ON-AIR ANNOUNCEMENT: FEBRUARY 2, 2016. Marvels of China: Pathways to the Pacific Rim is officially announced on Tuesday, February 2 on The Debbie Nigro Show, a popular Monday-Friday one-hour daily show. Besides Ms. Nigro the broadcast featured Show Host Mr. Jeffrey Bingham Mead; Ms. Dong Qixin of title-sponsor Beijing AmBridge International Culture Development, Ltd.; Mr. Liming Guan of The China Press; Dr. Yiping Wan of Manhattanville College; WGCH Engineer Mr. Robert Small; and Greenwich Photographer Mr. Christopher Semmes.
SHOW #1: FEBRUARY 6, 2016. Marvels of China: Pathways to the Pacific Rim's first show was broadcast on February 6, 2016 on AM1490 WGCH and everywhere on WGCH.com from Greenwich, Connecticut USA. Our first guest on the Conversations segment was Cultural Consul Li Liyan of the Chinese Consulate of the People's Republic of China in New York City.
SHOW #2: FEBRUARY 13, 2016. The Lunar New Year and Spring Festival were underway on the second show of Marvels of China: Pathways to the Pacific Rim. Besides learning more about this holiday season, we learned about the Chinese zodiac during this auspicious time. We also heard more words of wisdom from the Great Sage himself during the Confucius Moment. On the Conversations segment Dr. Dave Wang was our special guest. He is the managing director of the Laurelton Library in Queens, NY and an adjunct professor at St. John's University. He spoke to us about his research, lectures and publications on the little-known influences Chinese civilization had on the Founding Fathers of the United States of America in the late 1700s. Learn more by going to http://foundingfathersandchina.blogspot.com/
SHOW #3: FEBRUARY 20, 2016. Besides our weekly Confucius Moment the audience enjoyed learning fun-facts about China. Host Jeffrey Bingham Mead shared with the audience his discussions with staff members of the Chinese Language School of Connecticut. On Conversations we welcomed Major General William Chen, the first Chinese American to attain that rank in the American armed forces. Maj. Gen. Chen had some history and important observations to share about China, America and the world.
SHOW #4: FEBRUARY 27, 2016. On the fourth show of Marvels of China: Pathways to the Pacific Rim Host Mead welcomed H. Allen Larsen, one of the last of the living Flying Tigers from World War II in China. Allen is the co-author of the book China in the Eyes of Flying Tigers 1944-1945. It was interesting to note that Mr. Larsen and his family moved to Greenwich, Connecticut USA after the war concluded and knew Host Mead’s family. Both Host Jeffrey Bingham Mead and Mr. Larsen met in person on September 3-4 in Beijing during the 70th year commemorations of the end of World War II. The audience also learned about Beijing billionaires, more Year of the Monkey facts, the invention of the waterwheel and iron plow in China, and enjoyed the weekly Confucius Moment. Thanks to our title sponsor, Beijing AmBridge International Cultural Development, Ltd., the audience was treated to music from Meng Ke, an extraordinary artist from Inner Mongolia.
SHOW #5: MARCH 5, 2016. The audience was reminded that Americans love fortune cookies. They are a staple in Chinese restaurants across the USA -but are they not Chinese. The audience learned about Chinese lanterns. Thanks to title sponsor Beijing AmBridge International Culture Development, Ltd., the audience was treated to more of Meng Ke's music from Inner Mongolia. "Before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves" was the theme of the weekly Confucius Moment. On the Conversations segment of the show we welcomed Ms. Nell Calloway, granddaughter of General Claire Lee Chennault of the legendary Flying Tigers and director of the Chennault Aviation & Military Museum in Monroe, Louisiana USA.
SHOW #6: MARCH 12, 2016. The audience learned about Dragon's Heads Raising Day. Most of the broadcast was focused on the importance of learning Chinese language. Host Jeffrey Bingham Mead welcomed Ms. Katy Myers of the Chinese Language School of Connecticut. Everybody has different reasons for learning a different language. There are numerous, amazing rewards that learning another language can bring. They range from meeting new people, discovering new and interesting cultures, improving your employability and transforming your travel experiences.
