Pirates sign 18-year-old Chinese pitcher Haicheng Gong (宫海成)

The Pittsburgh Pirates signed 18-year-old Chinese pitcher Haicheng Gong (宫海成) on Tuesday. MLB.com writes that Gong comes from the Chinese Development Academy and will be assigned to the team's Bradenton affiliate. Rumbunters has more details, including the time Gong has spent getting used to American culture.

The Pirates have had a number of Asian players in their system the past decade, though Gong is the first from the People's Republic of China. The four East Asian players to make the big league roster are Masumi Kuwata in 2007, Akinori Iwamura in 2010, Hisanori Takahashi in 2012, and Jung-ho Kang in 2015-2016.

Oakland-based WholeRen hiring bilingual Chinese / English Marketing Coordinator.

WholeRen Education LLC, a Pittsburgh-based Chinese education consulting and placement company, is hiring a full-time Bilingual Marketing Coordinator.

Our client, established by Chinese and American professional educators, is a multinational and professional education company. It integrates the services of academic application, college transfer services, academic emergency services, academic counseling, immersion classroom, landing services, Chinese-American cultural exchange and other services.

Now they are seeking for a bilingual marketing coordinator, who is driven, focused, talented and looking to gain hands-on experience. The ideal candidate would be someone majoring in marketing, communications, public relations, journalism or advertising.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Develop and execute offline marketing strategies and campaigns
• Create and distribute marketing collateral: brochures, catalogues, posters, samples, displays, promotional materials, presentations, advertisements etc.
• Collaborate with the marketing team to drive key projects and goals
• Assist the Marketing Manager in a variety of administrative and project management tasks to drive the marketing efforts of our business

QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience
• 1-2 years of marketing experience
• Excellent writing and verbal skills in both English and Chinese
• Proficient with Microsoft office suits includes Words, Excel

The application can be completed online.

Designing Space: The Exercise of the Spatial Imagination in Pre-Modern China, May 26-27 at Pitt.

The University of Pittsburgh's Department of History will host "Designing Space: The Exercise of the Spatial Imagination in Pre-Modern China" on May 26 and 27. A program of events and a list of presentation abstracts is available at the department's website. The conference runs from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm both days and is held in the Gold Room of the University Club in Oakland (map).

Pitt's Confucius Institute hiring Program Coordinator.

The Confucius Institute located at the University of Pittsburgh is hiring a full-time Program Coordinator. From yesterday's PittSource posting:

The University of Pittsburgh is seeking a qualified Program Coordinator. The Program Coordinator for the Confucius Institute will oversee activities related to the daily functioning of the Confucius Institute, including translating and submitting the CI budget in Chinese and English to the Hanban web accounting system; monitoring budget levels each month and overseeing the processing of accounting expenses. The incumbent will develop and administer the summer and academic semester training programs for incoming volunteer teachers and coordinate processing of federal and state regulatory forms for incoming volunteers including visas, clearances and certifications in English and Chinese (when required). The incumbent will manage documentation related to OIS visa regulation and passport adherences, coordinate with University Testing Center to oversee HSK Testing Center, and expand the Chinese Bridge programs for superintendents and students state-wide. The Confucius Institute Program Coordinator may also occasionally assist in administration activities that support the overall mission for Chinese language and cultural education developed in consortium with the Asian Studies Center.

. . .

MA degree required in Chinese/Asian Studies or Accounting; Ph.D. preferred; Knowledge and experience related to China including research, teaching and study abroad programs; Fluency in Mandarin and English; Experience working with multiple stakeholder budgets and accounting systems; experience working with teacher education programs; Excellent organizational and administrative skills.

The Confucius Institute, says its website,

is a language and culture center dedicated to supporting the learning of Chinese language and culture for the greater public. CI-Pitt was founded in 2007 and was one of the first 25 Confucius Institute’s to be established worldwide. The Confucius Institute is a culture center developed and partially supported by the Confucius Institute Headquarters in Beijing China, also known as Hanban.

2017 Japanese animated film Black Butler: Book of the Atlantic (劇場版「黒執事 Book of the Atlantic」) in Pittsburgh, June 12 and 14.

The 2017 Japanese animated movie Black Butler: Book of the Atlantic (劇場版「黒執事 Book of the Atlantic」) will play at the Southside Works Cinema on June 12 and 14. The distributor provides a summary for the film, which opened in Japan in January and is making its debut throughout the US in June:

All aboard to the next great adventure for Ciel and his demonic butler, Sebastian! After hearing rumors of a peculiar society bringing people back from the dead, the two board the luxury liner Campania on her maiden voyage to investigate. Incognito amongst the mysterious Aurora Society, they find familiar faces and a sight they can’t believe—a woman raised from the dead! But surprise quickly turns to dread when the shambling corpse attacks.

With more questions than answers, Ciel and Sebastian are up against not just one flesh-hungry corpse, but hundreds. Worse yet, the flamboyant reaper Grell and his new partner, Ronald Knox, stand in their way. Time is running out to solve this mystery, and if the demonic duo doesn’t act fast, they’ll be treading some seriously rough waters. Who could be behind this daring necromancy—and are they ready to find out?

