Events
The Confucius Institute for Scotland acts as a conduit for information on events and activities relating to China. The pages in this section highlight various occasions and performances organised by or promoted by the Institute.
Timeline
January 2009
Chinese New Year Events -xin nian kuai le!
Check out what`s on to celebrate the Year of the Ox.
The date for Chinese New Year varies each year as the Chinese calendar is based on a lunar cycle. Because the track of the new moon changes from year to year, Chinese New Year can begin anytime between late January and mid-February.
This year the New Year arrives on Monday 26 February marking the start of Spring Festival which runs for 15 days culminating in the Lantern Festival which falls this year on 9 February 2009.
The events listed below are all organised to celebrate Chinese New Year.
24 January: The Volunteer Hall, Galashiels
This is the venue for the Year of the Ox celebrations in Galashiels.
On Saturday Galashiels will have a distinctly Oriental feel about it. Following the opening of the Festival at noon, visitors will be treated to a variety of entertainment including martial arts demonstration, Chinese Acrobatics, a Circus Troupe, and of course a Lion Dance.
This event opens at noon. Free entry
24 January: Annual Chinese New Year Ball, Edinburgh
This sold out event will see assembled guests gather at Edinburgh`s Dymanic Earth for an evening of fine food, great company and the opportunity to celebrate Chinese New Year with some ceilidh dancing!
Organised by the University of Edinburgh Chinese Student Association this promises to be an evening to remember. Book early for next year!
24/25 January: Glasgow`s Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum.
Last year over 7,000 enjoyed the Chinese New Year celebrations at Kelvingrove. This year`s programme organised by Ricefield Arts and Cultural Centre promises to be equally exciting with lots of hands-on workshops, storytelling, music and dance performances by Harmony Chinese Music Ensemble, Glasgow Oriental Dancing Association (GODA) and the Village Storytelling Centre.
From noon till 3pm Saturday and Sunday. Free entry
28 January: Chinese New Year International Show, Edinburgh
For one night only the Chinese New Year International Show 2009 will take place at Edinburgh`s Corn Exchange.
The event is held by the Chinese Consulate in Edinburgh and the local Chinese Community.
This colourful show will feature folk songs with prominent contemporary tastes and strong ethnic features, in addition to dance, ethnic instruments, stunning costumes and fabulous stage sets.
Date: Wed 28 Jan (one evening only)
Time: 7.30- 9.30
Venue:The Edinburgh Corn Exchange, 11 Newmarket Road, Edinburgh
Tickets: adults £12 in advance( £15 at the door),
Children £8
To book tickets in advance:
Ticket web 08444 77 1000
Henry Tse 07711 518 514
Queenie Tam 07818 476 694
30 January: Confucius Institute New Year Party
The Confucius Institute is holding its its annual Spring Festival Party on Friday, 30th January, when Abden House will have an Open House event with the opportunity for you to try your hand at mah-jong, Chinese chess and of course, the ever popular Karaoke! Drinks and snacks will be provided and you are welcome to contribute a dish to the party. If you do want to come along please help us by sending an RSVP to info@confuciusinstitute.ac.uk
All old and new friends of the Institute, Chinese students and students of Chinese are especially welcome.
The evening starts at 6.30pm
31 January: Edinburgh Chinese School at Drummond Community High School
Drop into Drummond Community High to join in the celebrations with the Edinburgh Chinese School. With cultural performances, arts & crafts workshops, a games booth and of course Chinese snacks, entry is free! This event runs from 12.30 till 3pm.
01 February: Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh
Join in an Art-tastic Chinese New Year workshop in the Exhibition Hall. Create beautiful, delicate paper wall hangings to celebrate the Chinese New Year and to bring you good luck throughout 2009, the year of the ox!
This event runs from noon till 3pm, is free, suitable for all ages and no booking is required
07 February: Liberton High School, Edinburgh
Edinburgh Chinese Community School in association with Liberton High School have organised a fair to celebrate the Year of the Ox. With arts & crafts, fun & games, performances and food, not to mention the chance to ride a Rodeo Ox, make your way to Liberton High to have some fun and celebrate Chinese new Year.
Noon till 4pm. Free entry
07 February: Edinburgh, George Square Theatre
The 2009 Edinburgh Spring Festival Night - Discover China is co-organised by 22 Chinese Student and Scholar Associations from Universities across Scotland and Northern Ireland to celebrate the Chinese Spring Festival.
Spring Festival is the most important traditional festival of the year for Chinese and Asian people. With a wide range of performances this celebration promises to be as varied as the nation of China itself.
This evening event will take place in George Square Theatre in the University of Edinburgh runs from 7pm-9.30pm.
Tickets priced at only £5.00 can be purchased from the following outlets:
Wang`s Restaurant, 14-18 Lady Lawson Street, Edinburgh
Hot Pot, 63 Home Street, Edinburgh
Wing Sing Inn, 147 Dundee Street, Edinburgh
Alternatively you can contact?
Jason Shi-07894990052 at University of Edinburgh
Phoebe Jingshu Wang-07942740831 at Napier University
Kyla Menghan Guo-07921221280 at Heriot-Watt University
08 February: Edinburgh`s National Museum of Scotland
Music, dance, calligraphy, art and animation are all on offer from Harmony Ensemble and iMAP have arranged a wealth of activities. Join in, collect the stamps and win a souvenir!
