Society for Anglo-Chinese Understanding (SACU)

Art Saves Us: Art, Music and Poetry Global Online Performance 3 - Supported by SACU
2020-04-17 15:00 - 16:00 UTC
ART SAVES US is inviting you to the third ‘Art, Music and Poetry’ Concert Hour.
In the light of COVID-19’s rapid spread, the ART SAVES US benefit concert and art auction, originally scheduled for the end of March, has moved online. Art transcends borders, unites people regardless of race, religion or nationality. Art is a solace to many, particularly in difficult times. ART SAVES US seeks to use the universal language of art and charity to strengthen the sense of unity and humanity, and to console those in isolation, especially the elderly and the vulnerable. Let art meet charity.
3rd, 10th, 17th and 24th April
London Time: 3pm; Beijing Time 10pm
US East Coast 10am; US West Coast 7am
Viewing Platform: Zoom
Ticket Information: £1 (for access to Zoom)
Register
£25/£50/£100/£250/Unlimited Donations
Donate
ART SAVES US invites musicians, artists, writers and poets from around the world to perform for our series of online concerts. During each concert, 6 artists will present a variety of performances: these include vocals, piano and violin excerpts, poetry recitation, fashion performance video, dance and ballet and finally interviews with the artists themselves… A multisensory feast!
An introductory performance programme and follow-up information on the participating artists of each concert will be announced and updated on the ART SAVES US WeChat platform, website and social media. All donations raised by the benefit concert will be used to support the UK National Health Service (NHS) and other medical organizations indeed in the midst of the epidemic.
17th April 2020
National Ballet of China, Adonis
TANG Feng, Marco Nereo Rotelli, Tamara Luckhurst
“As long as the global epidemic exists, ART SAVES US will continue to support those affected through our online benefit concerts. We welcome artists, musicians, writers and performers to join us from all over the world – let’s walk together in the spirit of charity!”
www.artsavesus.com

Art, Music and Poetry: Global Online Performance 2 - Supported by SACU
2020-04-10 15:00 - 16:00
ART SAVES US is inviting you to the second ‘Art, Music and Poetry’ Concert Hour.
In the light of COVID-19’s rapid spread, the ART SAVES US benefit concert and art auction, originally scheduled for the end of March, is now moving online. Art transcends borders, unites people regardless of race, religion or nationality. Art is a solace to many, particularly in difficult times. ART SAVES US seeks to use the universal language of art and charity to strengthen the sense of unity and humanity, and to console those in isolation, especially the elderly and the vulnerable. Let art meet charity.
3rd, 10th, 17th and 24th April
London Time: 3pm; Beijing Time 10pm
US East Coast 10am; US West Coast 7am

Viewing Platform: Zoom
Ticket Information: £1 (for access to Zoom)
Register
£25/£50/£100/£250/Unlimited Donations
Donate

ART SAVES US invites musicians, artists, writers and poets from around the world to perform for our series of online concerts. During each concert, 6 artists will present a variety of performances: these include vocals, piano and violin excerpts, poetry recitation, fashion performance video, dance and ballet and finally interviews with the artists themselves… A multisensory feast!
An introductory performance programme and follow-up information on the participating artists of each concert will be announced and updated on the ART SAVES US WeChat platform, website and social media. All donations raised by the benefit concert will be used to support the UK National Health Service (NHS) and other medical organizations indeed in the midst of the epidemic.
April 10th 2020
Ivan Ilić, David Harsent, Jiaxin Lloyd Webber
Zhang Jun, Chris Orr, Yao Hong

“As long as the global epidemic exists, ART SAVES US will continue to support those affected through our online benefit concerts. We welcome artists, musicians, writers and performers to join us from all over the world – let’s walk together in the spirit of charity!”
www.artsavesus.com

Du Fu: China's Greatest Poet - New Film by Michael Wood, SACU President
2020-04-06 21:00 - 22:00
We are delighted to announce that SACU President Michael Wood presents his new film ‘Du Fu: China’s Greatest Poet’ on BBC FOUR on Monday 6th April at 9.00pm and iPlayer (Film repeated Tuesday 7th April on BBC FOUR at 2.45am)
Michael Wood and Sir Ian McKellen conjure up the life, times and words of Du Fu, one of the world’s greatest poets.
‘There’s Dante, there’s Shakespeare and there’s Du Fu’ Prof Stephen Owen – Harvard
BBC listing with film clips: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000h3dq

Art Saves Us: Art, Music and Poetry Global Online Performances, promoted by SACU
2020-04-03 15:00 - 16:00
‘Art Saves Us’ Concert Hour – New online concert series in support of NHS workers.
A Salute to NHS Frontline workers – This first concert takes place on Friday 3rd April, with more scheduled for the following Fridays, 10th, 17th and 24th April 2020 at 3.00pm London time (10.00pm Beijing time).

Viewing platform: Zoom

In the light of COVID-19’s rapid spread, the ‘Art Saves Us’ benefit concert and art auction, originally scheduled for the end of March, is now moving online. Art transcends borders, unites people regardless of race, religion or nationality. Art is a solace for many, particularly in difficult times. ‘Art Saves Us’ seeks to use the universal language of art and charity to strengthen the sense of unity and humanity, and to console those in isolation, especially the elderly and the vulnerable.

