January 2017 – Friends of the East-West Center

Friends of the East-West Center cordially invites you to Spring 2017 sessions of the

CHINA SEMINAR

Thursday, February 9, 2017, 12 noon

Maple Garden Restaurant
909 Isenberg Street, Honolulu

Tea as Culture in Chinese Tradition

Hong Jiang

Tea was first used by humans in China several thousand years ago, and since the Tang Dynasty, especially after Lu Yu’s famous “Book of Tea,” tea drinking has become an important cultural symbol and practice linked closely with the Chinese cultural tradition of Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism, serving as a medium for the cultivation of the mind and body. As such, tea provides a perfect opportunity to study human relationships with nature. This presentation will introduce the changing technologies of tea drinking in China, discuss Lu Yu’s “Book of Tea” and his personal biography, and explore how tea drinking has been incorporated in the Chinese tradition as a symbol of self-restrain, virtue, harmony and tranquility. Poetry, painting, and photos of ancient tea utensils will be used to discuss these topics.

Continue reading “China Seminar — Tea as Culture in Chinese Tradition” →

Friends of the East-West Center cordially invites you to the first 2017 session of the

CHINA SEMINAR

Thursday, January 12, 2017
12 noon

Maple Garden Restaurant
909 Isenberg Street, Honolulu

Xi’s Challenge: Can China Avoid Economic Stagnation?

Richard Hornik

All rapidly developing countries eventually face what economists call a “middle income trap” when they try to move from resource-driven growth dependent on cheap labor and capital to growth based on high productivity and innovation. Few counties have made that transition, and China’s chances were heavily compromised by the unprecedented growth of private and public sector debt in the past 8 years. Will Dynamic Zhonguo become the Muddle Kingdom?

Continue reading “China Seminar — Xi’s Challenge: Can China Avoid Economic Stagnation?” →