against the Japanese Air Force bombing in China before he 變. The marble bridge itself, Lugouqiao, an architectural work gave a lecture on the history of the Flying Tigers, also known as of eleven granite arches restored by the Kangxi 康熙 Emperor the Aviation Volunteer Group (AVG), led by General Claire Lee (1662-1722), was the crucial point linking Beijing with the rest Chennault, an adviser to the Chinese Air Force at the invitation of Nationalist controlled China. A skirmish between Japanese of Madame Chiang Kai-shek 宋美齡. A question and answer soldiers stationed on one side of the bridge and Chinese soldiers session followed the lecture and all students were required to on the other led to a battle that marked the beginning of the write a report about the history of the Flying Tigers. - NL third Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945). In this incident, Japan 16 San Diego Chinese Historical Museum CHINA’S PAST Continued from Page 14 At this point, the idealism of the Qing Ming Shang He Tu must be called into question. The painting is indeed a reflection of Song ideals for women – their attitudes of domesticity and submission are clearly portrayed throughout. However, it is possible that Zhang Zeduan also “violated” a few traditional ideals in his realistic depiction of the festival. First, the very fact that many of the visible women are watching the hustle and bustle of the day from doorways, windows, and around corners is a clue to the realism of the painting. The Nujie specifically states that women “should not stand watching in the gateways.” However, this is exactly what many of the visible women in the Qing Ming Shang He Tu are doing. Furthermore, there is another quite conspicuous place in the Qing Ming Shang He Tu that women are depicted in a non-traditional manner. Behind the gates of an elegant palace-like complex near the center of the city, there can be seen a courtyard landscaped with cherry blossoms and beautiful standing rocks; the urban placement of this compound does not offer many clues to its exact purpose, but it could possibly have been the multi-wife household of a high-ranking magistrate, or perhaps living quarters for elite courtesans. In this courtyard, there has been set up a large, sturdy swing; on it is a lady dressed in blue silken robes, her long sleeves flapping in the wind as she swings. Nearby are other women, also elegantly dressed; they laugh and chat amongst themselves as they await their turn on the swing. This group is perhaps the freest depiction of women at leisure in the Qing Ming Shang He Tu, and harks back to the Tang painting of aristocratic women drinking in leisure. Is this an idealization or an anachronism? There are two possible answers to this question. If the courtyard did indeed belong to a multi-wife household of a magistrate, he would have been certainly criticized for the lack of discipline in his wives and concubines had this scene been known to his contemporaries. As the section entitled “The Wives of Officials” in Book of Filial Piety for Women advised: “[The wives of officials] dare not behave in any way outside the virtuous ways based on modesty and moral principle.” On the other hand, the carefree mingling of wives and concubines could also have been another idealization by the artist; realistically, jealousy and competition were rampant among many women of affluent, multi-wife households, and they often vied for their husband’s favors through treacherous and even destructive means. These women are obviously having a good time in each others’ company, and as for backstabbing and envy, they look as though they had nothing of the sort. It could have been that Zhang Zeduan mixed realism and Neo-Confucianist ideology in this one scene; perhaps in this secluded sphere of affluence, wives and concubines realistically did have a pocket of freedom in which to enjoy themselves. However, their joyous cohabitation is certainly doubtful, Spring 2010 compared to realistic depictions of polygamous strife. The other possible explanation for this courtyard escapade could be that the women portrayed