‘Let art meet charity’ www.artsavesus.com

Curated by Artistic Director, Julian Lloyd Webber, renowned cellist and Principal of the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire.

The line-up for the first concert includes English violinist, Andrew Bernardi from Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance; leading Chinese violinist, Chai Liang from the Central Conservatory of Music, China; archive performance footage featuring Julian Lloyd Webber; reading by Sir Andrew Motion; He Wu, a young Chinese opera singer affiliated to the Central Conservatory of Music, China, and Chinese artist and fashion designer, Xu Rui, Head of the Fashion Department of the China Central Academy of fine Arts.

Ticket Information: £1 for access to Zoom
Registration on Zoom: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_ziNjmaMPS7qSGA2RjSTsyQ
£10/£20/£50/Unlimited Donations can be made on www.artsavesus.com

‘Art Saves Us’ was founded by Shanghai-born, London-based Kailan Lucas, a US lawyer and current Senior Advisor-Global Services for JAMS, an American alternative dispute resolution firm. Her creative focus is on Sino-European cultural exchanges in the worlds of art, literature and music, having founded and curated the First Shanghai International Poetry Festival. Leading figures from the arts are supporting ‘Art Saves Us’, including Nobel Literary Prize Nominee, the poet Adonis; cellist, Julian Lloyd Webber; former Poet Laureate, Sir Andrew Motion; architect Patrik Schumacher, Head of Zaha Hadid Architects practice and leading contemporary Chinese artist, Xu Bing from the China Central Academy of Fine Arts.

More info: Art Saves Us Concert 1

SACU Council Meeting
2020-02-29 11:30 - 15:30 | Bush House, King’s College London Strand Campus, 30 Aldwych, London, WC2B 4BG, United Kingdom
Our next SACU Council meeting is scheduled to take place at Bush House (SE) Room 1.02, King’s College London on Saturday 29th February, 11.30 am – 3.30 pm. The Agenda will be circulated soon.

Manchester SACU Annual Chinese New Year Meal
2020-02-15 14:00 | Pin Wei Restaurant, 28 Princess Street, Manchester, M1 4LB
SACU members and friends are all invited to join us for our annual Chinese New Year meal on Saturday 15 February, from 2.00pm, at the Pin Wei Restaurant, 28 Princess Street, M1 4LB (near the Art Gallery in Manchester city centre). The restaurant has a varied menu with a good selection of vegetarian dishes. (Pin Wei Restaurant was known formerly as Kwok Man until last year.) Pay on the day.
We can repair afterwards to a good coffee lounge nearby.
All welcome!
Please let Walter Fung know if you can join us: Walter.fung888@btinternet.com

The Meridian Society's Chinese New Year Celebration, Sunday 26th January
2020-01-26 14:00 - 20:00
Our partner organisation The Meridian Society has arranged a Chinese New Year Celebration and invites SACU members to join them. Firstly they will be going to BFI Southbank for the film Four Springs which documents the daily life of the director’s family over four Chinese New Years in the remote town of Dushan in the Guizhou province of southwest China. Afterwards they will be going for a Chinese New Year meal at Taste of China in Bloomsbury. The two can be booked separately or together.
Times and venues

2.00 p.m. for 2.20 p.m. at BFI Southbank (website for directions)
5.30 p.m. for 6.00 p.m. at Taste of China (googlemaps for directions)

Places are limited so please email The Meridian Society early to reserve your place. The deadline for booking and payment is Friday 17th January. Priority will be given to current Meridian Society members, supporters who book for both events, then on a ‘first come first served’ basis.

Four Springs (2017) by Lu Qingyi
Four Springs is an award-winning independent documentary made on a tiny budget by first time director Lu Quingyi. Set in a remote rural town this intimate observational film follows the director’s parents as they celebrate New Year over a period of four years. It captures the family’s everyday toils, excursions in nature, visits to friends, reunions and separations.
In 2013 Lu Qingyi with no prior training started to shoot his family on visits home as part of a diary. Unusually for an independent documentary the film attracted attention in China and was released in mainstream Chinese cinema’s where it became a surprise box-office hit
Four Springs is showing as part of the Chinese Visual Festival.

Payment

Members of The Meridian Society
meal £25, film £12.50 (£10.50 concessions*), combined £37 (£35)
Associates (members of SACU and family members of Meridian Society members)
meal £27.50, film £12.50 (£10.50 concessions*), combined £39 (£37)
Non-members
meal £30, film £12.50 (£10.50 concessions*), combined £42 (£40)* concessions for the film are available to seniors, students, unwaged and disabled (evidence required on the day).
Please note: Members of BFI pay lower prices and may prefer to buy their own tickets.Places will be confirmed on receipt of payment. Payment should therefore be made as soon as possible and no later than Friday 17th January.
Please send your cheque made payable to ‘The Meridian Society’ to: The Treasurer, 5 Mildmay Street, London N1 4AB.
Alternatively email The Meridian Society and they will forward their account details if you wish to pay by direct bank transfer.

SACU Council Meeting
2019-12-07 11:30 - 15:30 | Bush House, King’s College London Strand Campus, 30 Aldwych, London, WC2B 4BG, United Kingdom
SACU’s next meeting of the Council of Management is to be held on Saturday 7th December, 11.30am-3.30pm, in Bush House, King’s College London, The Strand, Room (SE) 6.03.

