For an intimate look at the Chinese community, the Chinese Culture Center offers docent conducted walks. The tours emphasize its cultural achievements, social progress and history. The walk begins with a brief introduction at the Center and may include places of interest such as the Chinese Historical Society of America, a Chinese temple, herb store, churches, schools, community organizations, and many architectural and historical points of interest.

More information about the Chinese Heritage Walk.

April 11 - June 7, 1998
In an exhibition of forty color photographs of San Francisco’s Chinatown taken over the last quarter of a century, Maurice H. Edelstein offers candid glimpses of a colorful, multigenerational, and symbiotic community.
Mr. Edelstein has found the similarities mirrored between Chinese immigrants and Jewish settlers, in their day-to-day struggle to maintain tradition and family through education, work, and humor, to be remarkably identical. The R. print photographs in this exhibition reflect the bonds of affection he feels existing between Chinatown residents and their children. His photographs capture intimate moments in the daily-life activities of a multigenerational community:
According to Mr. Edelstein, “It’s impossible for me to walk through Chinatown without at least one camera. To do so would be like eating chow fun without soy sauce. (Gefilta fish without horseradish?) Where in San Francisco can one get this much color, this much activity? Where in America in such a small area is there such action going on which screams out for picture taking?”

He is drawn to Chinatown for some other reasons: “My grandparents on both sides came from Europe around the turn of the century. In fact, my mother and her siblings were all born in Poland. Both families arrived in New York City without any money and without any knowledge of English. They spoke only Yiddish. (A few spoke Polish.) They dressed funny. They had a strict diet, so they could only eat certain foods which had to be ritualistically approved by rabbinic authorities. They lived in tenements, crowded into small rooms with big families. My mom slept in a bed with three of her sisters. The older sister had a job in a sweat shop. So she slept in the position closest to the door, so as not to wake the others, as she had to be out before dawn. Sound familiar? What the first wave of Chinese encountered in California is not dissimilar to the discrimination faced by other ethnic groups entering a new land. But the similarities mirrored between the Chinese-Jewish settlers in their day-to-day struggle to maintain tradition and family through education, work, and humor are remarkably identical.”

He is drawn to the teeming crowds on Stockton Street on Saturday because “in my mind this is how the streets of the Lower East Side of New York must have looked almost one-hundred years ago. A walk on Stockton Street on a weekend may be the closest replica of a walk on Delancey Street at the turn of the century.”

Because of his own heritage, Edelstein feels “a strong kind of fascination in the exchanges I have observed on the streets in Chinatown, particularly between the very young and the very old, who have learned to sustain each other. The pictures in this exhibit reflect those bonds of affection I feel existent between these people and their children. Each picture has been taken candidly without the subjects being aware of being photographed. The camera is pointed at the subject but my body language is intent on appearing to look in another direction. This method insures the integrity of the moment and protects the privacy of the individual.”

August 16 - October 5, 1997

Artists often find ways to express universal sentiments through their art works that can be shared by others. The three artists in our exhibition, Breaking Out: Sculptures by Chinghuey Tiao, Anna Wong, and Wan-xin Zhang, explore the themes of confinement–physical and psychological–identity, and breaking out through awareness and realization.

Most of us behave according to set rules and customs that are either self-imposed orimposed on us by others. Barriers, whether created by societal norms, economic factors, religious beliefs, or cultural values, present themselves as invisible forces that dictate the way we feel, act, and make decisions. Some barriers are meant to enclose and define a group of people with homogeneous ideas and aspirations; others are meant to block the intrusion of outsiders who do not belong in a particular group. Under these invisible barriers, different people have experienced different kinds of obstacles in their lives, and many times we struggle to break out from these constraints that limit our potential for fulfillment and satisfaction.

The theme of confinement is apparent in Tiao’s work. Carving in wood, the artist feels in communion with nature. In today’s society, she sees the disappearance of mysticism and poetic sensation that are found in nature. Man is preoccupied with technology and cyberspace. Patriarchal domination has subdued the feminine nature in man, and advancements in science have alienated man further from nature. In her works, human forms are represented as trapped inside a shell, a cocoon, from which the forms twist and wriggle, and await to emerge in an evolved, altered state.