are high-class courtesans on a break, perhaps spending time playing outside their living quarters between dance performances and appointments with wealthy customers. This theory is not at all unfeasible; popular Ming stories depicting the life of Song courtesans extol the leisure time and choice of clients that highdemand, cultured dancers enjoyed even in the repressed Neo-Confucianist period of the time. It is also realistically possible that the courtesans depicted are playing because of their lack of family connections; the Qing Ming festival was a time in which families, by tradition, offered sacrifices at ancestral tombs and then went out to enjoy themselves in the city or countryside. In the Ming story referenced above, the courtesan-heroine spends this day locked in her study, painting and practicing her calligraphy; this is because she was orphaned as a child, and sold into the high-class brothel for training. The courtesans in the Qing Ming Shang He Tu were perhaps also of the same background, and having no appointments or family to attend to on the festival day, engaged themselves in idle play. The Qing Ming Shang He Tu is without a doubt one of the greatest masterpieces of Chinese artwork. Through the artistic lens of this magnificent painting, one catches a tantalizing and enlightening glimpse into the lives of Song citizens on one busy, festive day in their dynasty’s finest hour. Furthermore, in the light of Chinese women’s history, the Song gender ideologies and real-world female practices come together in one vivid illustration. On one hand, the Qing Ming Shang He Tu is exactly the same as its contemporary works of art and literature in its depiction of women in seclusion and submission, serving society as individuals confined by NeoConfucianist virtues. The viewer sees women doing their best in living up to these ideals; the absolute separation of genders, dedicated mothers and wives raising male children and performing domestic duties with care, their delicate appearance in every way coinciding with the physique so desired at the time. However, at the same time, a different picture of women can be derived from the realism of the painting; here are women in various stages of their lives – in marriage, in motherhood, in work and leisure. Here are women defying traditional molds in their realistic practice; courtesans congregating and playing, women openly watching the outside world from their doorsteps and balconies. Perhaps the best summation of these two portrayals is found in the image of the wife standing at her doorway, on the threshold of the two worlds, nei 內 “interior” and wai 外 “exterior”, bound to a sphere of solitude dictated to her by ideology, while remaining a critical element of society. Continued on Page 19 17 FUNDING & DONOR SUPPORT DONOR JANUARY - MARCH 2010 CASH AMOUNT IN MEMORY OF LORETTA SHIH William & Margaret Chang $1,000.00 Leonard & Winnie Chase $1,030.00 Koun-Ping & Lilly Li-Rong Cheng $50.00 Shu & Kuang-Chung Chien $1,000.00 Sophie L. Chien $50.00 Alexander & Agnes Chuang $50.00 Edward & Diana Chuh $50.00 Richard & Sophia Henke $1,000.00 Tom & Loretta Hom $1,000.00 Sawyer Hsu $50.00 Silvanus S. Lau $50.00 Jim & Laurie Leewong $500.00 Dee & Susan Lew $1,000.00 Dale & Sharon A. Lieu $50.00 Fah-Seong & Polly Liew $50.00 John M. & Mary Ellen Lundsten $200.00 Philippe & Maria Prokocimer $140.00 Neal & Margaret Schmale $200.00 Kwan L. & Marion Miulam So $1,050.00 Charles W. & Linda C. Tu $1,050.00 Charles W. & Linda C. Tu $50.00 Charles P. & Lily L. Wang $1,000.00 Sandra A Wawrytko $50.00 Lan F. Wei $50.00 Victor & Dolly Woo $1,000.00 David & Sandy Wei Chao Woods $50.00 Ching H. & Teresa S. Yang $40.00 Michael & Criselda Yee $50.00 Hua Zhang $30.00 Qualcomm Incorporated $2,000.00 Subtotal $13,890.00 Peggy Cheong Alexander & Agnes Chuang Walter & Liang C. Ku Fah-Seong & Polly Liew Subtotal $100.00 $100.00 $100.00 $101.00 $401.00 IN MEMORY OF RAYMOND WING LEE Aalseth Family Trust Thor Buell Edwin L. & Claudia J. Franz Bowmond & Rose Marie Lee Keith & Rhonda Lee Tim Y. Lee Kenneth & Darlene Quon Lem Tim & Bernice M. Lowe Bud & Jody