"Rose Valley: Love, Violence, and Communist Dystopia in Maoist China," November 16 at Pitt.

The University of Pittsburgh's Department of East Asian Languages & Literatures will host Baoyu Xie and his book talk "Rose Valley: Love, Violence, and Communist Dystopia in Maoist China" on November 16.

It is commonly recognized that the incessant political campaigns in Maoist China resulted in disastrous consequences throughout the nation, but the regional differences and specificities in practice have yet to be explored. Rose Valley (Meigui ba玫瑰坝) is an epic narrative that depicts the tumultuous transformation of a small village in Sichuan province from 1950 to 1967. It offers a realistic account of the rural landscape in Southwestern China, which is unique in modern Chinese literature and merits special attention for social history. Revolved around the love story between an enthusiastic party cadre and a widow from a landowner family, the novel vividly relates how the Maoist utopian dream is shattered after waves of political campaigns such as the land reform, anti-rightist movement, Mutual-Aid Teams, Cooperativization, Great Leap Forward, and the Cultural Revolution, hit the village and the protagonists.

In this talk, the novel’s author, Baoyu (Peter) Xie, will share his experience of writing this novel and reflect on the profound influence of Maoist agricultural policy on local cadres, landowners, students, and ordinary peasants.

WholeRen Education (美国厚仁教育集团) hiring bilingual English+Mandarin MATLAB/SAT tutors.

Pittsburgh-based Chinese education and consulting company WholeRen Education (美国厚仁教育集团) has announced openings for part-time bilingual MATLAB/SAT tutors.

职位: 高阶数学/计算机/Matlab/SAT阅读在线辅导老师

职位描述:
1. 为在校生提供网络辅导,根据学生现有的学习情况和辅导需求制定教学计划和内容,并实施教学;
2. 跟进学生学习情况,及时与学生、家长进行沟通;
3. 熟悉掌握专业理论,能够针对学生个体的不同需求设计出适合学生的教学方案;

任职要求:
1. 相关专业本科以上学历。
2. 优秀的英语听说读写能力,具有批判性思维,良好的表达能力和较强的问题处理能力

3. 有工作许可,可支持办理CPT、OPT。

4. 中英双语优秀

Short films The Lost Dreams of Naoki Hayakawa, Duilian free at Carnegie Museum of Art, November 10.

For this month's Cinematheque event as part of the Carnegie International exhibition, the Carnegie Museum of Art will present three short films on November 10, including Ana Hjort Guttu and Daisuke Kosugi's The Lost Dreams of Naoki Hayakawa and Wu Tsang's Duilian.

Guttu provides a synopsis of the former:

Art director Naoki Hayakawa works 16 hours daily in a creative, neo-totalitarian advertisement company in Tokyo. The working pressure causes a mental condition between sleep and wakefulness where he has strange and wonderful dreams.

And ArtAsiaPacific summarizes the latter:

Duilian (2016), the aftermath of artist-filmmaker Wu Tsang’s six-month residency at Hong Kong contemporary art platform Spring Workshop, is simultaneously theatrical and intimate. Dim lighting and lush, floor-length velvet curtains invite a reverential hush, prepping viewers for the surreal 27-minute film revolving around legendary Qing Dynasty-era female revolutionary Qiu Jin (1875–1907). The revered mystique surrounding this historical hero from the East is amplified by the fact that Qiu was a woman; transgender artist Wu Tsang plays on this idea, literally and metaphorically, achieving uncannily enthralling results. While the film has been accused by some of orientalization and speculative queering of the ‘other’, Tsang’s defense for Duilian might be that it does so consciously and unapologetically.

The event starts at 5:00 pm.

Chang Chun Chemical Corporation hiring bilingual Mandarin-English sales assistant.

Chang Chun Chemical Corporation in Wexford is hiring a bilingual Mandarin-English sales assistant.

Communicating with suppliers in Asia for order processing and shipment arrangement

Supporting sales function such as issuing purchase order, invoice or sales related documents

Maintaining filling, updating and keeping of records

Managing stock inventory and sales operation as instructed by the Sales Manager

Handling customers’ inquiries and maintain tip top service to customers.

Asia Pop Karaoke Night, November 7 at Pitt.

via TravelPockets.com

The University of Pittsburgh's Asian Studies Center and English Language Institute will host an Asia Pop Karaoke Night on November 7.

