Center for China Studies

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Dr. Virginia Grabiner (Sociology)
Dr. Michael Lazich (History)
Dr. Wendy Paterson (Education)
Dr. Debra Instone-Noonan (Psychology)

Thursday, February 9, 2006
12:15pm-1:30pm
4th Floor of Classroom Building

Sponsored by: The Center for China Studies and the Dean of University College
Refreshments will be provided

Seminar 1:

WELCOME TO CHINA: A MULTIMEDIA SHOW

Presented by Dr. Zhang Ge
Professor at Capital Normal University, China

Tuesday, November 8, 2005
12:15-1:30pm
Classroom Building B 118

Refreshments will be provided

Presented by Dr. Huang Hua
Professor at Capital Normal University, China

Thursday, November 17, 2005
12:15-1:30pm
Classroom Building B 118

Refreshments will be provided

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The CCS Spring 2002 Seminar

Mental Health Issues of Asian Minorities

Presented by: Dr. Xiao Shuiyuan

Freeman Fellow at Harvard University Medical School
Professor at Hunan Medical University School of Public Health, China

11:00 am-11:45 am, Friday, February 15, 2002
Classroom Building A 209

Co-Sponsored by:

The Center for Health and Social Research

The Wiegel Health Center (A Division of Student Affairs)

The Counseling Center

Refreshments will be provided

The CCS Fall 2001 Seminar

By Viktoriya Magid

As originally planned, the CCS conducts a seminar each semester. This time, Dr. Wang Xiaoyan will present “The 2008 Beijing Olympics: Environmental Issues.” It is going to be 12:15pm-1:30pm, Thursday, November 15, 2001, in Classroom Building A209. Refreshments will be provided. Visitors from off campus can obtain parking permissions by emailing to ChinaCenter@bscmail.buffalostate.edu or calling the Center at 878-6328, at least two days before the event. Dr. Wang graduated from Peking University in 1994 with a Ph.D. degree in environmental geochemistry. Since then she has been teaching at the Capital Normal University in Beijing and now is a visiting scholar at Buffalo State.

Lecture Presented: Chinese Contemporary Fine Arts

by Elaine Polvinen

Professor Yuan Guang and Professor Lin Xia Jiang at the at the CCS Seminar.

Professor Yuan Guang with Professor Peter Sowiski at the Fine Art Faculty Show.

The CCS Fall 2001 Seminar included a presentation on November 8th, titled: "Chinese Contemporary Fine Arts", presented by Professor Yuan Guang from the Department of Fine Arts at Capital Normal University, Beijing, China. The seminar was sponsored by the Center for China Studies and the Department of Fine Arts. Professor Yuan was introduced by Professor Peter Sowiski, (Fine Art Department Chair), to a very large overflowing crowd. Professor Jiang Lin Xia from the Fine Arts faculty translated for Professor Yuan. He began the seminar by explaining to the crowd that before he came to America, he prepared two large slide collections for this visit to Buffalo State College, one was on Traditional Chinese art and the other on Contemporary Chinese Art. The slide presentation started with several traditional examples to provide an understanding of the evolution from traditional to contemporary art. Traditional Chinese art has three main categories: flowers, birds and people. There is no still life. What we in the west call landscape painting in Chinese art is called mountains and water. It was very important that all paintings had to be signed. Without a signature the painting was not complete. The very first slide was a 1000 year-old painting. He explained how lines are very important and are widely used in traditional Chinese art to describe the parts and form of an object. Chinese art does not pay much attention to lights and darks and different value gradations. Each section in a traditional painting stands as an independent piece and is created in multi-point perspective. The fine arts period from 1949 to 1960 was a good period when many changes took place and Chinese art flourished. Many Chinese artists traveled to Europe and brought new ideas back to China. Then the great Cultural Revolution took place from 1965 to 1975. Around 1978 when the higher educational system was re-established Chinese art started to revive. He explained that many Chinese artists do not like to have their work described as Chinese art, only as an ink or brush painting. In professor Yuan's own work, he likes to mix traditional elements with contemporary elements. His spaces are depicted in overlapping layers and he has an interest in the interaction between 2D and 3D. He stated that he looks for a balance and relationships between moving and still things. Faculty in his department at Capital Normal University in Beijing work in both traditional, contemporary and a mixture of both. He went on to display an abundance of contemporary Chinese art slides in a variety of styles from photography, performance art, photo-realistic, abstract, expressionism, to political pop and poster art. The seminar lasted two hours and was followed by an opening reception of the Fine Art Faculty show in Upton Gallery. Professor Yuan has a painting of the mountains of China in the show (see photo above).
The Faculty show will be on view November 5-November 30.

Spring 2001:Visiting Scholar Discusses The Art of War

by William Wieczorek

On February 8th, Mr. Ji Deyuan, a Chinese visiting scholar at the Center for China Studies and the Department of Sociology, presented an overview of The Art of War to a standing-room audience in the Classroom Building. A researcher with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing, Mr. Ji is an expert on this classic work on military and other strategies. This work is one of the enduring books of human history, dating back to at least 221 B.C. (Spring and Autumn period) and maybe to as early as 722 B.C. (Warring States period). Mr. Ji reported that the study of The Art of War is a major field for Chinese academics with specific research societies and conferences devoted to the book and its author. The broad focus of the book is how to use strategy to achieve your goals, which applies to all walks of life from investment, to interpersonal relationships, to wars between nations. The book owes its continuing popularity to the universality of the strategies and strategic factors it describes. Mr. Ji provided an overview of the main strategies and points considered by Sun Tzu by using an effective slide program to overcome potential language barriers with the audience. The Art of War identifies five factors that must be accurately considered in any battle or negotiation. These five factors are: politics, weather, terrain (geography), commander (leadership), and doctrine (organization). Clearly, The Art of War is an intellectually stimulating topic with unlimited applications to all phases of life for both individuals and organizations. Mr. Ji's presentation on The Art of War was greatly enjoyed by all present.