Posted: April 23rd, 2012 | No Comments »
RAS LECTURE
Tuesday 24th April 2012 at 7.00pm
The Tavern, Radisson Blu Plaza Xingguo Hotel 78 Xingguo Road,Shanghai
KATHARINE BURNETT
ON
The Missing Catalogue and Diaries of Pang Yuanji
Pang and his Modern Art World
Wang Zhen (Wang Yiting) – “Pang Yuanji Holding a Rabbit,” 1927, hanging scroll,
ink and color on paper, 136.6cm x 69cm
Pang Yuanji (1864-1949) is well known for the important catalogues of his ancient painting collection that he compiled between 1909 and 1925, especially the Xuzhai Minghua Lu. Less recognized is his patronage of over 20 artists who lived and worked in his home. Less known still are his undertakings in transforming China’s public sphere. Despite Pang’s passion for collecting the Six Orthodox Masters, his own paintings in the literati mode, and his memberships of seemingly conservative painting societies, his activities with political, social, and arts reformers indicate a modernist sensibility. By examining Pang’s activities and network of associations, this lecture will attempt to provide a better understanding of Pang’s contributions toward modernizing China and its art.
Dr. Katharine Burnett is an Associate Professor at the University of California, Davis, where she teaches Chinese art history and culture. Her research considers issues including theory, criticism, connoisseurship, collecting, and display, and spans the late Ming through to the contemporary. Her book, Dimensions of Originality: Essays on Seventeenth-Century Chinese Art Theory and Criticism, is forthcoming summer 2012 from the Chinese University Press, Hong Kong. Her recent article, “Inventing a New ‘Old Tradition’: Chinese Art at the Panama-Pacific International Exposition,”《美術史與觀念史》(2010), and this lecture are aspects of her book in preparation, Pang Yuanji (1864-1949): Artist, Patron, Collector, Dealer.
Entrance: RMB 30.00 (RAS members) and RMB 80.00 (non-members). Those unable to make the donation but wishing to attend may contact us for exemption, prior to the RAS Lecture. Membership applications and membership renewals will be available at this event. Members will have priority booking until 21th April 2012.
To RSVP: Please “Reply” to this email or write to
RAS Bookings at: bookings@royalasiaticsociety.org.cn
Posted: April 23rd, 2012 | No Comments »
…was the Shanghai Yellow Pages. Need an address, a supplier, a company, a store – basically the Yellow Pages was Baidu, Taobao, Tencent, Google and Alibaba all rolled into one. Of course I’m of an age that grew up using the Yellow Pages and indeed, when I first started a market research company way back when, the first item we had to get was a complete set of Yellow Pages!! For young people reading this blog Wikipedia actually has an entry to explain to you what a Yellow Pages is!
Posted: April 23rd, 2012 | No Comments »
I’ll be at the Georgia Center for the Book in Atlanta this Tuesday evening talking about Midnight in Peking…more details here
Georgia Center for the Book at DeKalb County Public Library
215 Sycamore Street Decatur, Georgia 30030
(404) 370-8450 x 2225
Posted: April 22nd, 2012 | 2 Comments »
Pity old Tanggu Road (once Boone Road) – it was once one of Shanghai’s great streets and certainly one of the best north of the Suzhou Creek. The section of the street around the junction with Zhapu Road (formerly Chapoo Road) was the most impress. The modern day Shanghailander tendency to never venture north of Soochow Creek means many people have missed out on the architecture around this area – Zhapu Road, again one of old Shanghai’s more impressive boulevards, still has a number of impressive apartment buildings and commercial/retail premises along its length.
However, Tanggu Road has now been almost gutted to the point that it is no longer a street of any interest but rather just another bland, architecturally uninteresting thoroughfare. Some of the finest longtang on the street are now almost gone, those around the junction with Zhapu Road. Small balconies were a feature of the architrectural style around this area and you can see one of the last, and dilapidated, ones below. Shame, this was a nice stretch.
You can see some more on Tanggu Road (and naturally much better photography than me and my camera phone!) on sue Anne Tay’s blog here.
