March 2020 Show Some Legs …
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CHINAINSIGHT Fostering business and cultural harmony between China and the U.S. VOL. 19 NO. 3 March 2020 Show some legs … News, p. 3 Business & Economy, p. 5 History, p. 7 Shake. Stomp. Tap. Get those legs a-moving! What’s going on? New line dance at the gym? The Asian version of the Macarena? Whose behind this? Hint: see page 16. Community Society, p. 10 Snuff said! By Margaret Wong, Chinese Heritage Foundation Friends; contributor The first Liu’s perhaps surprising subject was corner from the Scholar’s Study for those Sunday Tea Mia’s collection of Chinese snuff bottles. of you familiar with the Museum’s layout). of 2020 pre- Originally a utilitarian personal accessory He titled this exhibit “Worlds in Miniature.” sented by Chi- for carrying snuff (powered tobacco), they These examples were the subject of the Feb. nese Heritage became an object of display for Chinese 16 talk and Powerpoint slide show. Foundation gentlemen of means. The art form began We learned that we can approach Chi- Arts & Culture , p. 14 Friends on in the 18th century when taking snuff by nese snuff bottles on many different levels. In This Issue Feb. 16 was way of the nose became fashionable in For example, we could begin by cataloging a fascinat- China. The practice of the art flourished the varied materials and techniques that have Arts & Culture 14 ing scholarly into the first half of the 20th century, and is been used. While most of us today associate Books 13 exploration still practiced, and the works are certainly snuff bottles with reverse (interior) painting Business & Economy 5 of what you collected, to this day. of glass or crystal bottles, snuff bottles have Commentary 15 might regard Mia has several hundred snuff bottles been made of jade (meaning both jadeite Community 8-9, 12, 16 as a simple in its collection, but no group display has and nephrite), coral, ivory, carved lacquer, Events 14 collectible occurred in living memory, largely because gold and other metals, turquoise, cloisonné, object. About art scholars and historians have traditionally porcelain, exterior painting, various stones Food 14 40 guests and members gathered at Paul dismissed the snuff bottle as mere decora- or, of course, any combination of materials. Health 4 Kwok’s bright and cheerful studio in the tion and its creators as artisans or craftsmen. Even the shape of the object is not restricted History 7 Traffic Zone galleries on North 3rd Ave. in Liu, whose education includes a Ph.D. in to the familiar glass bottle, but may take the Language 6 Minneapolis. The presenter was Dr. LIU Asian Art from the University of London, shape of a standing human figure, a reclin- News 3 Yang, the curator of Chinese Art and the was intrigued by the Mia snuff bottle col- ing lady, an animal (real or imagined), or an Opinion 15 director of Asian and African Art at Mia lection, and undertook a study of the pieces. entire garden in relief. (as the Minneapolis Institute of Art is now From them, he selected about 100 to be Pronouncements 2 called). displayed in the Chinese gallery (around the Continued on page 9 Society 10-11 PAGE 2 / March 2020 www.chinainsight.info Publisher’s Pronouncements CHINAINSIGHT Greetings: Publisher: Unfortunately, the outbreak of the see page 7. Elaine Dunn if you have any ideas about fu- coronavirus that originated in China has We also congratulate the 19 Stanley ture content or wish to discuss an article that Gregory J. Hugh now spread and has become a worldwide Chong Scholarship winners who were you feel would be of interest to our readers. [email protected] health concern, as attested by the extensive awarded by CAAM on page 8. coverage by mainstream media. While it Also, do not miss the third part of our Manager of Sincerely, is important to track the progress of the exclusive series by Jackson Venjohn on Operations/Circulation: coronavirus, China Insight will focus on page 11 about Confucianism, consumer- local news regarding the virus. A few lo- ism and the pursuit of wealth in a changing Richard He cal Chinese organizations are organizing China. You also are encouraged to contact [email protected] Gregory J. Hugh fundraisers to provide assistance to medi- Bill Chen if you have stories to share as President – CEO cal personnel in China as noted on page 4. requested on page 7. Staff Writers: China Insight, Inc. While we hope you will and encourage you A Jan. 23 fire in New York city's Chi- Greg Hugh to do your part in support of such causes, natown engulfed a building that housed [email protected] we also caution you do due diligence in historic and artistic items belonging to the ensuring any donations you choose to make Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA). Elaine Dunn (as in any of the charitable givings you do China Insight has included their interest- [email protected] throughout the year) are handled by repu- ing and unusual exhibitions in our “Arts & table organizations. Culture” sections in the past. Their one-of- Intern: The coronavirus outbreak has caused a-kind items tell the story of Chinese migra- some organizations to cancel their Chinese tion to the U.S. They include restaurant Jackson Venjohn New Year celebrations so we are not report- menus, textile, tickets for ship's passage, [email protected] ing on as many as we usually do. However, etc. The main museum space at 215 Centre if your organization rescheduled one, and we Street is unaffected, and is open and operat- didn’t include your organization’s celebra- ing normally. Museum staff are currently Contributors: tion, please feel free to submit a recap of in a recovery mode. If you wish to make a Will Ahern your event. We will be happy to consider donation toward archives recovery efforts, [email protected] it for our April issue. Simply send your there is a GoFundMe page: recap of no more than 500 words along with https://charity.gofundme.com/o/en/cam- Bill Chen photos and captions to ghugh@chinainsight. paign/mocafirerecovery. [email protected] info by March 17, 2020. To learn how the Thank you for continuing to support Year of the Rat has treated China in the past, China Insight and feel free to contact me or Ximen Chuixue [email protected] FREE 3-2020 Beatrice Rothweiler [email protected] FREESUBSCRIPTIONS SUBSCRIPTIONS Patrick Welsh Getting to know you . [email protected] Who are you? What articles do you enjoy reading? Margaret Wong China Insight would like to ensure our content matches your interests. Please take a few minutes to complete this poll so we can update our reader [email protected] demographics. For your time, the first 10 respondents each month will receive a free annual subscription to China Insight. Winners will be notified by email. 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All Rights Reserved. www.chinainsight.info news March 2020 / PAGE 3 China Briefs No laughs You’ve heard the saying, “Different strokes for different folks.” Chinese residents have been cooped up in their apartments for quite a few weeks now because of the coronavirus outbreak. This month’s items are all coronavirus “in- spired” and, except for the last item, show how different folks handle being cooped up. Ingenious fun As news of the coronavirus outbreak minister, “… we have a very, very strong came to light in January, a Danish daily tradition in Denmark not only for freedom A few bored, had some fun with the Chinese flag.