Society for Anglo-Chinese Understanding (SACU)

SACU China Chat: British and Chinese Education (SACU Manchester)
2019-04-03 16:00 - 17:30 UTC | 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/

SACU Executive Committee Meeting
2018-11-17 11:00 - 16:00 | St Columba’s Church of Scotland, Pont Street, London, SW1X 0BD, United Kingdom
SACU Executive Committee and the George Hogg Co-operative Education Fund have meetings at St Columba’s on Saturday 17th November. The archives Group will meet at a later date.

Chinese Cities Rediscovered: National Human Geography of China Book Launch
2018-10-12 10:00 - 11:30 | Knowledge Centre, The British Library, 96 Euston Road, London, NW1 2DB, United Kingdom
SACU members are invited by Guanghwa Bookshop to attend the book launch of this major new publishing project.

Throughout its 5000 years of civilization, China has always been a nation with a great diversity of natural geography and human cultures. Today, it is also one of the countries in the world that sees the most rapid urbanization process.
There is no better way to understand China than studying its cities in depth. Aiming to publish on 100 cities in its series, National Human Geography of China is a rare encyclopaedia that explores Chinese cities chronologically and multi-dimensionally: from nature to culture, from ecology to economy.
Guanghwa Bookshop sincerely invites SACU members to join them at the British Library, to appreciate the tradition and future of Chinese cities, to share ideas on sustainable growth, and to celebrate the increasingly strong cultural ties between China and the UK.
This book launch is jointly organized by the publisher Sinomaps Press and Guanghwa Bookshop, UK’s leading Chinese bookshop.

SACU members can book their free place using the Eventbrite link below.

我们诚邀您作为特邀嘉宾出席2018年10月12日在大英图书馆举办的“探索中国城市风貌”——《中国国家人文地理》丛书暨中国城市宣传推广活动。
人类社会的发展过程，就是各种文明不断交流、融合、创新的过程。而城市既是人类文明的核心区域，又是文明进步的前沿地带。“中国国家人文地理”丛书定位于记录中国优秀传统文化和新时代中国发展成就。以城市为单元，全面、立体地展现中国城市的自然地理、历史文化遗产、人文风土资源、生态环境建设、城市蓝图等，是中国城市人文地理百科全书。
大英图书馆藏书品种众多，不仅仅是英国人民的智慧宝库，更是人类文明的宝库。此次，我们非常荣幸地将丛书赠予大英图书馆，希望能与英国人民分享中国优秀传统文化和城市风貌，促进中英文化交流，加深两国人民的了解与信任。
中国驻英国大使馆文化处公使衔参赞、大英图书馆东亚馆藏部负责人、来自中国多个省市的领导人以及多名英国学者、汉学家将出席本次活动。
敬请您届时拨冗出席，至祈勿却为盼！

SACU Council Meeting followed by Programme Group Meeting
2018-09-29 11:30 - 17:00 | St Columba’s Church of Scotland, Pont Street, London, SW1X 0BD, United Kingdom
Our next SACU Council meeting takes place on Saturday 29 September followed by our Programme Group meeting. We will meet in the Kirk Session room of St Columba’s Church of Scotland, Pont Street, Knightsbridge, SW1X 0BD.

Schedule:
11.30am – 3.30pm SACU Council meeting – bring your own lunch
3.30pm – 5.00pm 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. Just let us know that you are coming if you decide to join us by emailing events@sacu.org.uk

Nearest underground stations are at Knightsbridge, South Kensington and Sloane Square.
Directions: St Columba’s Church of Scotland

ICCIC Delegation visits London and Manchester
2018-09-26 - 2018-09-29
The 8- person delegation from the ICCIC (International Committee for the Promotion of Chinese Cooperatives), led by Michael Crook, will be here for a short visit from Wednesday 26th to Saturday 29th September.

All SACU members are welcome to join us.

The outline programme is as follows:
Wednesday 26th September: arrive Heathrow, early evening
Thursday 27th September: visit to Harpenden and St George’s School (George Hogg’s former school) and then on to the Needham Research Institute in Cambridge, then evening journey to Manchester
Friday 28th September: day in Manchester, returning in the evening to London. Evening dinner at 8.00pm for the delegation and SACU friends at the President Hotel, 56-60 Guilford Street, London WC1 1DB
Saturday 29th September: afternoon visit to Oxford then on to Heathrow for flight back to Beijing

This will be a great opportunity to meet ICCIC members who have exceptional experience in organising self-help activities and training in cooperative business in the poorer rural areas of China. It will also be a chance to learn more about new developments in the latest reforms to ‘revitalise the rural areas’.
You can read about the activities of the ICCIC here: http://www.gungho.org.cn/en-index.php
SACU’s relationship with them through the George Hogg Education Fund is explained on our website at: https://sacu.org/george-hogg-fund/

Any SACU members or anyone with an interest in the mission of the ICCIC can email Ros Wong, Programme Co-ordinator, events@sacu.org.uk and Ros will keep you informed of arrangements.

