Lan Su is open daily, hours are 10 am - 6 pm. Last admission is 5:30 pm.
- Get Your Admission Today XThroughout history women have played many important roles. Join us as we explore the intriguing lives of famous Chinese women in this lecture series every Thursday in June at 3 p.m.
Included with Lan Su membership or admission; no registration is required.
A wall painting discovered in a tomb excavated on China’s northwestern frontier and dated to the Six Dynasties period (220-589) exposes a mystery of identity and motive. A woman, stark naked and in profile, makes an offering to an altar at the base of a leafy tree. Perched in the branches above her, a small monster gestures fitfully. The meaning of the monster and reason for the woman’s nudity remain a contentious topic among scholars, but a brief account in a fifth century historical text provides a tantalizing clue. It suggests that the woman and monster have a tragic connection and are practicing a ritual with origins in China’s earliest recorded history.
Heather Clydesdale holds a PhD in art history and archaeology from Columbia University. Her research focuses on funerary art of the early Six Dynasties period, and this summer she is teaching a seminar at Columbia University on the influence of the frontier on early Chinese art and culture. She frequently writes about Chinese language learning and global issues for K-12 educators and students in projects for the Asia Society in New York City and the East-West Center in Honolulu.
In the waning decades of the last imperial dynasty, China was ruled by an incredible woman, the Empress Dowager Cixi (1835-1908). Seen as the enemy to reforms and modernization, she was reviled by her enemies inside and outside of the country, and such perceptions persisted until today. Recently, scholars and popular writers have attempted to critically reassess her role in history. In this talk, I focus on a particular aspect of her life by examining her role as an artist and as an active agent trying to remake her public image internationally, thus giving her a chance to speak for herself again through visual representations.
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.
Explore how women’s role changes in Chinese history and what would it be in the next century. Out of more than three thousand years of history in China did women always have a relatively subordinate position to men? What was their role in Chinese society as recorded history shows? Has the end of the imperial feudal society in 1911 changed their roles further?
Carol Gwo is a native Chinese language (Mandarin) speaker who was born and grew up in Taiwan Republic of China and immigrated to the US after she had taught high school for a few years. She later earned a B.A. and M.A. in Education from Portland State University in Portland Oregon. To achieve her goal of teaching Mandarin, she went and studied at Peking University’s graduate school of “Teaching Chinese as a Second Language” in Beijing China. After she returned, she became a freelance Chinese language teacher for various institutions.
While Carol Gwo was young she received lots of knowledge of Chinese history from her father who taught history most of his life. She also has traveled to many places in China, from Inner Mongolia at the north to Hong Kong at the south, and from Shanghai at the east all the way to Tibet at the west. From these trips she has gained in-depth knowledge of aspects of culture and learned about life styles of these regions.
From the family and school education plus witnessing China’s slow changeover into the twenty first century she noticed the Chinese women’s role also has slowly transited through different levels of status. She wants to share her thoughts with others who are interested in the roles of Chinese women.
Anna May Wong was an American actress who was considered to be the first Chinese American movie star and also the first Asian American actress to gain international recognition. Her long and varied career spanned silent film, sound film, television, stage and radio.
Trina Hing has been a volunteer and member of Lan Su Chinese Garden since it opened in 2000. Trina is Chinese-American from Hong Kong and is an English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) instructor at the SE campus of Portland Community College for the past thirty six years.
Zhang Ailing was one of the most influential modern Chinese writers. Her works of fiction are considered by some scholars to be among the best Chinese literature of the period. Zhang Ailing was born in Shanghai to a renowned family; her paternal great grandfather was an influential statesman of the Qing dynasty. In 1955 she immigrated to the United States.
Born in a large intellectual family, Dr. Jiyu Yang practiced Chinese calligraphy when he was seven under his uncle’s instructions, a reputable calligrapher and educator. During his advance studies at Guangdong People’s Art College in the late 70’s, Dr. Yang was guided by Professor Mai Hua San who was one of the well-known calligraphers in Southern China. Dr. Yang is the dean of Wisdom Arts Academy in SE Portland. Wisdom Arts Academy operates from the holistic health principle that true health and enrichment originate from a balance of physical, mental, and spiritual well-being. Practicing and learning the arts of music, dance, martial arts, and fine arts can help to achieve that balance.
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.