Three Gorges of the Yangtze River
2019-10-29 18:30 - 20:00 | Camden Chinese Community Centre, 9 Tavistock Place, London, WC1H 9SN, United Kingdom
Our partner organisation The Meridian Society is holding this talk with free entry for SACU and The Meridian Society members.

Professor Roger Mason, a member of The Meridian Society, will give a talk on research in the Three Gorges of the Yangtse River, one of the cradles of ancient Chinese culture.

Roger Mason is well known as one of the co-discoverers of a 550 million year old fossilised fern in Leicstershire when a schoolboy. With his interest in rocks aroused he taught and researched geology for 20 years at UCL and then Wuhan University until retiring in 2011. His hobby is translating Chinese poetry into English.

Entry is free for Members of The Meridian Society and SACU, for non-members £5 donation.
Registration: booking is not required but if you plan to attend please email themeridiansociety@gmail.com

China at 70: Looking Back; Looking Ahead
2019-10-16 17:30 - 20:00 | King’s College London, Strand Campus, Strand, London, WC2R 2LS, United Kingdom
To mark the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China, SACU will hold a panel discussion to reflect on China’s past and future.

1st October 2019 marks the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China. To mark this occasion, SACU will hold a panel discussion on October 16th to reflect on China’s past achievements and future challenges.
As a bonus, a special photo exhibition from SACU’s Archives will be shown for the first time!

Date: Wednesday 16 October 2019
Time: 5.30pm to register for 6.00pm start
Venue: Lecture Room S.-3.20, Strand Building, King’s College London, Strand, London WC2R 2LS

Please note this is a change of venue from Bush House, as originally advertised, and an updated line-up of panel speakers

Speakers: Professor Martin Albrow, Dr Jenny Clegg, Dr Sun Xin and Minister Counsellor Wang Qi;
Chair: Dr Frances Wood

Mr Wang Qi, Minister Counsellor, Embassy of the People’s Republic of China
Dr Jenny Clegg, SACU Vice-President, Independent writer and researcher, author, speaker and China specialist ……. https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenny-clegg-79655940/?originalSubdomain=uk
Dr Sun Xin, Lecturer in Chinese and East Asian Business, Lao China Institute at King’s College London https://www.kcl.ac.uk/people/xin-sun
SACU member Professor Martin Albrow, the eminent British sociologist, is Professor Emeritus at the University of Wales ……http://globaldialogue.isa-sociology.org/the-end-of-the-global-age-an-interview-with-martin-albrow/
Dr Frances Wood, SACU Vice President, former Curator of the British Library’s Chinese collections, historian and author of numerous books about China. Scroll down this page to see Frances’s books: https://sacu.org/books.html

Free
This Panel Discussion is held jointly with Lau China Institute, King’s College London.
It is a FREE event, open to everyone, but registration is required.
Please reserve your place through Eventbrite, here:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/china-at-70-looking-back-looking-ahead-tickets-72876297969

SACU is grateful to the Lau China Institute at King’s College London for providing the venue and refreshments.

Do come and join us!

Directions to the Venue: The nearest Underground station is Temple (Circle and District lines).
Venue: Lecture Room S.-3.20, Strand Building, King’s College London, Strand, London WC2R 2LS
Directions: The Lecture Room S.-3.20 is located on the 3rd basement of the Strand Building. When you walk in the main entrance of the building on the Strand, find your name or register at the reception desk on your right, and go down three floors by the lift or stairs just behind the access control. Then walk along the corridor on your left and you will find the Lecture Room S.-3.20 on your left hand side.
We look forward to welcoming you on Wednesday 16th October!

From Old London to New Milton Keynes: Chinese Identities in Britain: SACU Free Talks and Film
2019-07-20 14:00 - 16:30 | St Columba’s Church of Scotland, Pont Street, London, SW1X 0BD, United Kingdom
From Old London to New Milton Keynes: Chinese Identities in Britain; SACU Free Talks and Film

The Society for Anglo-Chinese Understanding (SACU) is delighted to invite you to this afternoon of talks and a film, timed to coincide with the Lao She symposium held this year in Beijing to commemorate the 120th anniversary of the birth of novelist and playwright Lao She, one of 20th century China’s most significant literary figures.

Dr Amy Matthewson: Loitering through London with Lao She
SACU member Dr Amy Matthewson talks about her really exciting project in conjunction with the Museum of London Docklands to develop an interactive app based on Lao She and his years in London. The app will work in conjunction with the museum, combining places Lao She mentions in his novel Mr. Ma and Sonalong with visual and material cultures from the Museum’s permanent collection. It will allow visitors to engage with Lao She’s London and the broader issues and experiences of the Chinese community in London.
Amy uses Lao She’s Mr. Ma and Son to frame the history of the Chinese community living and working in London. Her aim is to explore the experiences of the Chinese and probe into areas of race relations and identity politics, the production of social and cultural processes in which community identities are shaped, with the objective of understanding community interactions as well as the formation of a sense of identity, whether in terms of ‘Chineseness’, ‘Britishness’, or a complex mix of both.