SHOW #7: MARCH 19, 2016. On March 5 the 11-day National People's Congress in China opened. In recent history no nation compares to China when it comes to rapid economic transformations. To help the audience make sense of it all Host Jeffrey Bingham Mead welcomed Professor Xu Hongcai, thanks to Beijing AmBridge International Culture Development, Ltd. Professor Xu spoke to the listening audience from Shanghai, the first time WGCH has ever featured an international guest in its 50+ years of existence. Professor Xu delivered his remarks in Chinese. We were very fortunate to have Mr. Liming Guan of The China Press in New York City serving as translator. Professor Xu Hongcai is a famous economist throughout China and internationally. He is a professor of Finance and has a PhD in Economics from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, a Distinguished Professor of Tsinghua University and an adjunct professor at the Central University of Finance. Professor Xu has visited and spoken in more than 200 cities before more than 200 listed companies in China. In 2009 he won the ‘China Top 100 Management Trainer’ title. He has attended international seminars and published academic lectures in Europe and the USA.We heard about China's new Five-Year Plan, growth targets, the country's new growth model ensuring a rising middle- class population, personal consumption, and how the services sector and private firms -and American investment- will play a role in China's continuing transformation.
SHOW #8: MARCH 26, 2016. In today's mailbag (marvelsofchina@gmail.com) Host Jeffrey Bingham Mead heard from his former program director, Dr. Lance Sato, a fourth-generation American of Japanese ancestry from the US State of Hawaii. Host Mead taught under Dr. Sato at Kapiolani Community College in Honolulu, Hawaii USA. Mr. Sato and his wife now make their home in Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan, and from the bullet trains Mr. Sato listens to this show. Host Mead shared news about the cruise travel market in China, especially NCL's 'Norwegian Joy' and the Chinese vacation market. The audience learned that suspension bridges were invented in China. The special guest in the Conversations segment of the show was Mr. Liming Guan, reporter for The China Press based in New York City.
SHOW #9: APRIL 2, 2016. This was the first encore or repeat of an earlier broadcast of Marvels of China: Pathways to the Pacific Rim. The featured guest was Ms. Nell Calloway, granddaughter of General Claire Lee Chennault of the legendary Flying Tigers of World War II. She is also the director of the Chennault Aviation & Military Museum in Monroe, Louisiana USA.
SHOW #10: APRIL 9, 2016. On the day before the April 9 broadcast Host Jeffrey Bingham Mead returned from Honolulu, Hawaii. While in Honolulu Host Mead interviewed on-location Mr. Johnson Choi of the Hong Kong Hawaii Chinese Chamber of Commerce in his office on Bishop Street in the heart of Honolulu's financial district. This was also the first time a remote interview was recorded in Hawaii and featured on WGCH and WGCH.com. Host Mead and Mr. Choi discussed doing business in Hawaii as well as in China, the unique nuances this presents and why it is important to learn about culture and practices when doing business in Asia. In the Paths to the Past segment Host Mead introduced the listening audience to the Chinese in Hawaii - who have been in the islands for centuries. The Confucius Moment focused on, "The man who removes a mountain begins by carrying away small stones.”
SHOW #11: APRIL 16, 2016. Thanks to Beijing AmBridge International Culture Development Ltd. (AmBridge), the show's title-sponsor, Host Mead was able to introduce the audience to one of China's most ambitious and passionate mountain climbers, Sun Bin. This interview was so detailed and enjoyable that it was divided into three parts and broadcast in sections on April 23 and 30. Sun Bin has nearly 20 years of world-wide mountaineering, rock climbing and ice climbing experience. He is the first Chinese mountaineer athlete to be sponsored for California-based The North Face. He first started his climbing adventures as a member of the Peking University Mountaineering Association in 1997. Sun Bin subsequently joined the Chinese Mountaineering Association in 2000. For the next six years he was the chief designer of training programs for rock climbing, ice climbing and mountain guiding in China, as well as certification programs- a first in Chinese history. From 2006 to 2008 Sun Bin joined the Beijing Olympic Committee, serving as project manager of the torch relay on Mount Everest. During the test event in 2007 he summited Mount Everest. Since then Sun Bin has climbed and guided others on an amazing assortment of expeditions. In 2008, he made a film about ice climbing in Shuangqiao Gully titled Dragon Breath. In 2009, he acted as the main role for the movie Summit Memory from the story of climbing Mt. Xixiabangma. In 2009, he translated the book Extreme Alpinism by Mark Twight to Chinese and published for all the Chinese climbers. In 2011, Sun Bin set up a new route on south face of Mt. Siguniang (6250m), and made a documentary, Return to the Peak. In 2012, he set up a non-profit organization, Summit Outdoor School, to provide courses for mountain guides, local guides, and university students. Four years ago Sun Bin was featured in the “Go Wild” campaign, a collaboration between The North Face and Ogilvy & Mather Shanghai: “The North Face’s Go Wild campaign is a breath of fresh air that encourages city dwellers to break free from the eating-drinking- shopping-sitting in front of a screen rut and to replace it with tranquil or thrilling experiences in the great outdoors.” Sun Bin and his team were in Norway when the interview was conducted by phone, preparing for an expedition to the North Pole, to be followed by one to Denali Mountain in Alaska, USA.