Mine Michael & Nancy Nagao Addison Wong Andy & Nancy Wong Edgar & Evaline Wong Jerry Y. & Ching Ching Wong Marian Wong Ying G. & Yuling C. Wong Subtotal $100.00 $50.00 $75.00 $100.00 $30.00 $100.00 $50.00 $50.00 $50.00 $50.00 $50.00 $75.00 $100.00 $100.00 $100.00 $100.00 $1,180.00 IN MEMORY OF SHING-CHI LAM Sally Bailey Shu-Gar & Shui-Ming Chan John & Judy Chen York & Terry Chen Lillian & Raymond Cheung Wayne Wai Hin Cheung Thomas & Suey Chiu $25.00 $100.00 $100.00 $30.00 $100.00 $25.00 $50.00 Chiu H & Katty C Chow $350.00 Hibert K. & Jean Chu $30.00 Wendy Fan $50.00 Lisa Linden Gates $200.00 Peter & Enid Harper $50.00 David Hsu $200.00 Lee & Rosy King $100.00 Richard & Sally King $110.00 Ming Sai & Maria Lai $100.00 Samuel & Martha Lam $100.00 Sing-Pui & Yin Yuk Lam $50.00 Steve & Tina Lau $100.00 Sing H & Minako Y Lee $50.00 Summay Li $100.00 Shao-Chi & Lily Lin $100.00 Arthur & Lori Lum $100.00 Chris Lum $200.00 Kwan L. & Marion Miulam So $100.00 Donald & Rebecca Tong $50.00 Danny & Kitty Tow $100.00 Kam Leung & Lan Fong Wai $50.00 Y.C. & K.F. Wu $150.00 Pak & Ming Yan $200.00 Richard & Patty Yuen $100.00 Hong Kong Class of 1970 Heem Sze $200.00 Southern California Class of 1970 Heem Sze $200.00 San Francisco Pu Ching Alumni Association $100.00 Subtotal $3,670.00 GRAND TOTAL $19,141.00 SDCHM ENDOWMENT FUND UPDATE Hwei-Chih & Julia Hsiu Endowment Fund $60,000 Genghis Khan Furniture $4,000 Alexander & Agnes Chuang $30,000 Sandra Wawrytko/Fu Foundation $4,000 Shao-Chi & Lily Lin $20,000 Andrew C. & Janet C. Wang $3,000 Teh-Hsuang & Dorothy Lee $20,000 James Ho $2,000 Fah-Seong & Polly Liew $12,500 Anthony Y.H. & Lillian W. Lu $2,000 Jung Fu & Jennie C.C. Wu $11,000 Ernest Chun-Ming & Huei-Jen Huang $1,000 Winnie Wong Chase $10,000 Dee & Susan Lew $1,000 Drumright Memorial Fund $10,000 Edward G. & Ellen G. Wong $1,000 Tom & Loretta Hom $10,000 Theresa F. Lai $1,000 Joseph & Vivian Wong $10,000 George & Jean Kung $1,000 Kwan L. & Marion So $10,000 Shu & Kuang-Chung Chien $1,000 Norman & Pauline Fong $10,000 Michael & Criselda Yee $200 Shu & Kuang-Chung Chien $7,000 Chun & Donna Lee $200 Peter Shih $5,000 Raymond & Lilian Cheung $100 Koun-Ping & Lilly Cheng $5,000 Steve C. & Susanna Y. Kuei $50 TOTAL $252,050 18 San Diego Chinese Historical Museum UPCOMING EVENTS Ongoing Events APHD Walking Tour $2 Explore Old Chinatown and the Japanese and Filipino neighborhoods in San Diego’s old Stingaree red light district with Murray K. Lee or Michael Yee. The Asian Pacific Historic Collaborative is a cosponsor. For more information, please contact the museum. Reservations are required. PLEASE RSVP BY 4PM THE FRIDAY PRIOR TO THE TOUR: 619 338 9888 or [email protected] Planned Giving To leave a legacy for yourselves and for your family, please consider adding the museum to your will or trust. Special recognition will be given for donors who make the museum a part of their “family.” Please call Alex Chuang if you are interested at 619 338 9888. 6th Annual San Diego Dragon Boat Festival Saturday, May 1, 2010 • 9am - 5pm Playa Pacifica, Mission Bay Park FOR MORE INFO VISIT SDALLIANCE.ORG Continued from Page 6 academically but also on a personal basis. He was my idol when growing up. He will be missed and may he rest in peace. - Tony Teacher Lam was not only an inspirational teacher and a very caring person, he was also fun. He loved to join in our Kong Se student activities. We in turn considered him more like one of us, someone we loved to hang out with as well as discuss our problems with. He acted as the pillar of our class and Kong Se will never be the same. - Shelly Eucker Teacher Lam not only taught us class material, but also cared about our personal life. He will be missed by all of us. May he rest in peace in Heaven. - Andrew Lam Shing-Chi was not just a dear friend; he was my teacher as well. He taught me how to interact with clients at East West Federal Bank. For that I am eternally grateful. - Maria Lai Continued from Page 1 Cheesecake Factory, and tickets to prominent institutions like the San Diego Symphony, Birch Aquarium and the Lamb’s Players Theatre. Others