Dr Frances Wood, SACU Vice President: A Blue Plaque for the Silent Traveller
Chiang Yee came to London in 1934, escaping from the difficulties of serving as an official in the warlord era in China. He left his family behind, intending to study at LSE. With the Japanese invasion, he found himself unable to return to China and struggled to survive until he found his voice in a long series of books, beginning with The Silent Traveller in Lakeland. His 15 year stay in Oxford was commemorated recently with the unveiling of a Blue Plaque.

Please note: This talk is a change to our original programme. We regret Dr Jenny Clegg cannot now join us for this event. We are delighted that Dr Frances Wood has offered to talk instead about ‘The Silent Traveller’ and we will invite Dr Jenny Clegg to give her talk on ‘Fu Manchu and the Yellow Peril’ at a future event.

Michael Ho: From HK to MK (film)
“What does it mean to be British? Gabriel, a dentist originally from Hong Kong, has lived in Milton Keynes for nearly 50 years. His mixed-race son Michael couldn’t wait to leave. Now a film-maker, he returns to the city to discover how his father feels about the place he has made home.” (British Film Institute)

This afternoon event is held jointly with The Meridian Society (TMS) and follows the AGMs of both SACU and TMS to be held during the morning 11.30am – 1.00pm. All members are invited to their society’s AGM, then join other members for a ‘bring your own lunch’ or just come along to the afternoon presentations.

The afternoon is a free event, open to everyone, but registration is required.
Book your free place: https://sacu-from-old-london.eventbrite.co.uk

Do come and join us!

Directions: Our venue is the Upper Hall at St Columba’s Church, which is located on Pont Street in Knightsbridge in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. The Church is within easy reach of three London Underground stations – Knightsbridge (Piccadilly Line), South Kensington (Piccadilly, Circle and District Lines) and Sloane Square (Circle and District Lines).
Any questions? Please email events@sacu.org.uk
We look forward to welcoming you on Saturday 20th July!

SACU AGM
2019-07-20 11:30 - 13:00 | St Columba’s Church of Scotland, Pont Street, London, SW1X 0BD, United Kingdom
SACU’s AGM Saturday takes place in the morning of 20th July 2019 at St Columba’s Church, Pont Street in Knightsbridge:
Schedule for the day:
11.30am – 1.00pm: SACU AGM in the Library
11.30am -1.00pm: The Meridian Society (TMS) AGM in the Kirk Session Room
1.00pm – 2.00pm: Lunch (‘Bring Your Own Lunch’). All members are welcome to take a packed lunch and join the informal meet up with other SACU members at lunchtime.
2.00pm – 4.30pm: Presentations by Dr Amy Matthewson and SACU Vice President Dr Frances Wood followed by refreshments then a short film by Michael Ho.
The afternoon presentations are open to the public and all are welcome, but registration is required:
Book your free place: https://sacu-from-old-london.eventbrite.co.uk

SACU Council Meeting followed by Programme Group Meeting (Manchester)
2019-05-18 11:30 - 16:30 | Friends Meeting House, 6 Mount Street, Manchester, M2 5NS, United Kingdom
Our next SACU Council meeting takes place on Saturday 18 May followed by our Programme Group meeting. We will meet in Room G1 (Ground Floor) Friends Meeting House, 6 Mount Street, Manchester M2 5NS.
Schedule:
11.30am – 1.00pm: SACU Council meeting (morning session)
1.00pm – 2.00pm: Lunch break with SACU Council and local members – please bring your own lunch
2.00pm – 3.30pm: SACU Council meeting (afternoon session)
3.30pm – 4.30pm: SACU Programme Group meeting

All members are welcome to have lunch (which is ‘bring your own’) with us if you happen to be in the vicinity from 1.00pm. This is an opportunity for members in the North West and SACU Council members to meet up. Just let us know that you are coming if you decide to join us by emailing events@sacu.org.uk

SACU China Chat: British and Chinese Education (SACU Manchester)
2019-04-03 16:00 - 17:30 | University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester, M13 9PL, United Kingdom
Sharing experiences of British and Chinese education in an informal setting with opening discussion points from British and Chinese students.
Schedule: 16.00 – 17.30 Discussion and Networking
Venue: University of Manchester, University Place, Room 5.212.
All welcome to this public event hosted by SACU Manchester.

The Story of China: SACU Talk by Professor Michael Wood
2019-03-15 17:30 - 20:00 | EY Canary Wharf, 25 Churchill Place, Canary Wharf, London, E14 5EY, United Kingdom
Illustrated with film clips, Michael Wood reflects on some of the themes in his recent highly praised series on Chinese history, and looks forward to his forthcoming film on the 40th anniversary of Deng’s Reform and Opening Up.
Historian and broadcaster Michael Wood is Professor of Public History at the University of Manchester and author of some 120 documentary films which have been shown worldwide.
Of his ‘Story of China‘ series the Chinese state news agency Xinhua said it had “transcended the barriers of ethnicity and belief and brought something inexplicably powerful and touching to the TV audience.”
This free talk is organised by the Society for Anglo-Chinese Understanding (SACU).
Join us for this fascinating talk in the Auditorium at EY’s Canary Wharf offices, 25 Churchill Place, Canary Wharf, London E14 5EY
Programme:
5.30 – 6.00 pm: Registration [please allow plenty of time for registration and security]
6.00 – 7.20 pm: Welcome; Michael Wood’s presentation with Q&A
7.20 – 8.00 pm: Refreshments and Networking
8.00 pm: Event Closes

Please reserve your free place on Eventbrite: https://sacu-michael-wood-talk.eventbrite.co.uk

SACU is grateful to EY (Ernst & Young) for their generous support of this event.