SHOW #12: APRIL 23, 2016. In this broadcast we featured the second of three parts of the Conversations interview with Mr. Sun Bin of China, thanks to Beijing AmBridge International Culture Development, Ltd.
SHOW #13: APRIL 30, 2016. In this broadcast we featured the last of three parts of the Conversations interview with Mr. Sun Bin of China, thanks to Beijing AmBridge International Culture Development, Ltd. Host Mead discussed with the audience an interesting lecture series on Chinese emperors-China Great Emperors-sponsored and held by the China Institute in America in New York City. Host Mead discussed some of the latest discoveries about the famous terra-cotta army in Xian. The broadcast concluded with a Confucius Moment about being a gentleman in Chinese civilization.
SHOW #14: MAY 7, 2016. In this broadcast Host Jeffrey Bingham Mead introduced the audience to an extraordinary Chinese American fifth-grader in the Conversations segment. Brandon Yu is a history whiz who has made a name for himself in the Town of Greenwich and far beyond. Brandon Yu competes in history contests. He was recently featured in a piece in the Greenwich Time newspaper. Just after this broadcast Brandon was on his way to the finals in the National History Bee contest for the third consecutive year. Our Paths to the Past segment takes us to the China Institute in America in Lower Manhattan, NYC, where Host Mead has been attending lectures on Chinese emperors. Asian Pacific American Heritage Month has also arrived in the USA. Host Mead also announced the creation of a podcasting site where show archives and commercial spots will be posted. Host Mead also called to everyone's attention that in Franklin Square, Philadelphia the organization Historic Philadelphia is hosting the first-ever Chinese Lantern Festival in the Northeastern USA.
SHOW #15: MAY 14, 2016. Today’s broadcast guest was President & CEO Ms. Amy Needle of Historic Philadelphia. Franklin Square, at 6th and Race streets in the city is the setting is the for the first-ever Chinese Lantern Festival in the northeastern USA. She discusses the origins of the festival, backgrounds of the Chinese artisans who designed the lanterns. The audience heard an update about last week’s guest, Parkway School fifth-grader Brandon Yu, as he and a team from Western Middle School enter yet another history competition. The latest ‘China’s Great Emperors’ lecture series at the China Institute in America focused on Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty -who started out well but later saw his dynasty and his rule over China ruined forever. On the weekly Confucius Moment the Great Sage reminded us all that “the sun and moon shine on all without partiality.” The audience was reminded that May is Asian Pacific Heritage Month in the USA.
SHOW #16: MAY 21, 2016. Host Jeffrey Bingham Mead welcomed Eric Jay Dolin, author of When America First Met China: An Exotic History of Tea, Drugs, and Money in the Age of Sail. His book illuminates its readers with one of the least understood areas of history. Throughout this epic journey to the past, Dolin retraces the complicated history shared between the "Middle Kingdom" of China and the newly- independent United States of America in the late-18th and early 19th centuries. "That is why every time I heard or read news stories about America and China, it occurred to me that-given the intense focus on the evolving ties between these two countries- it might be revealing to explore the origins of their relationship. Therein lay the genesis of this book, whose goal is to tell the story of how America and China first met, and what their relationship was like in the beginning. As it turns out, the story revolves mostly around trade, for that was the primary medium through which America and China came to know each other."