went home with Chinese art, fine kitchen tools, or any of a variety of lavish gift baskets assembled with care by Banquet Chairperson Donna Lee. The New Year is always a time to celebrate friends and family and look forward to the year ahead, and this year’s banquet gave us a chance to recognize the generous people and organizations whose ongoing support promises a bright future for our museum. - AS Continued from Page 17 On this late April day, in the capital city of Kaifeng, a woman stands at her doorway, watching the populace hurry by outside. Her small children play in the courtyard behind her; her merchant husband is out, waiting for a shipment of goods to arrive along the river. A wedding procession, led by musicians playing trumpets and striking gongs, noisily parades by. The bride in the sedan chair, nervous and somewhat frightened at the prospect of her new husband and family, furtively lifts the red curtain to sneak a glance outside. She sees the woman at her doorway, sees the peaceful eyes of one who has gone through it all before, and is for a moment, comforted. Elsewhere in the city, courtesans swing and banter in an opulent courtyard filled with cherry blossoms; their servant girls labor in anterooms, envying the luxuries of their mistresses and hurriedly preparing for the arrival of high-ranking clients. These women, captured in an artist’s imagination, frozen in time for a brief moment, reside behind walls, curtains, and the confines of conservative Song ideology. Yet, they are all simultaneously united in their undeniable presence in society, in their goals and aspirations, in their roles as women – powerless in the eyes of men, yet strong in their respective spheres; confined behind walls, yet vital components of the Song social cosmos. They are at once ideal and real. These are the women that inhabit the world of the Qing Ming Shang He Tu, their firm and graceful presence exemplifying, as one scholar put it, “virtuous women, whose names will rank among those of their predecessors and be passed down to future generations.” - JH Spring 2010 19 ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP Active Active Couple Senior (60+) Senior Couple Student $25 $40 $20 $30 $10 LIFE MEMBERSHIP Life Life Couple Senior Life (60+) Senior LIfe Couple Corporate $250 $400 $200 $300 $750 SDCHM MEMBERSHIP 2010 BECOME A MEMBER TO APPLY FOR MEMBERSHIP Please return your membership application with cash or check payable to: San Diego Chinese Historical Museum 404 Third Avenue San Diego, CA 92101 T: 619 338 9888 F: 619 338 9889 www.sdchm.org [email protected] NEW MEMBER RENEWAL *Please fill out form completely and check appropriate boxes* Welcome to all of our new and returning members to the San Diego Chinese Historical Society and Museum! We appreciate your support, as well as your prompt renewals of membership. **Members receive quarterly newsletters, invitations and discounted admission to all special events/openings, as well as complimentary general admission to both the SD Chinese Historical Museum and the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Extension.** ACTIVE ACTIVE COUPLE SENIOR (60+) SENIOR COUPLE STUDENT LIFE LIFE COUPLE SENIOR LIFE (60+) SENIOR LIFE COUPLE CORPORATE NAME ............................................................. SPOUSE ................................................................................................. CHINESE NAME ........................................... SPOUSE’S CHINESE NAME ............................................................... ADDRESS ........................................ CITY ................................................................ STATE .................................... ZIP CODE ........................................... E-MAIL ............................................ HOME PHONE ............................................. WORK PHONE ..................................................................................... OCCUPATION ............................................... COMPANY/SCHOOL .......................................................................... .