Travelling to Canary Wharf:
EY’s Canary Wharf offices are a 5-minute walk from Canary Wharf Underground station (Jubilee line) or DLR (Lewisham) Canary Wharf station.

SACU Executive Committee Meeting (including Digital Communications Group)
2019-03-02 12:00 - 16:00 | St Columba’s Church of Scotland, Pont Street, London, SW1X 0BD, United Kingdom
This Executive Committee meeting will include the George Hogg Education Fund but not the Archives Group.
The Digital Communications Group meets from 2.00pm.

SACU ChinaCafé with Jessica Darling (SACU members event)
2019-02-19 18:00 - 20:00 | Bush House, King’s College London Strand Campus, 30 Aldwych, London, WC2B 4BG, United Kingdom
Our 2019 series of SACU ChinaCafés is set to begin on Tuesday February 19th, from 6 pm to 8 pm at Bush House, King’s College London, Strand Campus, and is co-hosted by the Lau China Institute. Our theme this year is historical and present health care here and in China.

The first session will feature Jessica Darling who spent her childhood in China with her father, surgeon Dr Joshua Horn, author of ‘Away With All Pests: An English Surgeon in People’s China 1954-1969’. She subsequently returned to the UK to earn a nursing degree and then went back to Beijing where she completed an acupuncture apprenticeship course. Jessica will speak about her experiences in China and discuss today’s health care needs.

SACU ChinaCafés are small meetings, with the room laid out in cafe style, so that conversations with other participants about the theme are relaxed and easy. They are membership-only spaces with newcomers very welcome to join at the first SACU ChinaCafé that they attend. All non-members pay £8, which entitles them to a year’s membership of SACU and of course, free attendance at all future SACU ChinaCafé meetings as well as the other benefits of membership.

Jessica Darling is ideally placed to start our series of three SACU ChinaCafés on the theme of “Health and Wellbeing” and help us think about English-Chinese cultural understanding of Health and Wellbeing.

Do come and join us!

Venue: Room 6.05, Northeast Wing, Bush House, KCL, Strand Campus, London WC2B 4BG

Book your place by email to marketing@sacu.org.uk

SACU members free admission; non-members join with £8 at the door.

Chinese Labour Corps: Library of Birmingham Exhibition
2019-02-11 11:00 - 2019-03-01 17:00 | Library of Birmingham, Centenary Square, Broad Street, Birmingham, B1 2ND, United Kingdom
The Chinese Community Centre-Birmingham is commemorating the contribution of the Chinese Labour Corps in World War I.
In November 2018, Britain commemorated the end of World War I with events across the country. One group that has been consistently overlooked is the Chinese Labour Corps (CLC) – volunteers from mainland China who were sent by the Chinese government to support the British and French armies on the Western Front. While hostilities ceased in November 1918 and troops returned home, the CLC remained behind to clear battlefield debris into 1919 with the final units not leaving until September 1920, almost two years after armistice.
Their contribution was never acknowledged in Britain until a campaign to recognise the CLC began in 2013. Since then, a number of projects have taken place and the Chinese Community Centre-Birmingham (CCC-B) is bringing together elements from Ming Ai Institute’s ‘British Chinese Armed Forces Heritage’ exhibition which commemorates the CLC in WWI and the Hong Kong British Army Aid Group in WWII together with artefacts from the Chinese in Britain Forum’s ‘Ensuring We Remember’ campaign under the title ‘Chinese Labour Corps: The Forgotten Men of World War I’.
The full exhibition will be on display at CCC-B from 1st – 8th February 2019 (not Sunday 3rd February) and after this, selected items will go on display in the Spotlight zone of the Library of Birmingham from 11th Feb-1st March.
On Wednesday 27th February there will be a Panel talk in the Library Voices of War & Peace Engagement Centre.
Guest speakers:
Steve Lau, Chinese in Britain Forum/Ensuring We Remember Campaign
Chungwen Li, Ming Ai Institute
Peng Wenlan, The Meridian Society
The exhibition and talk are free to attend. Contact Kate Gordon on 0121 685 8510 or email kategordon@ccc-b.org.uk to register your interest.

The Meridian Society's Chinese New Year Celebration
2019-02-09
Saturday 9th February
The Meridian Society’s Chinese New Year Celebration
SACU’s partner organisation The Meridian Society invites you to join them for their Chinese New Year celebration:-
“Firstly we will be going to BFI Southbank for the documentary triptych by Italian director Michelangelo Antonioni depicting life in 1970s China. Afterwards we will be going for a Chinese new year meal at Taste of China in Bloomsbury. The two can be booked separately or together.”
Times

13.30pm for 13.40 at BFI Southbank (website for directions)
17.45 for 18.00 at Taste of China, (googlemaps for directions)

As places are limited please e-mail to reserve your place early. The deadline for booking is extended to Wednesday 30th January with payment no later than Friday 1st February.
Priority will be given to current Meridian Society members, supporters who book for both events, then on a ‘first come [payment received] first served’ basis.