Tickets and showtime information is available from the Southside Works Cinema website. The June 12 show is in Japanese with English subtitles, while the June 14 show is dubbed in English. The theater is located at 425 Cinema Drive in the SouthSide Works shopping center (map).

"Storytime: Japanese and English" at Carnegie Library in East Liberty, May 16.

The next installment of the monthly program "Storytime: Japanese and English" will take place on May 16 at the Carnegie Library in East Liberty.

Celebrate our city’s diverse culture as we explore new words through songs, action rhymes and stories in both English and Japanese for children and their parents or caregivers. For children age birth-5 and their caregivers.

It runs from 11:00 to 11:30 am. The library is located at 130 S. Whitfield St. (map).

Wild N Young: K-Pop Appreciation! at James Street Gastropub and Speakeasy, May 17.

Wild N Young: K-Pop Appreciation! is coming to James Street Gastropub and Speakeasy on May 17.

We're bringing K-POP to Pittsburgh, it's way past due.

Korean Pop music has spread over the world and now we are celebrating it here in Pittsburgh at James Street Gastropub & Speakeasy

Join us mid-week, mid-May for the best of the best in K-pop dance, sound and video.

You might even become part of a choreographed routine , which will be performed at the end of the night

Free entry... Buy drinks n dance your buns offff
Starts at 8 goes all night...

It's located at 422 Foreland St. in the Deutschtown neighborhood (map).

Squirrel Hill's first Asian bakery, Bubble π Baking Arts, closes.

Squirrel Hill's first Asian bakery, Bubble π [Pi] Baking Arts, has closed and is moving from its home at 2218 Murray Ave. It opened in 2007 and was joined by two other Asian bakeries, Sumi's Cakery in 2011 and Pink Box in 2014, on the same street. The Pittsburgh City-Paper profiled Bubble Pi in 2009:

"I'm sort of combining Eastern and Western styles of baking," [Ivy Lin] says. Many of the recipes and ideas she picked up while traveling extensively. When you ask how long she's been baking this wide selection, she laughs: "All my life!"

Bubble π has been on Murray Avenue for two years now; before that, Lin operated Asia Tea House, in Schenley Plaza. "I was selling my bubble tea. That was my specialty at the time," she says. Though the tea sold briskly in the warm months, "when it cooled down, nobody bought it. Now I'm more focused on my pastries and designed cakes."

Open seven days a week, Bubble π also offers its namesake beverage -- the fruit- or tea-based drink with tapioca pearls -- as well as coffees, shaved ice and a few simple lunch items.

2012 Korean movie Masquerade (광해: 왕이 된 남자) at Maridon Museum, May 11.

The 2012 Korean historical drama Masquerade (광해: 왕이 된 남자) will play at the Maridon Museum on May 11, the next installment in this spring's Korean Film Series. The Korean Film Database summarizes 2012's Masquerade:

During the confusing and conspiratorial Joseon Dynasty, King Gwang-hae orders his councilor, HEO Kyun, to find him a double in order to avoid the constant threat of assassination. HEO Kyun finds Ha-sun, a jester who looks remarkably like the king, and just as feared, Gwang-hae is poisoned. HEO Kyun proposes that Ha-sun fill the role as the king until Gwang-hae recovers fully and grooms Ha-sun to look and act every bit like him. While assuming the role of the king at his first official appearance, Ha-sun begins to ponder the intricacies of the problems debated in his court. Being fundamentally more humanitarian than Gwang-hae, Ha-sun’s affection and appreciation of even the most minor servants slowly changes morale in the castle for the better. Over time he finds his voice and takes control of governing the country with real insight and fair judgments. Even HEO Kyun is moved by Ha-sun’s genuine concern for the people, and realizes he is an better ruler than Gwang-hae. However, his chief opposition, PARK, notices the sudden shift in the king’s behavior and starts to ask questions.

The Maridon Museum is an Asian art museum at 322 N. McKean St. in downtown Butler (map) that runs film series periodically throughout the year, in addition to art classes, book club meetings, and its regular exhibits.

2013 French-Chinese movie The Nightingale (夜莺) at Northland Public Library, May 10.

The 2013 French-Chinese movie The Nightingale (夜莺) will play at the Northland Public Library on the 10th as the May installment in its monthly Foreign / Indie Film Series. The library summarizes:

Ren Xing is a spoiled ten year old who has everything. Her parents are never together at any one time due to business. However both will be away for an extended time and must find a babysitter for Ren Xing. As a last resort, Ren’s mother asks her husband’s father for help. Her husband hasn’t spoken to his father in many years due to an incident in his childhood. The grandfather is not up to date with the world, and doesn’t want to, so the two do not understand one another. However, the grandfather has to visit the grave of his late wife before his beloved nightingale dies, as the nightingale is eighteen years old . The nightingale is the last remnant of the time he spent with his wife. His wife had never heard the nightingale sing. To get to her grave site is a long trek. Will the two bond while on the trek? The movie is beautifully shot in the idyllic Chinese countryside.

The movie runs from 1:30 to 3:30 pm on May 10 and is free and open to the public. The library is located at 300 Cumberland Rd. in the North Hills (map).