Decoding Xiqu: Understanding Stylized Chinese Theatre

featuring
Yiting Wang

Speaker’s Summary:
Xiqu performances are highly conventional. Appreciating a xiqu performance takes some training; but knowing the predefined elements is the key. After this talk, you will know the moment a horse is on the stage without seeing a horse. You can predict well whether a performer on stage is likable at first sight. You can identify the implication of a costume, be it the official ranking, economic status, or well-being. Through the art of xiqu staging, props, costumes, make-up and masks, this talk will break down the stylized nature of xiqu and you will be able to decode a xiqu performance, or any xiqu elements you encounter. 

Speaker’s Bio:
Yiting Wang is a PhD candidate at the interdisciplinary program in Communication and Information Sciences at University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. She is interested in bridging visual communication, human computer interaction, and social media & online performance. Her current research focuses on short videos, affordances and multimodal analysis. Yiting’s background includes traditional Chinese theatre, with a B.A. and M.A. in international cultural communication and management from the National Academy of Chinese Theatre Arts in Beijing.

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The views expressed are those of the speaker and do not necessarily reflect East-West Center nor Friends of the East-West Center policies or position.

The China Seminar was founded by Dr. Daniel W.Y. Kwok 45 years ago. Under his guidance, it became a signature program of the Friends of the East-West Center (FEWC) in 2009. The program provides an informal venue for China experts, such as scholars, diplomats, and journalists, to present talks on aspects of China that interest the community and members of the Friends. Topics include politics, economics, social issues, history, culture, food, arts, and many other subjects. Though Dr. Kwok has recently retired from his involvement with the program, the FEWC and the East-West Center remain committed to continuing this important program.

Big Country, Empty Nest 
Understanding China’s Demographic Shift

featuring
Dr. Yi Fuxian
Senior Scientist, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Speaker’s Summary:
Dr. Yi Fuxian, a senior scientist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, will discuss China’s shrinking population and the policies that both led to it and will also make it difficult to reverse.   Dr. Yi publicly predicted that China’s population would shrink before anyone else by closely watching China’s own statistics – particularly from its provinces having to do with marriage rates and ages. 

Speaker Bio:
Fuxian Yi, MD, PhD is a Senior Scientist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Since 2000, he has applied medical science to demographic and economic research. He used that research to launch a campaign against China’s one-child policy. His book, Big Country with an Empty Nest, went from being banned by the Chinese government to promoted by it in just six years and was picked as No.1 of 100 Best Books of 2013 on China. His projections of China’s population and economy have repeatedly proven to be more accurate than official ones. He is widely cited by major American news organizations and has spoken at international conferences including the Boao Forum for Asia and Reuters Next. 

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The views expressed are those of the speaker and do not necessarily reflect East-West Center nor Friends of the East-West Center policies or position.

The China Seminar was founded by Dr. Daniel W.Y. Kwok 45 years ago. Under his guidance, it became a signature program of the Friends of the East-West Center (FEWC) in 2009. The program provides an informal venue for China experts, such as scholars, diplomats, and journalists, to present talks on aspects of China that interest the community and members of the Friends. Topics include politics, economics, social issues, history, culture, food, arts, and many other subjects. Though Dr. Kwok has recently retired from his involvement with the program, the FEWC and the East-West Center remain committed to continuing this important program.

Assignment China: A Conversation with Mike Chinoy

featuring

featuring
Mike Chinoy
Non-Resident Senior Fellow
U.S.-China Institute at the University of Southern California

Speaker’s summary:
The China beat is one of the toughest in journalism- and one of the most important. How the US media has covered the country has profoundly influenced American government policy and shaped public opinion, not only in the US but also, given the clout and reach of American news organizations, around the world. 

Assignment China, a remarkable new book by former CNN Beijing Bureau Chief Mike Chinoy, is the story of the American journalists who have covered China—from the Communist revolution of 1949 through the COVID-19 pandemic—told in their own words. 

Described by Judy Woodruff of PBS as “riveting reading for anyone who wants to understand China, or cares about how great reporters do their work, Assignment China provides important insights about China, journalism, and Sino-American relations at a critically important time.”

Speaker Bio

Mike Chinoy is a Non-Resident Senior Fellow at the U.S.-China Institute at the University of Southern California. He spent 24 years as a foreign correspondent for CNN, serving as the network’s first Beijing bureau chief and senior Asia correspondent. Before joining CNN, Chinoy worked for CBS News and NBC News. He won Emmy, Dupont, and Peabody awards for his coverage of China. He is the author of five books: China Live: People Power and the Television Revolution, Meltdown: The Inside Story of the North Korean Nuclear Crisis, The Last POW, Are You With Me? Kevin Boyle and the Rise of the Human Rights Movement, and Assignment China. 

The China Seminar was founded by Dr. Daniel W.Y. Kwok 45 years ago. Under his guidance, it became a signature program of the Friends of the East-West Center (FEWC) in 2009. The program provides an informal venue for China experts, such as scholars, diplomats, and journalists, to present talks on aspects of China that interest the community and members of the Friends. Topics include politics, economics, social issues, history, culture, food, arts, and many other subjects. Though Dr. Kwok has recently retired from his involvement with the program, the FEWC and the East-West Center remain committed to continuing this important program.