Chung Kuo Cina (Film)
In 1972, during Mao’s Cultural Revolution, Antonioni was invited to direct a documentary about New China. The result was a three-and-a-half hour film divided into three parts.
The first part, taken around Beijing, includes a cotton factory, older sections of the city, and a clinic where a Cesarean operation is performed, using acupuncture. The middle part visits the Red Flag canal and a collective farm in Henan, as well as the old city of Suzhou. The final part shows the port and industries of Shanghai, and ends with a stage presentation by Chinese acrobats.
Mao disliked it so much that Antonioni was consequently charged with being anti-Chinese as well as counterrevolutionary. The movie was finally shown at Beijing’s Cinema Institute 30 years later.

Dishes
Soup
Sweet Corn and Pork Rib Soup
Main Courses
Spicy Seabass in Pot
Stir Fried Lamb in Chilli
Griddle Spicy Chicken
Sweet and Sour Pork
Red Braised Pig’s Trotters
Salt and Chilli Squid
Stir Fried Aubergine and Green Bean
Mixed Vegetables
Rice and Stir Fried Noodles
To Finish
Fresh Fruits
Prices
Members of The Meridian Society
lunch £25, film £12.50 (£10.50 concessions*), combined £37 (£35)
Associates (members of SACU and family members of Meridian Society members)
lunch £27.50, film £12.50 (£10.50 concessions*), combined £39 (£37)
Non-members
lunch £30, film £12.50 (£10.50 concessions*), combined £42 (£40)
* concessions for the film are available to seniors, students, unwaged and disabled (evidence required on the day).
Please note: Members of BFI pay lower prices and are advised to buy their own tickets.
Places will be confirmed on receipt of payment. Payment should therefore be made as soon as possible and no later than Friday 1st February.
Please send your cheque made payable to ‘The Meridian Society’ to: The Treasurer, 5 Mildmay Street, London N1 4AB. Alternatively if you wish to pay by direct bank transfer please contact us and we will forward our account details.
Note: Membership for the Meridian Society is an annual fee of £35 a year (£20 for concessions).
Visit The Meridian Society website for information about other activities.

Happy New Year of the Pig!
2019-02-05 - 2019-02-10
Here is our list of Chinese New Year 2019 celebrations around the UK (plus NYC and Sydney).
Happy New Year!
新年快乐!
London ……………https://londonist.com/…/chinese-new-year-in-london-events-c…
Manchester………..https://www.visitmanchester.com/ideas-and…/chinese-new-year…

Liverpool………….. https://liverpoolexpress.co.uk/celebrations-for-chinese-ne…/
Cardiff……………… https://cardiff.carpe-diem.events/…/9215152-chinese-new-ye…/
Macclesfield………..https://www.macclesfield-tc.gov.uk/celebrating-chinese-new…/
Bangor……………. https://www.northwaleschronicle.co.uk/…/17354591.chinese-y…/
Sheffield…………….https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/confucius/events/cny
Birmingham…………https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/…/chinese-new-year-2019-wh…
Southampton………https://www.ukshaolintemple.com/event/chinese-new-year-2019/
Newcastle……………https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/…/chinese-new-year-2019-wha…
York……………………https://www.eventbrite.com/e/chinese-new-year-2019-at-york-…
New York……………https://www.cityguideny.com/article/Chinese-New-Year-NYC…
Leeds…………………https://www.visitleeds.co.uk/whats-on/chinese-new-year.aspx
Sydney………………https://www.sydney.com/…/chinese-new-year-celebration-year-…

Chinese Labour Corps: Exhibition at Chinese Community Centre-Birmingham, 4-8 Feb 2019
2019-02-04 10:00 - 2019-02-08 16:00 | CCC-B, 99 Bradford Street, Birmingham, B12 0NS, United Kingdom
Chinese Labour Corps: The Forgotten Men of World War I:
Exhibition at the Chinese Community Centre-Birmingham
Friday 1 Feb to Friday 8 Feb (not Sunday 3 Feb)
The Chinese Community Centre – Birmingham is going to stage the first exhibition in the West Midlands about the Chinese Labour Corps in February 2019, coinciding with Chinese New Year.
In November 2018, Britain commemorated the end of World War I with events across the country. One group that has been consistently overlooked is the Chinese Labour Corps (CLC) – volunteers from mainland China who were sent by the Chinese government to support the British and French armies on the Western Front. While hostilities ceased in November 1918 and troops returned home, the CLC remained behind to clear battlefield debris into 1919 with the final units not leaving until September 1920, almost two years after armistice.
Their contribution was never acknowledged in Britain until a campaign to recognise the CLC began in 2013. Since then, a number of projects have taken place and the Chinese Community Centre-Birmingham (CCC-B) is bringing together elements from Ming Ai Institute’s ‘British Chinese Armed Forces Heritage’ exhibition which commemorates the CLC in WWI and the Hong Kong British Army Aid Group in WWII together with artefacts from the Chinese in Britain Forum’s ‘Ensuring We Remember’ campaign under the title ‘Chinese Labour Corps: The Forgotten Men of World War I’.
The full exhibition will be on display at CCC-B from 1st – 8th February 2019 (not Sunday 3rd February):
Friday 1 Feb: 2 – 7pm
Saturday 2 Feb: 10am – 1pm
Monday 4 – Friday 8 Feb: 10am – 4pm
After this, selected items will go on display in the Spotlight zone of the Library of Birmingham from 11th Feb-1st March.
On Wednesday 27th February there will be a Panel talk in the Library Voices of War & Peace Engagement Centre.
Guest speakers:
Steve Lau, Chinese in Britain Forum/Ensuring We Remember Campaign
Chungwen Li, Ming Ai Institute
Peng Wenlan, The Meridian Society
The exhibition and talk are free to attend. Contact Kate Gordon on 0121 685 8510 or email kategordon@ccc-b.org.uk to register your interest.