Tanggu Road south side looking east
One of the last of the distinctive balcony features that once characterised this area’s residential architecture
Boarded up at ground level and doomed
Archways were also distinctive features of this area of Hongkou
And Tanggu Road looking west towards Zhapu Road
Posted: April 21st, 2012 | No Comments »
The Dixie Sisters may or may not have been any good as a “fast stepping song and dance team” and who knows who the other “8 additional high class acts” were – the whole thing was free so they may not have been exactly top rank. Still, it beats some nouveau riche overpriced bar full of Eurotrash on the Bund somewhere…and it all kicks off at 10.30pm
Posted: April 20th, 2012 | No Comments »
I’ll quickly plug this appearance by the artist Xu Bing at Three on the Bund this Sunday. Xu Bing provided a great graphic to Hong Kong University Press of their logo that was used on several of my earlier books and was always commented upon. So I’m a fan. I also note that Mian Mian is on the panel – I haven’t seen her for ages but we had a lot of fun a few years ago at a Hong Kong Literary Festival events around her novels Candy and Panda Sex.
Three Talk session
Three on the Bund
Sunday, April 22, 2012
3.30-6pm
Book from the Sky to Book from the Ground
Special guest speakers will include leading contemporary artist Xu Bing and noted author Mian Mian
RSVP: threetalk@on-the-bund.com
Xu Bing is one of China’s most important artists as well as a prominent figure in the international contemporary art world. The works on view at SGA is a continuation of Xu’s longstanding interest in the relationship between symbol, text and meaning.
In this lecture, the artist will trace the conceptual development of these themes starting with his groundbreaking, Book from the Sky (1987-1991) for which the artist single handedly invented over 3000 new Chinese characters, through his New English Calligraphy Series (1994- ), which morphs English words into Chinese characters, to the development of Book from the Ground. This talk will reveal the mechanisms behind Xu Bing’s creative process and show the evolution of this extraordinary artist’s vision.
Three Talk is an ongoing inspirational speaker series held at the historic Three on the Bund. The talks are a reflection of THREE Spirit – an appreciation of and respect for philanthropy, cultural sensitivity and unity in diversity. The purpose of the series is to engage the local community in discussions on topical socio-economic issues around the world, with particular emphasis on China.
Posted: April 20th, 2012 | No Comments »
The Atlantic ran this great article with photos on the fate of villas in Shanghai….well worth a read – click here
I won’t nick the pictures of the site so you’ll have to click through to see – hence this post is a little visually dreary!
Posted: April 19th, 2012 | No Comments »
There’s a US version of the Midnight in Peking website now – all the same except it has the US cover on the site and details of US events….
Here, by the way are some bookshop dates I’ll be doing around the USA at the end of this month, start of May…obviously lovely to see anybody!
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
ATLANTA, GA
Georgia Center for the Book
1282 McConnell Drive, Decatur, Georgia
7:00 PM
Information: Georgia Center for the Book
Thursday, April 26, 2012
WASHINGTON, DC
One More Page Books
2200 N Westmoreland Street, Arlington, Virginia
7:00 PM
Information: On More Page Books
Saturday, April 28, 2012
WASHINGTON, DC
Politics & Prose
5015 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington, DC
1:00 PM
Information: Politics Prose
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
ST. LOUIS, MO
Left Bank Books
399 N Euclid Avenue, St. Louis, Missouri
7:00 PM
Information: Left Bank
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
HOUSTON, TX
Murder by the Book
2342 Bissonett Street, Houston, Texas
6:30 PM
Information: Murder Books
Thursday, May 3, 2012
PHOENIX, AZ
Poisoned Pen
4014 N Goldwater Boulevard, Scottsdale, Arizona
7:00 PM
Information: Poisoned Pen
Friday, Mar 4, 2012
DENVER, CO
Tattered Cover
2526 E Colfax Avenue, Denver, Colorado
7:30 PM
Information: Tattered Cover
Monday, May 7, 2012
SEATTLE, WA
Seattle Asian Art Museum/Elliott Bay Books
Stimson Auditorium, 1400 E Prospect (in Volunteer Park), Seattle, Washington
7:00 PM
Information: Elliott Bay Book
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
PORTLAND, OR
Powell’s Books/Cedar Hills
3415 SW Cedar Hills Boulevard, Beaverton, Oregon
7:00 PM
Information: Powells
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
BERKELEY, CA
Books Inc in Berkeley
1760 Fourth Street, Berkeley, California
7:00 PM
Information: Books Inc.
Thursday, May 10, 2012
CORTE MADERA, CA
Book Passage Corte Madera
51 Tamal Vista Boulevard, Corte Madera, California
7:00 PM
Information: Book Passage