Zhang’s subjects, on the other hand, literally break out from a wall. The wall symbolizing boundary, impediment, obstruction, is represented as a solid, reinforced mass. Yet it is not indestructible. It can be destroyed by humans as well as by time and the elements. The imagery of the wall as a symbol of barrier–physical, cultural or emotional–can in fact be shattered and overcome. Those who succeed in breaking through the wall, will bring forth the knowledge and experiences accumulated from one side of the wall and integrate them with the other.

Anna Wong’s mixed media constructions make references to her Chinese heritage, interpersonal awakenings, and moments of enlightenment, and how they have helped her in achieving a greater sense of awareness.. Although raised in a traditional Chinese home, as an American, the artist sees her heritage not as a barrier but as a positive force for inspiration. There is no need to relinquish her primal, ethnic culture for another, nor does she have to excise one culture over another.

August 17 - September 22, 1996
Generally speaking, the painting tradition in China has evolved subtly
and incrementally over hundreds of years. The characteristics of Chinese
painting are usually discussed in terms of strength and techniques of the brush,
quality of spirit and essence, and poetry imagery. More often than not, traditional
works also include poetic or prosaic colophons, and seal impressions. While
certain eccentric personalities punctuated the stylistic orthodoxy of this tradition,
very few schools of painting gained peer recognition through radical
differentiation from this relatively conservative mainstream.
This mold was shattered approximately 30 years ago when two painters,
Ting Shao Kuang and Jiang Tiefeng, held an exhibition of works in Beijing which
celebrated the customs and lives of the ethnic minorities who inhabit China’s
subtropical southwestern province of Yunnan. This innovative artistic
exploration soon gave explosion to an entire style of painting which came to be
known as the Yunnan School. Since that time, the Yunnan School of painting has
gained critical international acclaim and established itself firmly in the artistic
lexicon of both East and West. Its stylistic vocabulary and topical themes are
characterized by uniformity in line work, bold usage of overlapping geometric
designs and colors, and subjects centered around the indigenous people and
historical myths of Yunnan province. Also popular is the employment of art
motifs found on ancient bronzes of the region.
Exemplified by the serigraph works of Ting Shao Kuang, many works by
Yunnan artists also display affinities with the western traditions. Ting
admittedly claimed to be an admirer of both Monet and Giacometti, and their
influences can be detected in Ting’s elongated figures and bold color radations.
One might also attribute a general influence of the cubist movement. The more
representative works by the other Yunnan artists show greater concern for
realism, as indicated by techniques of perspective and proportion, and the
adoption of chiaroscuro.
The Chinese Culture Center of San Francisco is pleased to present this
exhibition of paintings from the Yunnan School in co-sponsorship with Nan Hai
Arts Center of Millbrae. Additional funding support has been provided in part by
the Publicity and Advertising Fund’s Hotel Tax/Grants for the Arts Program.

February 19 - April 9, 1994

The Chinese Culture Center of San Francisco is pleased to present three contemporary Chinese artists whose works reflect some of the current developments in Chinese ink-and brush painting. Pan Gongkai, Tong Zhenguo, and Zhao Zhunwang are well established artists in China who have held exhibitions in different countries including the United States.
In the span of the twentieth century, China has experienced major revolutions and upheavals. Political and economic reforms have brought changes to the Chinese society. In the field of the arts, the softening of the cultural atmosphere during the late 1970’s and 80’s gave artists greater opportunity to assert their individuality and new expressive styles. Eager to experiment with new ideas and techniques, the artists have been creating works with a fresh outlook. With this renewed urge for revision and transformation since the first decades of the 1900’s, traditional Chinese ink-and-brush painting has been reinvigorated with new stylistic elements and concepts.
The three artists in this exhibition reflect some of the new characteristics in Chinese painting. They live in a transitional period in Chinese art where artists constantly seek new modes of expression and representation. The works in this exhibit represent the three main categories of subject matter in Chinese painting: flower, figure, and landscape. The paintings are quite different from the traditional type, yet their Chinese essence is at once easily recognizable.
This exhibition is funded by the California Arts Council, a state agency; Grants for the Arts of the San Francisco Hotel Tax Fund; and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency. The Chinese Culture Foundation gratefully acknowledges their support.

