Lan Su is open daily, hours are 10 am - 6 pm. Last admission is 5:30 pm.
- Get Your Admission Today XThe Silk Road is a term used to designate a group of trade routes that stretched from eastern Asia to the Mediterranean Sea. The rich resources of China, Tibet, India, Persia (Iran), Arabia (Saudi Arabia), Turkey, and other countries were exchanged for thousands of years along roads that crisscrossed through deserts, mountains, forests, and steppes. Merchants traveled in caravans to trade their goods such as tea, porcelain, gun powder, pearls, camels, fruits, vegetables, and silk from the East, and gold, gems, perfumes, spices, and horses from the West. Travelers on the Silk Road carried more than trade goods—they also brought stories with them. Join us on this journey along the ancient trade route in this four week series, every Sunday in June.
Included with Lan Su membership or admission; no registration required.
June 4, 3 - 4 p.m.
The trade route known as the Silk Road influenced the spread of art, religion, politics and culture for more than 14 centuries throughout Asia, Central Europe, and the Mediterranean. This lecture will show the exchange of influences between Korean, Chinese, Persian, Scythian, Greek and Indian art, by tracing the iconography in both secular and sacred art from one culture to the other. Learn how the splendid Korean metal craftsmanship of gold crowns influenced Scythian and Persian metalwork, and how symbolism from ancient Grecian art found its way into current Buddhist iconography.
Junghee Lee has traveled extensively in India, Southeast Asia, Japan, Central Asia, China, and Korea to visit museums and archeological sites, and brings her experiences to the class through her own slides and recollections. After majoring in Aesthetics at Seoul National University, Junghee Lee moved to UCLA to study Modern Art and Western Art History for her MA and Buddhist art for her PhD. She was a research associate at Harvard University for ten years. In 1994, Junghee Lee came to Portland State University, and since that time she has developed and taught more than 15 different courses on Asian art from the modern to the ancient period, as well as special topics such as Buddhist art and Modern Japanese Painting.
June 11, 3 - 4 p.m.
Experience the land of Genghis Khan and the 13th century center of the Mongol empire, north of the Silk Road. Learn how modern Mongolian women respond to the western skill of quilting and support themselves by making utilitarian and art pieces.
While dating nearly 20 years ago, John and Nancy Watts discovered that they both enjoyed travel and learning about other cultures through photography, teaching and daily discoveries. John viewed the world with the eyes of a landscape architect, photographer and a background in the building crafts. Nancy saw the world with the eyes of a mother, teacher, quilter, and a prodigious photographer.
Their travels together include the witnessing of multiple festivals, difficult living standards, beautiful scenery and “rubbing elbows with the local people”. They have enjoyed sharing their pictures and adventures with many audiences throughout the Northwest.
June 18, 3 - 4 p.m.
In this talk, we will go in search for early evidence of silk textiles and sericulture along the Silk Road based on artifacts and archaeological evidence from Japan to Europe. Along the way, we will track changes in technology, beliefs, and societal trends as reflected by the material evidence.
William Ma, PhD, is a Chinese art historian who specializes on the artistic exchanges between China and the world during the late-imperial and modern period. His research interest includes material culture, workshop practices, aesthetic pedagogy, Jesuit missionary art in late-imperial China, and the relationship between export art and the imperial court during the High Qing.
June 25, 3 - 4 p.m.
Marco Polo (1254-1324), is one of the most famous western traveler of the Silk Road. Polo spent four years traveling this combination of routes that linked Central Asia and China, to the capital of Beijing. His journey through Asia lasted 24 years and he reached further than any of his predecessors, beyond Mongolia to China. Polo became an emissary of Kublai Khan (1214-1294). He returned to Italy to tell the tale, which became one of the greatest travelogues.
Frances Li was born in Shanghai, China, and at age of two moved to Taiwan. She was educated in Taiwan and came to the U.S. to study for an advanced degree. In Taiwan, Frances studied painting for many years with traditional teachers, known as "masters." Frances also learned Chinese calligraphy in school and formally studied ikebana. Because of her early training, skill, and interest in many art forms, Frances has become an accomplished artist who teaches and demonstrates painting, calligraphy, ikebana, and origami. Frances moved to Portland in 1996. She joined the Lan Su Chinese Garden as a guide in 2000. She continued her teaching—from 1996-2000 at The Village Gallery, and with the Portland Parks and Recreation since 1996.
For as little as $60 a year enjoy unlimited visits to Lan Su, 10% off at the Garden Shop and Garden Teahouse (exclusions apply) and member pricing on special events like Lunar New Year Lantern Viewing Evenings.
239 Northwest Everett Street, Portland, Oregon 97209
Call Us: 503.228.8131
Lan Su Chinese Garden
38 NW Davis St #260, Portland, OR 97209
Members, donors and visitors help keep Lan Su healthy and growing. Lan Su is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and all donations and memberships are tax deductible. Lan Su’s Federal Tax ID number (EIN) is 93-1296840.