Great Books of China: Frances Wood
2018-09-25 19:15 - 20:30 | Knowledge Centre, The British Library, 96 Euston Road, London, NW1 2DB, United Kingdom
SACU Vice President Frances Wood will give an illustrated lecture on some outstanding works of Chinese literature, drawing from her new book, Great Books of China, which ranges from The Book of Songs, compiled over 2,500 years ago through to late-twentieth-century novels.

Frances Wood is a distinguished historian of China and Chinese culture. She was head of the Chinese collections at the British Library until 2013. Her books include Did Marco Polo go to China?, The Silk Road, The First Emperor of China, The Lure of China and Betrayed Ally: China in the Great War (with Christopher Arnander). .

The Friends Ambulance Unit 'China Convoy' - Illustrated Talk and Dinner
2018-09-25 18:30 | Taste of China, 84 Southampton Row, London, WC2B 6AA, United Kingdom
This illustrated talk and dinner is organised by The Meridian Society, SACU’s affiliated society.
The Friends Ambulance Unit ‘China Convoy’
– a prototype medical NGO

The China Convoy, the most international section of the Friends Ambulance Unit, had a commitment to pacifism and to relieving the suffering of the Chinese by re-establshing hospitals across South West China.

The Meridian Society is hosting an illustrated talk about the China Convoy by SACU Council member Andrew Hicks after a meal at Taste of China, 84 Southampton Row, London WC2B 6AA (nearest tube stations Russell Square or Holborn).

The price for the talk and a meal (excluding drinks) is

£25 for paid up members of The Meridian Society (TMS members)
£27.50 for affiliates (partners of TMS members, SACU members and students)
£30 for others

The deadline for booking and payment has been extended to Wednesday 19th September but places may still be available after the deadline – please contact themeridiansociety@gmail.com

Your place will be confirmed on receipt of payment. Please send a cheque payable to The Meridian Society by post to the Secretary at 10 Brook Close, Braintree, Essex CM7 2PY. Or request The Meridian Society’s bank details if you prefer to pay by direct transfer.

"Family Life in Fiction" - Yan Ge in Conversation with Nicky Harman
2018-09-13 18:00 - 20:00 | China Exchange, 32A Gerrard Street, London, W1D 6JA, United Kingdom
Nicky Harman will be in conversation with YAN Ge, talking about her novel The Chilli Bean Paste Clan, at China Exchange, 32a Gerrard St, London W1D 6JA, on Thursday 13 September, 18.00-20.00, as part of the 2018 Asia House Bagri Foundation Literature Festival.

This event is FREE but please register with China Exchange using the link below.

About The Chilli Bean Paste Clan: Set in a fictional town in West China, this is the story of the Duan-Xue family, owners of the lucrative chilli bean paste factory, and their formidable matriarch. As Gran’s eightieth 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……

SACU is pleased to support this evening event by China Exchange and Asia House.

YAN Ge has written some eleven books and is now the chairperson of China Young Writers’ Association and a contract writer of Sichuan Writers’ Association.

Nicky Harman is a former SACU member and prize-winning literary translator, working from Chinese to English.

Our Story, Your Stories: An Evening with Nicky Harman
2018-09-12 19:30 - 21:00 | Guanghwa Bookshop, 112 Shaftsbury Avenue, London, W1D 5EJ, United Kingdom
Nicky Harman will be talking about RAO Pingru’s “Our Story”, at the Guanghwa Bookshop, 112 Shaftesbury Avenue, London W1D 5EJ on Wednesday 12 September 19.30-21.00. This event is free but please register through the Eventbrite link below.

Mr Rao’s book is the true story of a marriage in China that spanned the 20th century, told in vibrant, original paintings and prose. Rao Pingru was a 26-year-old soldier when he first saw the beautiful Mao Meitang. One glimpse of her through a window as she put on lipstick was enough to capture Pingru’s heart. It was a moment that sparked a union that would last almost 60 years, surviving against all odds through the twenty years when he was sent away to be ‘reformed’.

“I defy anyone to flip from the photographs inside the front cover, of Pingru and Meitang in youth, to the one inside the back cover, of them in old age, without feeling their eyes become moist.” Rosie Milne, Asian Review of Books“

SACU is pleased to support this evening event by Guanghwa Bookshop with Nicky Harman, former SACU member and prize-winning literary translator, who works from Chinese to English.