Chinese Labour Corps: Exhibition at Chinese Community Centre-Birmingham, 2 Feb 2019
2019-02-02 10:00 - 13:00

Chinese Labour Corps: Exhibition at Chinese Community Centre-Birmingham, 1 February 2019
2019-02-01 14:00 - 19:00 | CCC-B, 99 Bradford Street, Birmingham, B12 0NS, United Kingdom
Chinese Labour Corps: The Forgotten Men of World War I:
Exhibition at the Chinese Community Centre-Birmingham
Friday 1 Feb to Friday 8 Feb (not Sunday 3 Feb)
The Chinese Community Centre – Birmingham is going to stage the first exhibition in the West Midlands about the Chinese Labour Corps in February 2019, coinciding with Chinese New Year.
In November 2018, Britain commemorated the end of World War I with events across the country. One group that has been consistently overlooked is the Chinese Labour Corps (CLC) – volunteers from mainland China who were sent by the Chinese government to support the British and French armies on the Western Front. While hostilities ceased in November 1918 and troops returned home, the CLC remained behind to clear battlefield debris into 1919 with the final units not leaving until September 1920, almost two years after armistice.
Their contribution was never acknowledged in Britain until a campaign to recognise the CLC began in 2013. Since then, a number of projects have taken place and the Chinese Community Centre-Birmingham (CCC-B) is bringing together elements from Ming Ai Institute’s ‘British Chinese Armed Forces Heritage’ exhibition which commemorates the CLC in WWI and the Hong Kong British Army Aid Group in WWII together with artefacts from the Chinese in Britain Forum’s ‘Ensuring We Remember’ campaign under the title ‘Chinese Labour Corps: The Forgotten Men of World War I’.
The full exhibition will be on display at CCC-B from 1st – 8th February 2019 (not Sunday 3rd February):
Friday 1 Feb: 2 – 7pm
Saturday 2 Feb: 10am – 1pm
Monday 4 – Friday 8 Feb: 10am – 4pm
After this, selected items will go on display in the Spotlight zone of the Library of Birmingham from 11 Feb-1st March.
On Wednesday 27th February there will be a Panel talk in the Library Voices of War & Peace Engagement Centre.
Guest speakers:
Steve Lau, Chinese in Britain Forum/Ensuring We Remember Campaign
Chungwen Li, Ming Ai Institute
Peng Wenlan, The Meridian Society
The exhibition and talk are free to attend. Contact Kate Gordon on 0121 685 8510 or email kategordon@ccc-b.org.uk to register your interest.

China and the Korean Nuclear Crisis
2019-01-31 19:00 - 21:00 | Hulme Hall University of Manchester Hall of Residence, Oxford Place, Manchester, M14 5RR, United Kingdom
China and the Korean Nuclear Crisis by SACU Manchester and University of Manchester Politics Society
China and North Korea have been described in the past as being as close as ‘lips and teeth’ but in recent decades relations have come under strain over North Korea’s nuclearisation. What role has China played with regard to the Korean nuclear crisis? And what does this tell us about the kind of new superpower China is becoming?
Glyn Ford, author of Talking to North Korea (Pluto, 2018) and North Korea on the Brink (Pluto, 2007) will be in conversation with Dr Jenny Clegg, Vice-President of the Society for Anglo-Chinese Understanding (SACU).
Glyn Ford served as a Labour Member of the European Parliament between 1984-2009, representing a Manchester Constituency for the first 15 years. As a member of the EP Foreign Affairs and International Trade Committees, he developed an unrivalled expertise on East Asia. He currently sits on the Labour Party’s International Committee, and is Director of Track2Asia, a Brussels-based organisation which seeks to function as an EU-Asia bridge between people, places and ideas. He has visited North Korea almost 50 times.
This event is co-hosted by SACU (Manchester) and the Politics Society, University of Manchester.
Day/Time: Thursday 31 January, 7.00-9.00 pm
Venue: Lecture Theatre, Hulme Hall, Oxford Place, Victoria Park, Manchester M14 5RR
Please reserve your place through Eventbrite:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/china-and-the-korean-nuclear-crisis-public-by-sacu-uom-politics-society-tickets-53813490599
Join the discussion on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/275879893115852/

SACU Council and Programme Group Meetings
2019-01-19 11:30 - 17:00 | St Columba’s Church of Scotland, Pont Street, London, SW1X 0BD, United Kingdom
SACU’s quarterly Council meeting will be held in the Library of St Columba’s Church, 11.30am-3.30pm.
The Programme Group will meet immediately afterwards, 3.30pm-5.00pm.
Agendas will be sent out in due course.