Far earlier than most Americans realize, there has been a hearty appetite for Chinese products in this country -and a complicated relationship to go with it. After independence, and with the USA cut off from trade with Europe and the West Indies, Americans were ambitious, bound and determined to compete on the world stage -and off to China they went.
The Confucius Moment quote was this: "A man who dupes others survives because he is fortunate enough to be spared." Host Mead talked about the latest lecture at the China Institute in America focused on Emperor Yongle of the Ming Dynasty, facts from which he shared with the audience.
SHOW #17: MAY 28, 2016. Host Jeffrey Bingham Mead welcomed Ms. Meixu Huang. She is the director of the Global Education Center's International Student Office at East China Normal University (ECNU). Speaking to the host from her office on the ECNU campus in Shanghai, Meixu Huang briefed the audience on ECNU's process of internationalizing its academic programs, establishing global strategic cooperative partnerships, and she elaborated on the benefits of internationalization. In addition, Ms. Huang commented on how higher education is a form of diplomatic policy through university-to-university investment, as well as its role in the improvement of people-to-people relationships between Chinese, Americans and other nationalities.
SHOW #18: JUNE 4, 2016. Host Jeffrey Bingham Mead welcomed Afaa Michael Weaver. This remarkable American poet, educator, story teller, writer and editor is the author of numerous poetry collections. His honors include a Fulbright Scholarship, fellowships from the National Endowments of the Arts (NEA), the Pew Foundation, and he is the recipient of the Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award and a Pushcart Prize, among others. Weaver is the director of the Writing Intensive at The Frost Place. In 2015 his work City of Eternal Spring won the Phillis Wheatley Award for excellence in poetry at the Harlem Book Fair. This work was the final book in Weaver's Plum Flower Trilogy. Weaver's other works include Timber and Prayer: The Indian Pond Poems; My Father's Geography; The Plum Flower Dance: Poems 1985 to 2005; and The Government of Nature, and more.
Nigerian playwright Tess Onwueme gave him the Ibo name, Afaa, meaning "oracle." Weaver teaches at Simmons College in Massachusetts and is the chairman of the Simmons International Chinese Poetry Conference and director of the Zora Neale Hurston Literary Center. Of Afaa Michael Weaver, Henry Louis Gates has observed that "Weaver of one of the most significant poets writing today. With its blend of Chinese spiritualism and American roundedness, his poetry presents the reader (and the listener, for his body of work is meant to be read aloud) with challenging questions about identity, about how physicality and spirit act together or counteract each other to shape who we are in the world.
His attention to the way language works is rare, and the effects of that attention on his poetry are distinctive and expansive."
His attention to the way language works is rare, and the effects of that attention on his poetry are distinctive and expansive."
Referring to Weaver's work, The Government of Nature, Ching-Hsi Perng, President of the Taipei Chinese Club has said, "In these nuanced, sobering, and beautifully cadenced poems, the poet tries to deal with haunting, mysterious vines of the past, present, and future-whether of fear, anxiety, joy, love, or hope. Reconciling East and West, he achieves harmony and tranquility. A marvelous work." Weaver was given the Chinese name "Wei Yafeng.”
In 2005 he received the Gold Friendship Medal from the Beijing Writers Association for his work with Chinese poets. The audience heard from Weaver about many things, such as his early life, his work with Chinese poets, how his works are insightful and special for Chinese as well as Americans, his lifelong interest in Chinese culture and much more.
SHOW #19: JUNE 11, 2016. The Conversations segment of Marvels of China: Pathways to the Pacific Rim featured Mr. James Heimowitz, president of the China Institute in America. Host Jeffrey Bingham Mead is a former lecturer at the China Institute's former location in Lenox Hill, Manhattan in November, 2014 as reported by The China Press. Founded 90 years ago in 1926, the Institute was founded by a group of distinguished American and Chinese educators. They included John Dewey, Hu Shih, Paul Monroe and Dr. Kuo Ping-wen. It is the oldest bicultural organization in America that is devoted exclusively to China. In 1944, the China Institute in America was chartered by the Board of Regents of the University of the State of New York as a school of continuing education. The Institute's language and cultural school is the oldest educational center of its kind in the USA. Newly located in Lower Manhattan off Washington Street -and near Wall Street- the China Institute in America "advances a deeper understanding of China through programs in education, culture, business and art in the belief that cross-cultural understanding strengthens our global community." Host Mead’s conversation with James Heimowitz covered a range of topics from the Institute's new location, its variety of cultural programs and activities, how the Institute addresses the needs of the business community, and what is in store for its future.