PAN GONGKAI
Pan Gongkai was born in 1947 in Hangzhou, China. He is professor and Chairman of the Chinese Painting Department of the National Art Institute of China in Zhejiang (formerly known as the Zhejiang Academy of Fine Arts) which is one of the most prestigious art academies in China. Son of Pan Tianshou-one of the most gifted artists of twentieth century China, Pan Gongkai was brought up in a fine artistic and cultural environment. Pan is a scholar who has written extensively on art. In 1992, he received a grant to come to this country to study Western art from first hand sources. In subject matter, he has shown preference for the lotus flower. Many of his paintings are highly conceptual where matter and void play equally important roles as compositional elements.

TONG ZHENGUO
Tong Zhenguo, who currently lives in San Francisco, has been teaching painting at the National Art Institute of China in Zhejiang (formerly known as the Zhejiang Academy of Fine Arts) since 1982. Like many artists of his generation, Tong received a solid training in Western painting techniques. Tong’s early works include portraits and figure studies that reveal his mastery of realistic depiction and Western art methods. His more recent works, however, such as the ones in this exhibition, show a departure from his early realistic style. His depictions of human figures are reduced to fluid and rhythmic lines with a minimum suggestion of background. Color is used to infuse substance to the composition and to heighten the feeling of liveliness of the figures. Many of his paintings are thus endowed with vitality, energy, delightfulness and humor.

ZHAO ZHUNWANG
Zhao Zhunwang, a member of the Chinese Artists Association, was born in Beijing in 1944- and has held many exhibitions in Europe, Asia and the United States. He learned painting from the renowned Chinese artists Yarning, Zheng Ting, and Cui Zifan.
While finding inspiration from past masters, Zhao has been striving to create a style of his own in his landscape paintings. He uses dashing ink washes combined with dots and thin lines to build up the landscape sceneries. Bird’s eye view and a low horizon line are used in some of his works; others are cropped to create a dramatic yet intimate effect. Familiar farm animals such ducks, cows, and chickens remind the viewer of Chinese village life. Zhao’s innovative style serve as example of the new developments that are seen in Chinese painting today.

December 4, 1993

Mao 4253 is a “behavior art” performance by artist Zhao Jian-Hai.
Project Statement:
1. A global compilation of the “People’s View of Mao.” I will poll 36,500 people regarding their general .
opinion of Mao. A broad cross-section of the respondents, 365 people in all, will be selected for
detailed interviews.
2. “Behavior 31″ - Open Performance Series. Will consist of myself joined by any and all members of the
viewing audience: singing, reading, dancing, painting, moving, running …
3. Artist will distribute approximately 8,000 posters of Mao in the SF and NY areas
4. Birthday party and lottery drawing for questionnaire respondents

SCHEDULE (all performances will take place from 1:00-5:00 PM):
Saturday December 4 San Francisco
Bridge from the Chinese Culture Center, San Francisco

Zhao Jian Hai is one of the most accomplished and controversial
artists to emerge from China in recent years. An honours
graduate from the prestigious An Academy of Beijing, he has
exhibited widely and collected many awards and scholarships
during his career as an anisr. For the past five years, 30-year old
Zhao has lived in San Francisco.
Much of Zhao’s recent work is in the form of mixed media and
collage with which he creates an exciting series of what he calls
“Temple Gates”. This series evolved from his solo exploration
of 30,000 kilometres of Tibet, an experience which transformed
his personal and artistic values.
Since 1986, Zhao has extended his art ro what he calls
“Chinese Action Air Art” multi-media theatrical performances,
depicting the complexity and beauty of the human
condition. To inaugurate his Hong Kong show, Zhao will
organize a spontaneous performance ro commemorate the
centenary of Chairman Mao’s birth.
Since Zhao’s arrival in the United States, he has exhibited at
the San Bernardino Museum, Triton Museum of Art, California
Museum of Art, and other renowned galleries. His work
has been collected by galleries, private collectors and museums
from Finland to Malaysia.

