Chinese Culture Center guest curator Mrs.Sally Yu Leung will give two gallery talks on current exhibition Duk Duk Chaang: The Clamor and Glamour of Chinese Opera on June 22nd and June 24th, 2006. She will highlight archaeological items from the Eastern Han Dynasty (25 B.C.– 220 A.D.), ritual No-Dance masks, puppets, theatrical costumes, and stage properties that represent various types of drama and periods in the development of theater and opera in China.
Read More »

Congratulations to the winners of CCC first Annual Youth Painting Competition! The paintings are on view at the 3rd Room of CCC Gallery from Feb. 11th to Mar. 18th of 2006. The Gallery opens on Tuesday to Saturday, from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm. Free Admission.

Read More »

A Public Oral Presentation by the 2005 Roots Interns is schduled on Febuary 25th,2006 at the Chinese Culture Center Auditorium, while an exhibition will be on view from Febuary 11th to March 18th, 2006 at the CCC Gallery. To learn more about “In Search of Roots” Program, please click here.

The Chinese Culture Center of San Francisco and Pacific Heritage Museum co-present an exhibition of Shiwan ceramic– Rustic Splendors: Kiln Treasures from August 26 th, 2005 through March 25th, 2006.
Read More »

Febuary 8th–May 10th, 2005

The Chinese people welcome the joyous arrival of spring with celebrations that reflect multiple aspects of its distinctive cultural traditions. Going beyond the spectacular public pageantry of colorful parades, acrobatic performers and exploding firecrackers, is an intensely private expression of cherished dreams and great expectations. The actual celebration begins on the last day of the old year as the families gather eagerly anticipating the shower of blessings the new year will bring. By then, the entire household would have been thoroughly cleaned and freshly furnished with decorations for the occasion. These furnishings are deeply rooted in traditional beliefs, local customs, and cultural practices, which reveal the hopes and fears, connected with the family’s activities for the coming year.
Read More »

The ancient Silk Road began in Xian, China and wound its way across deserts and mountains, ultimately to reach the Middle East, Europe and Africa. This 2,000-year-old route facilitated the exchange of goods and ideas that brought profound changes to people living on or near its passage. It played a significant role in the development of human civilization.

Although a number of exhibitions have been organized around ancient artifacts recovered along this route, Ancient Threads, Newly Woven presents for the first time little known contemporary art from these distant, multicultural provinces. This exhibit explores the work of artists living along the Northern route of the Silk Road. Beginning in Xian onto Lanzhou, Dunhuang, Urumqi and Kashgar, the area is surrounded by high mountains, harsh desert landscapes and occasional oases. It focuses on ways in which their artworks reflect the influence of the many cultures that have traversed the route over the centuries. The stunning quality of the art will surprise many viewers, as it differs markedly from what is usually thought of as traditional Chinese painting. A sense of place and pride in local culture born from multi-ethnic roots has inspired these artists, and the results are beautiful, unique and full of brilliant color.
Read More »

Purple Sand or “zisha” refers to the dark purplish brown stoneware associated with Yixing, China. Yixing or zisha ware, is often identified with the simple, rustic teapots that gained recognition during the late Ming period in the 16th century. Chinese tea connoisseurs consider Yixing teapots the ideal tea making vessels, noting their ability to bring forth the flavor, color and fragrance of the tea leaves. Tea tasting, along with the literary pursuits of poetry, calligraphy, and painting were highly esteemed by scholar gentry who gathered in this prosperous cultural and commercial center during the Ming (1369-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties.

“Purple Sand, Fragrant Tea” features over 30 outstanding contemporary artists from Yixing. Included are the works of many senior masters still active today. Many are honored as national arts and crafts masters, who have in turn taught and encouraged new generations of younger potters to perfect their craft, expand beyond conventional boundaries, and seek inspiration from new sources. The exhibition focuses on masterworks created by these young and older artists within the last four years, illustrating the vital, innovative spirit that persists in Yixing today.

Free to the public, the exhibition will be on view from July 30th to November 27th, 2004 at the Chinese Culture Center, 750 Kearny Street, 3rd Floor, San Francisco, CA 94108. For more information, please call Mike Curtis at (415) 986-1822 or email to mike@c-c-c.org.

First Exhibition of Vintage Shanghai Posters in North America

By Wylie Wong, CCC Gallery Guest Curator

The Chinese Culture Center is pleased to present the first exhibition of vintage Shanghai posters in North America. These relics of Shanghai’s Western influenced glamour period enjoyed great popularity, which can be directly related to the birth of capitalism and early industrialism in China. Rapid development of the Chinese economy during the early decades of the 20th century made this period the golden age of Chinese poster art. The beautiful ladies depicted in rich and vibrant imaging, corresponded to the nascent middle class aspirations of an increasingly Westernized China’s urban citizens.

Shanghai was China’s first great modern city. Known as the “Paris of the East” in the early 20th century, Shanghai quickly became the center of China’s banking and commercial enterprises, the country’s greatest commercial port. The movie industry was also centered there, as were all the great artists and intellectuals, and in addition, the early advertising and graphic studios. Read More »

Read More »