SHOW #20: JUNE 18, 2016. The Conversations guest on this broadcast was Qian Yi, “China's reigning opera princess." She is the star of Paradise Interrupted which the Wall Street Journal calls "a mesmerizing new work that is part opera, part dynamic art installation.” This chamber opera is part of Lincoln Center Festival 2016 in New York City. It is being performed July 13-16. Qian Yi shared stories and memories of her roles in past productions such as The Peony Pavilion, Amy Tan's The Bonesetter's Daughter, The Butterfly Dream and more. We heard about Qian Yi's early career, about the challenges behind blending Western and Chinese elements of opera into production, and so much more.
SHOW #21: JUNE 25, 2016. Today’s guest on Conversations was Dr. Ren Youqun, Ph.D. He is the Vice- President of East China Normal University (ECNU), Vice-Chaiman of ECNU's University Council and a professor of Education Science. Dr. Ren's research interests are focused on Curriculum and Instruction, Educational Technology, Teacher Education and Learning Sciences. He has published two books and more than 80 academic papers. Dr. Ren has also translated ten English books in these fields into Chinese.With a passion for teaching known internationally, Dr. Ren has been lecturing on information and communication technology (ICT) since 2003, focusing on its integration with curriculum and teacher education for Chinese graduate students. Host Jeffrey Bingham Mead and Dr. Ren discussed all this, ECNU's internationalization efforts and how information and communication technology is being utilized to improve the efficiency of education management, governance and administration.
SHOW #22: JULY 2, 2016. Host Jeffrey Bingham Mead welcomed E. Samantha Cheng from Washington, D.C., USA, and Dr. Gwendolyn Gong from Hong Kong, China. Both are the executive producers of Honor and Duty: The Mississippi Delta Chinese. Host Mead attended the New York screening at this documentary at the Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA) in Chinatown This three-part documentary series tells the story of an almost forgotten community of Chinese in America's Deep South. It is an American story like no other anywhere. The story of Chinese immigration and integration into the Mississippi Delta region begins just after the American Civil War in 1865 with the introduction of 16 Chinese men. How did this community evolve and proper within the segregated South? What lessons does this story provide for immigrants today? Honor and Duty: The Mississippi Delta Chinese documentary series focuses on people who built an enduring kinship through small town markets and grocery stores drawing in part on the memories of the patriotic Chinese World War II veterans who lived in this area and stepped forward to serve.
SHOW #23: JULY 9, 2016. The Conversations segment of the broadcast featured an extraordinary interview with Mr. Roy Rowan, one of the very few American reporters who covered the Chinese Civil War in the 1940s. Mr. Rowan, who is aged 96 years, is also the author of a book, Chasing the Dragon: A Veteran Journalist's Firsthand Account of the 1949 Chinese Revolution. This 96-year-old haD much to share about his time reporting on the Chinese Civil War. Accompanied by Mr. Liming Guan of The China Press of New York City, Host Jeffrey Bingham Mead paid Mr. Rowan a visit to his home on Steamboat Road near Greenwich Harbor. Another dimension of China's history came alive that day from the comfort of Mr. Rowan's living room which was shared in the broadcast.
"Roy Rowan's spellbinding account of China's earth-rattling Communist Revolution," said Tom Brokaw of NBC News, "is high drama and great journalism-all that I'd expect from one of the best." Stella Dong, author of Shanghai: The Rise and Fall of a Decadent City 1842-1949 said, "Chasing the Dragon is both enthralling personal history and an invaluable eyewitness account of China. Rowan offers a riveting insider's view of pre-Communist China and records its last death those with a keen eye for history and human detail.” Walter Isaacson, president of the Aspen Club and author of Benjamin Franklin: An American Life has this to say about Roy Rowan and his memoir: "This colorful eyewitness account of the Communists' 1949 takeover of China is the perfect blend of journalism and history. Roy Rowan tells this amazing tale with the firsthand excitement of a young reporter and the wisdom of a veteran China watcher. In a very personal and readable way, his book explores war, historic forces, colorful characters and the thrill of journalism."