January 24 - April 13, 1991
In 1981, the Chinese Culture Center of San Francisco began to organize an exhibition
series featuring outstanding Chinese American artists working in a variety of media.
The objective of the project is in keeping with the goal of the Center-to foster the
understanding and appreciation of Chinese and Chinese American art, history, and
culture in the United States. In particular, the Center aims to emphasize contemporary
Chinese and Chinese American art of high quality, in addition to presenting traditional
and historical art. Since then, the Center has featured several Chinese American artists
who, even though they belong to the mainstream of contemporary American art,
demonstrate the legacy of traditional Chinese art and aesthetics in their sryles and
viewpoints.
that the late critic Thomas Albright aptly described as being “the sparest and most
elegant of lines.” He went on further to say, “Weyman Lew is one of the not very
numerous artists who can take a line, have it do anything he wants to, and make the
whole thing look as if it had simply drawn itself.”
Mr. Lew’s work may be seen in public collections such as the M.H. de Young Memorial
Museum, the Oakland Museum, the Achenbach Foundation for the Graphics Arts at
the California Palace of the Legion of Honor, the Brooklyn Museum, the Santa Barbara
Museum, the University Art Museum in Berkeley, and the San Francisco Museum of
Modern Art. He has exhibited widely, having had more than forty one-man exhibitions
in the United States, Canada, Europe, South America, and Australia.
This catalog accompanies the exhibition “Weyman Lew: Of Peoples and Places” on
view at the Center from January 24 to April 13, 1991. About one hundred works are in
the exhibition, including drawings, etchings, watercolors, and mono types which depict
images of peoples and places seen by the artist-who resides in San Francisco-on his
travels throughout the world. Only a small selection of Mr. Lew’s drawings are
published in this catalog. They are especially distinctive for their fluid, sinuous lines
Funding for the exhibition and the catalog is provided by the National Endowment for
the Arts, a Federal agency, the California Arts Council, and Grants for the Arts of the
San Francisco Hotel Tax Fund.










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April 11 - May 31, 1987
Elaborate formal banquets, chef master classes and an informative day-long symposium are all part of the Sichuan Food Festival starting March 25 to celebrate the presentation of Han Dynasty archaeological treasures at the San Francisco Chinese Culture Center. This is the first extensive Sichuan Food Festival to be held in the U.S. in conjunction with an exhibition from Sichuan province according to Lucy Lim, Executive Director of the Chinese Culture Center.
Vivian Chiang, Administrator of the Center and Coordinator of the Sichuan Food Festival, announced that through negotiations with the People’s Republic of China, four of China’s most talented “Number One Class” banquet chefs from Sichuan province will be flown in for this special event. Major underwriting for the Festival is provided by Hinode Long Grain Rice, with additional support from JFC International, Inc., Kikkoman International, Inc. and Guenoc Winery.
Bay Area food enthusiasts will have the opportunity to add Sichuan recipes to their repertoires by attending the master classes held on March 25, 26; April 2, 6 and 9 at the Food Service Trade Center. The Sichuan chefs will demonstrate in nine different sessions the intricacies of Sichuan cooking. Martin Yan, well-known Chinese chef, author and television personality, and Lawrence Chu, chef/owner of Chef Chu in Los Altos, will interpret the cooking methods for American kitchens. All sessions are open to the public at $25 per class or a series for $150, which includes admittance to the symposium.

A one-day symposium, “A Taste of Sichuan: The Heritage and Tradition of Sichuan Cuisin,” will be held at the CCC on April 4. A Panel, including chefs, food historians and experts in the food world will discuss the various aspects of Sichuan cuisine from its history to practical, modern-day application. Cost for the one-day event is $25.
Most exciting will be the opportunity to participate in a formal 22 course Sichuan banquet prepared by the visiting chefs. This sophisticated gastronomical experience encompasses the different taste of Sichuan peasant cooking (hot and spicy) with the mild and delicate “haute cuisine” cooking of the province. The sequencing and rhythm of the courses are based on traditions that are unique to the province and date back hundreds of years. Each banquet is limited to 80 guests and will cost &175 per person. They are planned for 3 separate Bay Area locations.
On Friday, April 10, a dinner gala for the opening of the Sichuan Han exhibition will be held at The Empress of China in SF. The cost for this dinner is $50 per person.
Nationally-acclaimed film producer, Sue Yung Li, who grew up in Sichuan, is Chairman of the food festival. She is best known for her award-winning PBS tv series, “A Taste of China.”

