College Hosts Free Chinese Dance Workshops

Chestertown, MD, April 1, 2003 — The Washington College Dance Program announces four presentations on Chinese culture by Dr. Mei Hsiu Chan including a lecture on Chinese Lion Dancing on Monday, April 7, 2003, at 7:30 p.m. in the Casey Academic Center Forum; a workshop in T'ai Chi Ch'uan, the Chinese “soft” martial art (Monday at 4:00 p.m.); a health and relaxation workshop in Chan Style Chi Gong (also known as Qigong) on Tuesday, April 8 at 4:00 p.m.; and a master class in Chinese Classical Dancing (Tuesday at 5:30 p.m.). All workshops are free and will be held in the Dance Studio of the Lifetime Fitness Center. The public is invited to attend. For more information call 410-778-7237.

Mei Hsiu Chan, a native of Taiwan, began her dance studies in Chinese Classical Ballet at the age of four and Chinese Martial Arts at eight. She graduated from the College of Chinese Culture where she studied T'ai Chi Chu'an, ballet, modern dance, tap, folk dance, and the many faces of Chinese dance. Dr. Chan toured the world as a dancer and martial artist with world-renowned Chinese Acrobats from Taiwan between 1973-1980. She received her MFA degree in dance at Arizona State University and organized a Classical Chinese Dance Company in 1988 and was awarded the Outstanding Achievement Ethnic Woman in the Arts from Arizona State University in 1988. As an artist, she was on the Touring Roster of the Arizona Commission on the Arts from 1988 to 1993. In 2001, she received a Ph.D. degree in Dance and Related Arts from Texas Woman's University. Currently, she is the chair of Performing Arts Department at Carl Hayden Community High School in Phoenix, AZ.

Dr. Chan has been invited to present her research papers and to teach Chan Style Chi Gung (aka Qigong), T'ai Chi Chu'an, and Chinese dance workshops at the Dance and the Child (DaCI) International Conference, the Nation Conference of the Congress on Research in Dance, American College Dance Festivals, the National Ethnography Form, the National Dance Association 2002 convention in San Diego, the Texas Association for Health, Physical, Recreation & Dance Convention (TAHPERD), and the 44th ICHPER-SD World Congress (International Council for HPERD). Dr. Chan has also toured worldwide to present dance, Chan Chi Gung, and Tai Chi Chuan workshops at schools and universities.

The lion dance is an important tradition in China, dating back to the Han Dynasty (205 B.C.-220 A.D in China); during the Tang Dynasty (716-907 A.D.) it was at its peak where it was performed during religious festivals. If well performed, the lion dance is believed to bring luck and happiness. Although lions are not native in China, they came to the country via the famous Silk Road. Rulers in what is today Iran and Afghanistan sent lions to Chinese emperors as gifts in order to get the rights to trade with Silk Road merchants. The lion dance was not only introduced in China, but also in Korea and Taiwan where it is still a part of festivities such as Chinese New Year, weddings, and the openings of restaurants.

This presentation is partially funded by the Washington College Student Government Association.

Talk to Address New Era of U.S.-China Strategic Relations

Chestertown, MD, January 29, 2001 — The Washington College Goldstein Program in Public Affairs presents "Strategic Partners or Competitors? U.S. and China in the New Era" on Thursday, February 8, 2001 at 7:30 p.m. in the Casey Academic Center Forum.

The symposium will be conducted by Dr. Bates Gill, Senior Fellow in Foreign Policy Studies at the Brookings Institution, and Dr. Minxin Pei, Senior Associate with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Deng Hongbo, First Secretary for Political Affairs at the Embassy of the People's Republic of China, will speak preceding the symposium. The presentation is free and open to the public.

Dr. Gill is a specialist in East Asian foreign policy and politics whose research focuses on Northeast Asian political, security and military-technical issues. Currently he is studying the divergence in strategic outlooks that characterizes contemporary U.S.-China relations and China's nuclear weapons development programs.

Dr. Pei's research focuses on the development of democratic political systems, economic reform and legal institutions throughout the world. He is the author of the book From Reform to Revolution: The Demise of Communism in China and the Soviet Union. His work frequently appears in the journals Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy and China Quarterly.

The Goldstein Program in Public Affairs was established in 1990 to promote programs bringing students, faculty and the College community into association with those having exemplary experience in public service, governmental affairs, business, journalism and communications. Named in honor of the late Louis L. Goldstein -- a 1935 alumnus and Maryland's longest-serving elected official -- the Goldstein Program sponsors lecture series, symposia, visiting fellows, travel and other projects that bring students and faculty together with leaders experienced in developing public policy.

Illustrated Lecture Brings Chinese Geisha Life To Light

Chestertown, MD — The lives and accomplishments of Ming dynasty geishas will be the subject of an illustrated talk by Victoria C. Cass, associate professor of Chinese at the University of Colorado, Boulder, at 4:30 p.m., Tuesday Feb. 29 in the Sophie Kerr Room, Miller Library at Washington College.

"Brilliant Outcasts: On Being a Chinese Geisha in the Ming" features slides of paintings by geishas, portraits of geishas, maps, and other images of the dynasty. The Ming, which flourished from 1368 to 1644, marked a period of native Chinese rule between eras of Mongol and Manchu dominance. The dynasty extended the Chinese empire into Korea, Mongolia, Turkistan, Vietnam, and Myanmar (Burma). Before its overthrow in the 17th century, the Ming marked a time of lush prosperity, autocratic rule, and unprecedented stability.

Cass, a noted expert on women in Chinese literature and Chinese language, recently published Dangerous Women: Warriors, Grannies and Geishas of the Ming (Rowman & Littlefield: Lanham, Md., 1999). Her talk, sponsored by the Julian Emory Fund, The O'Neill Literary House, and the Gender Studies Program, is free and open to the public.

Chinese Diplomat Speaks on US-China Relations Tuesday

Chestertown, MD — As China continues to emerge as an economic and political force, its relationship with the United States evolves. KunShen Zhang, executive aide to the Ambassador of China in the United States will speak about that relationship at 7 p.m., Tues., Nov. 2, in the Hynson Lounge at Washington College. His lecture, "U.S.-China Relations: Present and Future Issues" is free and open to the public.

Zhang holds a Ph.D. in political science from Peking University. Since 1998 he has served as the first Secretary in the Political Analysis Section of the Chinese Embassy in Washington, D.C. His talk is sponsored by the Washington College International Relations Club.