SHOW #24: JULY 16, 2016. Host Jeffrey Bingham Mead welcomed Ako of the Takarazuka Revue in the Conversations segment. She shared with Host Mead and the global audience how she became involved with Takarazuka Revue, its rich history and traditions, how women train for its programs and performances, fan clubs and how it has influenced theater. The Takarazuka Revue was formed by railroad tycoon Ichizo Kobayashi in 1913 to help draw tourists to hot springs of Takarazuka, Hyogo Prefecture in Japan. The all-female stage troupe itself has gone on to be phenomenally successful in Japan, the USA, China and around the world. This summer the troupe is heading to New York City's David H. Koch Theater at the Lincoln Center for six performances over five days of Takarazuka CHICAGO. It's all part of the annual 2016 Lincoln Center Festival.
SHOW #25: JULY 23, 2016. Jianbings have become a hot item in New York City this year. Mr. Brian Goldberg of Mr. Bing Beijing Street Crepes was the featured guest on this broadcast. Writing in New York City’s Grub Street, commentator proclaimed the Chinese jianbing as the 2016 “cheap eat of the year.” "Twenty-first-century culinary anthropologists could very well chart a course for migratory foodstuffs from country of origin to outer-borough enclave to Smorgasburg stall. And so it is with jianbing, the Chinese street-food breakfast that has emerged as this year’s microcraze. Typically made from a batter of green mung bean, wheat, or other grains and starches and spread with egg, the savory crêpe is strewn with some combination of cilantro, scallions, and pickles; brushed with a chile-paste sauce and a sweet bean paste like tianmianjiang; and folded around “either a thin, crispy cracker called baocui or a chewy cruller and chopped in half — all in under 45 seconds.” Host Jeffrey Bingham Mead met Mr. Goldberg at a food tasting event at the China Institute in America in New York City. Goldberg shared with Mead and the audience how his journey began, the process of bringing his entrepreneurial dreams to reality, his thoughts on the fusion cuisine movement, how New Yorkers and others have responded to jianbings, what the future holds and more.
SHOW #26: JULY 30, 2016. Host Jeffrey Bingham Mead welcomed Ms. Nancy Yao Massbach, president and director of The Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA). She holds a degree in Diplomacy and World Affairs with a minor in Chinese language from Occidental College and an MBA from the Yale School of Management. The Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA) is a nonprofit educational and cultural institution in New York City that presents the living history, heritage, culture and diverse experiences of Chinese Americans through exhibitions, educational services, and public programs. Starting in 1980 as the community-based New York Chinatown History Project, it was founded by historian John Kuo Wei Tchen and Charles Lai.
Before being named president/director of MOCA, Massbach served as the executive director of the Yale-China Association, the managing director of the corporate programs at the Council on Foreign Relations where she had also been an International Affairs Fellow in Japan and a research associate on China. Massbach also worked in Goldman Sachs' investment banking division and executive office in Hong Kong and New York. She was the associate producer at CNN during the handover coverage of Hong Kong to the People's Republic of China in 1997. She served on the national board of the Association of Asian American Yale Alumni.
MOCA's mission is "to celebrate the living history of the Chinese experience in America, to inspire our diverse communities to contribute to America's evolving cultural narrative and civil society, and to empower and bridge our communities across generations, ethnicities and geography through our dynamic stories." The audience learned about the founding of MOCA, its location on Centre Street that was designed by Maya Lin-who came to fame as the designer of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C.- about MOCA's amazing programs, educational services and collections, and much more.
The broadcast concluded with a new segment, The Treasures of China. The place featured today was Suzhou Market Street is at the Rear Lake of the Summer Palace in northwestern Beijing. Host Jeffrey Bingham Mead visited Suzhou Market Street in September 2015 with an instructor from Beijing Sihai Confucius Academy and describe this place and his experience.
