"John Bingham's Diplomatic Career in Japan," October 25 at Mt. Lebanon Public Library (and online).

The Mt. Lebanon Public Library will host historian Sam Kidder on October 25 to discuss his book Of One Blood All Nations: John Bingham: Ohio Congressman's Diplomatic Career in Meiji Japan (1873-1885) on October 25.

Join us for a lecture and book signing with local historian and linguist Sam Kidder. In his book, Of One Blood All Nations: John Bingham: Ohio Congressman's Diplomatic Career in Meiji Japan (1873-1885), Kidder brings a wealth of experience in Japan to bear on exploring the lesser-known role of Ohio Congressman John Bingham. Best known as the father of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which guarantees fundamental rights to all Americans, including those who were formerly enslaved, Bingham was also a key figure in forming the foundational, bilateral ties between the United States and Japan. Though his service occurred from 1873-1885, Bingham remains the longest-serving U.S. chief diplomat in Japan. Kidder’s detailed account of Bingham’s foreign service will be of interest to anyone wanting to know more about early diplomatic and cultural relations between the United States and Japan. Bingham was born and grew up in Mercer, PA and Kidder will discuss his connections to this region. Kidder's book will be available for purchase and signing at the event.

After graduating from Beloit, Kidder served as a Korean linguist in the U.S. Army, then earned his master’s degree in East Asian Studies from Harvard. He did advanced study in Asian history at the University of Washington and as a Fulbright grantee at Yonsei University, Seoul. As a foreign service officer, he had posts in Seoul, Tokyo, and New Delhi, and later served as executive director of the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan for eight years. Sam Kidder resides in Mt. Lebanon in Mission Hills.

The event runs from 1:30 to 2:30 pm in Meeting Room A at the Mt. Lebanon Public Library (map); it will also run simultaneously on Zoom. Registration is required and can be completed online.

Soju tasting with Korean film Midnight (미드나이트), November 14 at Row House Cinema.

As part of the upcoming Modern Korean Cinema series, Row House Cinema will host a soju tasting to accompany the November 14 screening of Midnight (미드나이트).

Wi Ha-Jun (star of Squid Game) stars as a brutal serial killer who ruthlessly hunts down a deaf woman through the streets of South Korea after she witnesses his brutal crime in a new thriller that will keep you guessing and leave you breathless.

. . .

Come watch a fantastic new Korean thriller and taste some soju — a Korean liquor made from sweet potatoes or rice. 21+

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

1997 Wong Kar-wai film Happy Together (春光乍洩) with ReelQ and City of Asylum on October 26.

The 1997 Wong Kar-wai film Happy Together (春光乍洩), originally supposed to play last week as part of the ReelQ Film Festival, will instead play on October 26 at the City of Asylum's Alphabet City on the North Side and online.

One of the most searing romances of the 1990s, Wong Kar Wai’s emotionally raw, lushly stylized portrait of a relationship in breakdown casts Hong Kong superstars Tony Leung Chiu Wai and Leslie Cheung Kwok Wing as a couple traveling through Argentina and locked in a turbulent cycle of infatuation and destructive jealousy as they break up, make up, and fall apart again and again.

The show runs from 7:00 to 8:30 pm, both in person at Alphabet City (map) or online. It's free but registration is required.

Object Lesson: Wen-Ying Tsai, November 1 at University of Pittsburgh.

The University of Pittsburgh's University Art Gallery will host a discussion of a piece by Chinese-American artist Wen-Ying Tsai on November 1.

In 1971, the UAG acquired a work by Wen-Ying Tsai, an innovative Chinese-American artist best known for his cybernetic and light sculpture. The work has rarely been exhibited since that time. Join Prof. Alex Taylor and Vuk Vuković, PhD Student, as they take a closer look at Tsai’s work in the UAG collection. They will discuss Tsai’s work and discuss the special challenges of exhibiting and caring for kinetic sculpture.

The talk runs from 12:15 to 1:00 pm. Space is limited and registration is required.

Bunkasai (文化祭) with Pitt's Japanese Student Association, October 29.

The University of Pittsburgh's Japanese Student Assoication will present its annual Bunkasai (文化祭) celebration on October 29.

Pitt JSA's Bunkasai is coming!! This year's event will be on October 29th from 11am - 2pm in the WPU Assembly Room!! Come join us 👻 This year's theme is Yokai/Folklore so get ready for all the spooky things we have in store 😈 Bunkasai will be a fun filled event with booths, performances, games and FREE FOOD 🍣 You do not have to be in JSA to come, or even a Pitt student! Bunkasai will be open to the public, so bring your friends 👹

The Assembly Room is located on the first floor of the William Pitt Union (map).

Modern Korean Cinema film series coming to Row House Cinema, November 11 - 17.