March 29 - May 31, 1986
The exhibition features over 100 items selected from private collections in California and are divided into the categories of Shiwan ceramic figures, Yixing stonewares, objects from the scholar’s studio (including the so-called “four treasures” L, painting and calligraphy, textiles, export wares, and decorative art objects (of jade, ivory, wood, and enamel).

The essence of Chinese taste is exemplified by the sophisticated curios of the scholar’s studio, the painting and calligraphy scrolls,. and the popular ceramic folkwares from China’s famous kilns, Yixing and Shiwan. Western aesthetic trends are revealed in the elegant export war.es comprised of porcelain plates and polychromed figurines which evince a hybrid style of Chinese and Western tastes.

An illustrated catalogue accompanies the exhibition, written by guest curators Terese Tse Bartholomew (Curator at the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco) , Dr. Richard Strassberg (Adjunct Curator at the Pacific Asia Museum in Pasadena gnd Associate Professor at the University of California, Los Angeles), and James Tigerman (consultant and dealer in textiles).

The catalogue may be ordered from the Chinese Culture Center at 750 Kearny Street, San Francisco, CA 94108, at $15.00 per copy (plus $2 for handling and shipping).

Slide lectures by the guest curators will be presented at the Chinese Culture Center’s auditorium on April 19 at 4 p.m. Admission is free of charge.

Funding is provided in part by California Arts Council, San Francisco Hotel Tax Fund, Louis R. Lurie Foundation, The Hearst Foundation, The Society. for Asian Art, and Chevron U.S.A., Inc.

May 12 - July 28, 1985

“CHINESE CERAMICS: The Wong Collection,” goes on view at the Chinese Culture Center of San Francisco from May 12 to July 28. Organized by the Phoenix Art Museum where the collection is housed, the exhibition is comprised of 60 objects selected from more than 175 pieces in the collection. The Wongs, born in China, began acquiring ceramics in Canton during the 1930s and 1940s and brought their collection to the united States in the late 1940s. Having grown in size and scope, the collection today covers the period from the 11th to the 19th centuries and includes both utilitarian wares and imperial-quality vessels. It is particularly strong in celadon pieces of the 14th and 15th centuries as well as blue-and-white porcelains of the 17th century.

The exhibition reflects the diverse styles and techniques of Chinese ceramic manufacture and illustrates the ingenuity of the Chinese potter whose works show an interplay between traditional forms and aesthetic experimentation. Ceramic types represented include vases, flasks, incense-burners, brush-stands, candle-holders, fish-bowls, garden-stools, and figurrines. Monochrome-glazed Jun stoneware and lustrous Longquan celadon of the Song dynasty are notable for their subdued elegance and simplicity. A more decorative taste, in contrast, may be seen in the Ming blue-and-white porcelains adorned with pictorial landscape and figgure scenes or with stylized floral motifs. Later imperial polychromes are striking for their overglazes of pink (famille rose) or green (famille verte) enamels in ornate designs. Incised, carved, and applique decorations enliven the surface treatments of some ceramic pieces, while streaked and mottled fur-like effects create interesting textures for others. A fully illustrated catalogue of 86 pages and 150 plates by Dr. Claudia Brown, Curator of Asian Art at the Phoenix Art Museum, is available for $10.00 in the gallery shop.

A preview reception will be held at the Chinese Culture Center on Saturday, May 11 from 1 to 5 p.m. Films (in English) on Chinese ceramics and art will be featured: “Jingdezhen, China’s Porcelain Capital,” “Pearl of the Porcelain Country,” (produced by the People’s Republic of China) and “Chinese Art: Of Heaven, Earth, and Man” (prqduced by Wan-go Weng) , will be shown during the preview reception at 1 p.m. and again on Saturday, June 1 at 1 p.m. in the Center’s auditorium.

Gallery hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 10-4 p.m. and Sunday 1-5 p.m. Admission is free to the exhibition and film presentations. Funding for presenting the exhibition at the Center in San Francisco is provided in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency, San Francisco Hotel Tax Fund, and California Arts Council.