Meet the Chilli Bean Paste Clan: An Evening with Yan Ge and Nicky Harman
2019-01-16 19:30 - 21:00 | Guanghwa Bookshop, 112 Shaftsbury Avenue, London, W1D 5EJ, United Kingdom
Set in a fictional town in West China, the novel, The Chilli Bean Paste Clan, is the story of the Duan-Xue family, owners of the lucrative chilli bean paste factory, and their formidable matriarch. As Gran’s 80th birthday approaches, her middle-aged children get together to make preparations. Family secrets are revealed and long-time sibling rivalries flare up with renewed vigour. As Shengqiang struggles unsuccessfully to juggle the demands of his mistress and his wife, the biggest surprises of all come from Gran herself…

Join the author Yan Ge and the translator Nicky Harman on the evening, and catch a glimpse into the life of a typical dysfunctional family in modern China. Hear how Yan Ge put her mastery of the Sichuan dialect to excellent use, and how Nicky Harman responded to that challenge during her translation.

Free Entry, but please register on Eventbrite (link below)

SACU Archives Committee Meeting
2019-01-12 14:00 - 16:00 | British Library First Floor Cafe, 96 Euston Road, London, NW1 2DB, United Kingdom
The next SACU Archives Committee Meeting will meet to discuss the funding bid for the SACU Archives Project.

SACU Archives Group Meeting
2018-12-16 14:30 - 16:30 | British Library First Floor Cafe, 96 Euston Road, London, NW1 2DB, United Kingdom
SACU Archives Group will meet on Sunday 16th December to plan the comprehensive project which will organise, digitise and make SACU’s archives more easily available to everyone.
There are 4 components: (1) catalogue, preserve and digitise our extensive photograph collection; (2) catalogue, preserve and digitise SACU’s organisational documents; (3) catalogue, preserve and digitise the historic material contained in our old website; (4) collect oral histories from SACU members and others who can help us construct a full history of SACU. We are particularly keen to hear from older SACU members about their memories so please get in contact!

SACU's Silk Road Tour: Talk by Walter Fung
2018-11-20 19:15 | Friends Meeting House, 6 Mount Street, Manchester, M2 5NS, United Kingdom
Walter Fung, editor of China Eye will talk about his recent visit to China’s Western provinces on the SACU Silk Road tour (with slides). The tour included the ancient cities of Guyuan, Yinchuan and Dan Junggar, as well as Xining, Tupan and Urumchi in Xinjiang.

The Chinese Labour Corps: World War One's Hidden History
2018-11-17 12:30 - 16:30 | Knowledge Centre, The British Library, 96 Euston Road, London, NW1 2DB, United Kingdom
This commemoration of the Chinese Labour Corps is organised by our partner organisation The Meridian Society and co-hosted by The British Library.

On 11 November 1918 streets throughout Western Europe were filled with jubilant crowds. Armistice had been declared and weary soldiers were at last able to go home. Yet some had to stay behind at the Front – amongst them the Chinese Labour Corps who were needed to clear the land of ordnance and dig up and bury the dead.

Almost 140,000 Chinese labourers had been recruited by the British and French armies to fill the void resulting from the losses at the Battle ofthe Somme. They provided much needed manpower by digging trenches, building railroads and repairing tanks. China, hoping to be rewarded withthe return of Shandong Province from German control, was keen to assistthe Western Allies.
In this final year of the centenary of the Great War, as we remember all those who took up arms, we must also commemorate those who helped behind the lines.
The Meridian Society invites all to an afternoon of remembrance in honour of the Chinese Labour Corps to pay tribute to these men whose contribution has not as yet been formally recognised.

The event, co-hosted by the British Library, will include:
The Shandong Problem – talk on the historical backdrop to China’s involvement in WWI and the political agenda of each of the major players in the war – by SACU Vice President Dr Frances Wood, former Curator of Chinese Collections at the British Library, co-author of ‘Betrayed Ally – China in the Great War’.
Some Paradoxes of the Chinese Labour Corps Recruitment – talk on the challenges and contradictions within the British Army’s recruitment of the Chinese labourers – by Dr Gregory James, author of ‘The Chinese Labour Corps 1916-1920′
Expectation versus Reality – talk on the social and cultural disparities between what Chinese labourers thought they would experience and what they were actually faced with on arrival at the Front – by Prof Philip Vanhaelemeersch, translator of two diaries written by Chinese labourers.
Screening of Forgotten Faces of the Great War: The Chinese Labour Corps – an oral history by descendants of Chinese labourers and Western officers of the CLC.
Cherry Blossom and other pieces – music on the erhu (Chinese two-stringed fiddle) by Charlie Tienkyi-Waddle.

There will be a short break, during which light refreshments will be served free of charge.
Date: Saturday, 17 November
Time: 12.30-4.30pm
Venue: Knowledge Centre, British Library, 96 Euston Road, London NW1 2DB
Entry: Free to members of The Meridian Society. A limited number of complimentary tickets are still available, email chineselabourcorps@gmail.com
Non-members £12, under 18s £8 (other concessions available)
Please book through the British Library https://www.bl.uk/events/the-chinese-labour-corps
For more details on the project please click here: http://themeridiansociety.org.uk/test/test/chinese-labour-corps/