Join us for an evening of singing, socializing, and snacking! As part of our partnership with the English Language Institute and an upcoming Asia Pop speaker series in the works, we are hosting an Asia Pop Karaoke Night. Come out on Wednesday November 7th from 6 - 8 pm to sing your heart out to the latest BTS song or any of your favorite tunes from across Asia. All ages are welcome, we only request that you bring the courage to sing! (And maybe some dance moves too!) Space may be limited, so please email us at asia@pitt.edu if you'd like to join.

It will be held in 548 William Pitt Union (map), and those interested are encouraged to email asia@pitt.edu.

"Somebody is Watching"—lecture on Koshikijima no Toshidon (甑島のトシドン)—at Pitt, November 5.

via satsumasendai.gr.jp

Pitt will host Dr. Michael Foster of UC-Davis and his talk on "Koshikijima no Toshidon (甑島のトシドン)" on November 5.

"Koshikijima no Toshidon" is a New Year's Eve ritual performed annually on the island of Shimo-Koshikijima off the southwest coast of Kagoshima Prefecture. During the event, men masked and costumed as frightening demon-deities enter individual households to "discipline" and "educate" young children. In 2009 the ritual was inscribed on UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. This talk will introduce Toshidon with a focus on the way a structure of surveillance, of "seeing and being seen," informs the performance of the ritual and to a certain extent the everyday lives of the islanders. An understanding of the dynamic of this "optic imaginary" provides insight into broader questions of community, tourism, UNESCO, and the production of heritage in Japan and elsewhere.

The talk runs from noon to 1:30 pm in 602 Cathedral of Learning (map).

Multicultural Asia Day, November 10 in Erie.

The Erie Asian Pacific American Association (Erie APAA) will present the 11th annual Multicultural Asia Day on November 10.

Join Erie APAA and GE Transportation APAF at the expERIEnce Children's Museum to learn more about the various Asian cultures! The event will include hands-on activities, cultural performances, and displays. Participating countries are Bangladesh, China, India, Myanmar, Pakistan and Turkey.

It will run from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm at the expERIEnce Children's Museum at 420 French St. (map).

Kusama: Infinity documentary in Pittsburgh, from November 16.

The 2018 documentary Kusama: Infinity will play at the Row House Cinema from November 16 as part of its "In Case You Missed It" series.

Now the top-selling female artist in the world, Yayoi Kusama overcame impossible odds to bring her radical artistic vision to the world stage. For decades, her work pushed boundaries that often alienated her from both her peers and those in power in the art world. Kusama was an underdog with everything stacked against her: the trauma of growing up in Japan during World War II, life in a dysfunctional family that discouraged her creative ambitions, sexism and racism in the art establishment, mental illness in a culture where that was particularly shameful and even continuing to pursue and be devoted to her art full time on the cusp of her 90s. In spite of it all, Kusama has endured and has created a legacy of artwork that spans the disciplines of painting, sculpture, installation art, performance art, poetry and literary fiction. After working as an artist for over six decades, people around the globe are experiencing her installation Infinity Mirrored Rooms in record numbers, as Kusama continues to create new work every day.

Tickets are available online. The single-screen theater is located at 4115 Butler Street in Lawrenceville (map).

"How To Read A Kimono: Reconsidering The Makioka Sisters" at Pitt, November 6.

The University of Pittsburgh's Department of East Asian Languages & Literatures will host Michiko Suzuki and her talk "How To Read A Kimono: Reconsidering The Makioka Sisters" on Tuesday, November 6.

Kimonos in literature and film are often ignored by scholars as nothing more than aesthetic objects/clothing that enhance historical realism. But in fact, kimonos speak of many things, including the character of the wearer, social commentary, and important symbolic meanings for the plot.

This talk uses kimonos to examine Tanizaki Jun'ichirō's Sasameyuki (The Makioka Sisters, 1943-48)a move depicting a wealthy merchant family in Osaka. Based loosely on the lives of the author's wife and her siblings, the work was considered frivolous and censored during the war; it was only completed and published in the postwar period. Examining kimonos discussed in the text, Professor Suzuki illuminates their complex meanings in light of changing laws, sartorial culture and social contexts. She will also discuss visual presentations of kimonos in two film versions of the Makioka Sisters, one produced in 1950 during the U.S. Occupation and the other in 1983 at the height of Japan's economic prosperity.

The talk runs from 12:00 to 1:30 pm in 602 Cathedral of Learning (map) and is free and open to the public.

2018 Korean Music Festival, November 3.

The Korean Association of Greater Pittsburgh and the Korean Heritage Room will present the 2018 Korean Music Festival on Saturday, November 3. It will start at 7:00 pm at Frick Fine Arts Auditorium in Oakland (map). The event is $10 for adults, free for students and children, and half-price for those who come dressed in hanbok.