SACU Manchester Group meeting
2018-09-11 18:00 | Friends Meeting House, 6 Mount Street, Manchester, M2 5NS, United Kingdom
The next meeting of SACU Manchester Group to discuss future plans and arrangements will be on Tuesday Sept 11th at 6 pm in Friends Meeting House, F14.

SACU Executive Committee Meeting
2018-09-05 18:00 - 20:00
An “after work” meeting for the SACU Executive Committee from 6.00pm at our agreed venue at St Pancras.

Liverpool Commemorates the Chinese Labour Corps
2018-08-10 - 2018-08-11 | Liverpool, Liverpool, United Kingdom
As the centenary commemorations of World War I draw to a close this year, Liverpool remembers the contribution of the Chinese Labour Corps, almost a hundred thousand men from China who joined the Allied effort by providing logistical help at the Front.
Join these commemorations in Liverpool organised by The Meridian Society, our affiliated society.

The Meridian Society aims to raise awareness of the story of the Chinese Labour Corps (CLC) nationwide through its project activities (supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund). Local residents and visitors from elsewhere are invited to join the commemoration in Liverpool on the occasion of the centenary of the last Chinese labourer buried at Anfield who died on 9th August 1918.
A day of remembrance in honour of the Chinese Labour Corps will take place in collaboration with the Museum of Liverpool and Friends of Anfield Cemetery on Friday 10th August (details below).
A Family Activities Day will be held at the Museum of Liverpool on Saturday 11th August, at which members of the general public will be able to hear a talk on the Chinese Labour Corps and attend film screenings, or learn about the experiences of Chinese labourers by taking part in workshops on story-telling and Chinese arts and crafts. A number of Chinese Labour Corps artefacts will be on display and the museum will provide World War I objects for handling.
A photographic exhibition on the Chinese Labour Corps from the W J Hawkings Collection, courtesy of his grandson John de Lucy, and kindly prepared by The Oriental Museum of Durham University, is currently on display at The Black-E, 1 Great George Street, L1 5EW. Entitled ‘A Noble Duty Bravely Done – The Chinese Labour Corps in World War I’, the exhibition will run until 18th August 2018.

Remembering the CLC at Liverpool on Friday 10th August
Commemorative service
Time 1.30 – 2.30 pm
Venue: Anfield Cemetery, 238 Priory Road L4 2SL
A commemoration in remembrance of the members of the Chinese Labour Corps who died in Liverpool to be held at their graveside in the Cemetery. Local residents and visitors from elsewhere are most welcome to join us in honouring them.
Film Screening
Time 3.30 – 5 pm
Venue: Museum of Liverpool, Pier Head L3 1DG
A documentary film ‘Forgotten Faces of the Great War’ containing oral histories by descendants both of Chinese labourers and Western Chinese Labour Corps officers to be screened at the Museum. Numbers are limited and priority will be given to invited guests.
if you would like to attend these events please email The CLC Project at The Meridian Society
For more details on the project, please click here

SACU North West Meeting
2018-07-28 14:00 - 16:00 | Friends Meeting House, 6 Mount Street, Manchester, M2 5NS, United Kingdom
All welcome at the Friends Meeting House (Room F17) to get to know other SACU members and plan future SACU events in Manchester and the North West.

SACU AGM AND EVENTS
2018-07-14 11:00 - 17:00 | St Columba’s Church of Scotland, Pont Street, London, SW1X 0BD, United Kingdom
SACU’s AGM takes place in the morning from 11.00am, followed by an open event in the afternoon. This year our affiliated society, The Meridian Society, are organising the day and they will also hold their AGM in the morning. SACU members are welcome to attend SACU’s morning AGM or just come along for the afternoon presentation.
The provisional programme for the afternoon:

2.00 – 2.30 Registration – tea / coffee and biscuits
2.30 – 3.30 Tour of Shandong Province – Walter Fung
3.30 – 4.30 Wushu – Tomasso Gianni
4.30 – 5.00 Networking – close

This is a free event but please book your place by emailing The Meridian SocietySociety

The Meridian Society’s Tour of Shandong was inspired by the centenary of the Chinese Labour Corps (CLC) most of whom came from Shandong which was occupied by European countries for many years, a legacy still visible in buildings. The visit enabled the tour to meet the descendants of the CLC, the birthplace of Confucius and its most sacred mountains and coastline.
Wushu was developed in an effort to standardise the practice of traditional Chinese martial arts. Competitive Wushu is composed of two disciplines: Taolu and Sanda.
Taolu forms comprise basic movements (stances, kicks, punches, balances, jumps, sweeps and throws) based on traditional Chinese martial art styles.
Sanda has all the combat aspects of wushu combining kicks, boxing and wrestling.