Row House Cinema will present four Korean films as part of a Modern Korean Cinema film series from November 11 to 17: 2021's Midnight (미드나이트), 2016's Train to Busan (부산행), 2022's Decision to Leave (헤어질 결심), and 2022's Alienoid (외계+인 1부). Tickets are available online. The single-screen theater is located at 4115 Butler Street in Lawrenceville (map).

Slam Poetry with Asia Samson, November 15 at Pitt-Johnstown.

The University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown Program Board will present Slam Poetry with Asia Samson on November 15.

Since 2009, The Asia Project has toured over 2000 colleges with an acoustic music poetry act that has amazed audiences all over the country. On the microphone is Asia Samson: writer, poet and part-time ninja. He has been seen on HBO Def Poetry Jam and has shared the stage with such artists as Janelle Monae, Jill Scott, DMX, Mos Def, Dead Prez and KRS-One. Accompanying him on the guitar is his brother-in-law Jollan who uses music to create an atmosphere that brings poetry to emotional levels you would never expect. They have been featured on HBO Def Poetry, Button Poetry, TEDx, NPR’s Tiny Desk Contest, SoFar Sounds, Story Conference, and Entrepreneur’s Organization. They have worked with companies such as the US Military, Nokia, Disney, To Write Love On Her Arms and AEvolve. They have broken college-booking records for the most booked poetry act in the college market garnering them the awards of APCA College Performer of the Year and thrice APCA Spoken Word Artist of the Year.

The event start at 8:00 pm in the Student Union at UPJ, and registration is required.

New Chinese movie Home Coming (万里归途) in Pittsburgh, from October 21.

The 2022 Chinese movie Home Coming (万里归途) will play in Pittsburgh from October 21 through 26.

War broke out in Numia, Dawei Zong (Yi ZHANG), a Chinese diplomat previously stationed in Numia, and Lang Cheng (Junkai WANG), a new attaché in the Chinese Foreign Ministry, are sent to assist in the evacuation of Chinese nationals. Upon completion of the original task, they found out that a group of stranded Chinese led by Hua Bai, the General Manager of Huaxing Company Numia Branch, was heading towards a meeting point at the border for evacuation. Zong and Cheng decided to brave the war zone. The last 100 kilometers of distance saw how these two unarmed diplomats took 125 people through gunfires and desert back home.

It plays locally at the AMC Loews Waterfront, in Mandarin Chinese with English subtitles, and tickets are available online.

2022 Canadian documentary Eternal Spring (长春) in Pittsburgh, from October 21.

The 2022 Canadian documentary Eternal Spring (长春) will play in Pittsburgh from October 21 through 26. From the official site:

In March 2002, a state TV signal in China gets hacked by members of the banned spiritual group Falun Gong. Their goal is to counter the government narrative about their practice.

In the aftermath, police raids sweep Changchun City, and comic book illustrator Daxiong (Justice League, Star Wars), a Falun Gong practitioner, is forced to flee. He arrives in North America, blaming the hijacking for worsening an already violent repression. But his views are challenged when he meets the lone surviving participant to have escaped China, now living in Seoul, South Korea.

Combining present-day footage with 3D animation inspired by Daxiong’s art, Eternal Spring (長春) retraces the event on its 20th anniversary, and brings to life an unprecedented story of defiance told through harrowing eyewitness accounts of persecution and incredible artistry. Eternal Spring is an exhilarating tale of determination to speak up for political and religious freedoms, no matter the cost.

It plays locally at the AMC Loews Waterfront, in Mandarin Chinese with English subtitles, and tickets are available online.

Pitt hiring Head, East Asian Library.

The University of Pittsburgh is hiring a Head of its East Asian Library. From the job ad:

The University of Pittsburgh Library System (ULS) is seeking a dynamic librarian and Chinese specialist to head its East Asian Library (EAL) and to promote the services and unique materials that support teaching and research at the University of Pittsburgh. Reporting to the Associate University Librarian for Archives & Special Collections, this position provides strategic leadership in research support, collection building, and innovative, technology-enhanced library services and programming within the EAL. Additionally, the position focuses on primarily supporting Chinese language librarianship in a regional and global context.

The ULS maintains one of the nation’s major East Asian collections with nearly half a million volumes in Chinese, Japanese and Korean studies and over 8,000 electronic resources. While the largest part of the collection is made up of Chinese materials, the growth of the Korean and Japanese areas in recent years has been robust. There are notable strengths in classics, literature, archeology, Ming-Qing and modern history, art history, politics, economic history, linguistics and pedagogy, contemporary religious studies, film studies, medical history, and Japanese woodblock prints (ukiyo-e). The EAL is also particularly known for innovative digital humanities projects, such as the CR/10 Project which comprises over 100 interviews of Chinese men and women who shared their memories of the decade-long Cultural Revolution. EAL subsequently created a feature-length film on the project. Additionally, as the holder of the largest collection of Chinese village gazetteers in North America, the EAL created an innovative database that provides access to detailed economic, historical and socio-political data extracted from the gazetteers.