As well as enjoying performances of drumming from Ipswich Children`s Drumming Group you can take part in a workshop of drumming and movement.
12.30 till 4pm on Sunday.Free entry
9 February Oran Mor, Glasgow
Monday, 9 February 2009, 6pm
Doors open at 5.15pm for canapés and cocktail
Auditorium, Oran Mor, Glasgow G12 8QX
In the series `A Concert, a Cocktail and a Canape` at Oran Mor on Monday, February 9th the Harmony Chinese music ensemble will perform with the Scottish Philharmonic Orchestra in a concert to celebrate the 2009 Chinese New Year - the Year of the Ox. The programme will include Air and Dances (???, ??? and ???), Kangding Love Song (????), Zweisamkeit V by Kimho Ip and ??? , an ancient Chinese melody arranged by Kimho Ip (Hong Kong born composer who studied at Edinburgh University) as well as an improvisation and the singing of Fong Liu. The conductor will be Peter Jones.
Doors open at 5.15pm for a cocktail and canape. The concert will begin at 6pm and last for approx. one hour. The inclusive price is £10.00 - at the door, or on www.ticketweb.co.uk or call 08444 771000.
The Ox in Chinese cultural tradition, symbolizes hard work and a bountiful harvest. We wish all our friends health, happiness and great success in 2009.Xin nian kuai le
13 Jan: When was Chinese Art Modern
As prices for contemporary art from China rocket in a newly globalised art market, it is a good time to think about an earlier generation of Chinese artists who set out to make Chinese art ‘modern’ in the early twentieth century. This lecture will look at the debates about what might be taken as ‘modern art’ in the Chinese context, and at how the arguments of the past continue to shape the ways in which art is made and viewed in China today.
Professor Craig Clunas is Professor of the History of Art at the University of Oxford. Born in Aberdeen, he studied Chinese at Cambridge and in Beijing in the last years of the Cultural Revolution, before graduate studies at London University. He has been a curator of Chinese art at the V&A Museum, and taught art history at the universities of Sussex and Chicago, as well as at the School of Oriental and African Studies, London. He is the author of many books on China’s art and culture, including Superfluous Things: Social Status and Material Culture in Early Modern China (1991), Art in China (1997), Pictures and Visuality in Early Modern China (1997), and most recently Empire of Great Brightness: Visual and Material Cultures of Ming China (2007).
Presented by National Museums Scotland this event will take place on 13 January 2009 in the Wolfson Lecture Theatre, The Royal Society of Edinburgh, 22-26 George Street, Edinburgh, EH2 2PQ starting at 6.30pm. Tickets are free but subject to a £3.00 admin fee. These can be booked via the Hub Box Office or click here to book online
December 2008
Ricefield Gallery - Christmas Box of Delights
Drop into Ricefield Arts and Cultural Centre up until 23 December to discover a range of unusual gift items. The items are sourced from 20 local independent designer-makers and artists, all of whom are influenced by the aesthetics of the East.
Ricefield Gallery is located at 41 West Graham Street, Glasgow, G4 9LJ and is open Mon-Fri: 10.30-5.00pm and Sat-Sun: 12.00-5.00
For more information please call 0141 331 1019 or email info@ricefield.org.uk
Beijing: Third Confucius Institute Conference
A second accolade for excellence to the Confucius Institute for Scotland was awarded in Beijing.
Principal, Professor Sir Timothy O`Shea addressed the global audience of over 1000 delegates representing almost 300 Institutes. In his speech he gave his views on the function of Confucius Institutes.
Confucius Institutes not only promote knowledge about China, they can also serve as a platform facilitating engagement and mutual exchange of ideas.
China today has a focused and strategic approach to science and innovation. It has world class universities, there have been dramatic increases in educational funding at every level. Only an open, diverse and globally engaged innovation system, which directs its energies towards shared global problems such as climate change, public health etc., will benefit China and also the wider world.
Confucius Institutes, set up in partnerships with Chinese Universities and backed by the Chinese and local governments can serve as strategic points to foster research links and exploit these links to best effect.
`Joint Ventures, Identity and Trust` by Dr Ying Zhang 16 Dec
Garnethill Multicultural Centre, Glasgow is the venue for this talk by Dr Ying Zhang.
Business collaboration, such as joint ventures and strategic alliances, has been widely adopted by foreign investors in the Chinese market. Collaboration is often regarded as a crucial strategic vehicle for organizational development. Despite its popularity, there are still managerial dissatisfactions about the performance of business collaboration. This presentation will delve into the details of how business partners work together and to what extent their interaction can lead to the satisfactory/unsatisfactory performance of business collaboration.
This presentation is based upon a research project conducted by Dr Ying Zhang from 2005 to 2006. Her research looks at how business collaborations are managed across national boundaries. In particular, identity and trust issues are explored to reveal the managing process. Three Sino-foreign business collaborations were chosen for the in-depth investigation.
Dr Ying Zhang is now working as a research fellow at Strathclyde Business School. Her main research area is on inter-organizational collaboration with particular interests in the Chinese market. Ying obtained her MA degree in international business from Newcastle University and PhD degree in management from Strathclyde University. Before she came to the UK, she had two years experience of working in a Sino-British brewery joint venture based in Jilin China.
Garnethill Multicultural Centre, 21 Rose Street, Glasgow G3 6RE
Tuesday 16th December 2008, 7.15 for 7.30pm