SHOW #27: AUGUST 6, 2016. Host Jeffrey Bingham Mead welcomed documentary photographer Hei Ming. The interview was recorded remotely at Chef Yu Restaurant in midtown Manhattan, New York City. He is nationally known as a visionary and an accomplished photographer in his native China -but he is no ordinary cameraman. His images of average Chinese people are coupled with rich, imaginative and compelling stories that document the lives around them. Since 1997 Hei Ming has published a fine portfolio of photographic albums, all focusing on everyday people of all kinds in China. Mead was joined by Liming Guan of The China Press who translated Hei Ming’s Chinese language comments to English. Hei Ming describes himself as “a man who captures real life with his camera rather than a photographic artist.”On the Treasures of China segment we learned about the Imperial Vault of Heaven located in Beijing's Temple of Heaven, and ended with a Confucius Moment.
SHOW #28: AUGUST 13, 2016. This was an encore broadcast of the May 7, 2016 show. On that day we featured a special interview with Parkway Elementary School fifth-grader Brandon Yu and his mother. He caught our attention in the Greenwich Time newspaper. At the time of the original broadcast Brandon was due to compete in the National History Bee contest.
SHOW #29: AUGUST 20, 2016. This is an encore broadcast from May 28, 2016 featuring Ms. Meixu Huang of East China Normal University (ECNU) in China. Ms. Huang is the director of the Global education Center's International Student Office at ECNU. In the original broadcast she spoke to us from her office in Shanghai. Ms. Huang briefed us on ECNU's process of internationalizing its academic programs, establishing global strategic cooperative partnerships, and elaborated for us on the benefits of internationalization. Additionally, Meixu Huang commented on how higher education is a form of diplomatic policy through university-to-university investment as well as its role in the improvement of people-to-people relationships between Chinese, Americans and other nationalities.
SHOW #30: AUGUST 27, 2016. Guest Tony Hwang was born in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, educated at Cornell University, became a residential real estate agent with Coldwell Banker. He was also elected as the first Chinese American to the State Senate of the Connecticut General Assembly representing the 34th District. Senator Hwang shared with Mead and the listening audience the story of a remarkable journey that started in China, then to upstate New York where he learned English -and how to deal with snow-, working in his family's restaurant in Syracuse, later graduating from Cornell University followed by a career in executive search and real estate. Immigrating to a new country comes with great challenges and opportunities. We learned about what inspired and motivated Hwang to persist and succeed, the emergence of Asian Americans in American governance, and Hwang's perspectives on the important bilateral relationship between America and China.
SHOW #31: SEPTEMBER 3, 2016. Host Jeffrey Bingham Mead welcomed Douglas Chong. He is a Chinese cultural historian, consultant and director of the Hawaii Chinese History Center in the heart of Honolulu’s Chinatown where Host Mead caught up with him in August. As the world pauses in 2016 to observe the 150th anniversary of Dr. Sun Yat-sen’s birth we wanted to hear from someone who could illuminate the audience about Sun’s formative years in Hawaii. As the leader of China's 1911 revolution, Sun Yat-sen inspired and organized a movement that overthrew the Qing Dynasty that reigned over China for nearly three hundred years. Born near Macau on November 12, 1866, Sun moved to Honolulu, Hawaii after completing his primary school education to live with his elder brother Sun Mei. Sun Yat-sen studied English, mathematics and science at Iolani School in 1882 and received a prize for his outstanding performance in English from King David Kalakaua. Sun later enrolled at Oahu College, now Punahou School, before returning to China. Douglas Chong is a renowned authority on Dr. Sun Yat-sen -especially Sun's formative years in Hawaii.
SHOW #32: SEPTEMBER 10, 2016. Host Jeffrey Bingham Mead welcomed Ms. Danielle Chang, founder of LUCKYRICE (WWW.LUCKYRICE.COM) in New York City. She created LUCKYRICE "to follow her lofty, yet life-long, passion to create a platform for Asian culture." According to LUCKYRICE.COM, ”Her career has always revolved around pop culture, story telling and entrepreneurship.” Danielle began her career at The New York Times and later founded and published the lifestyle magazine Simplycity. After earning her Masters degree in Critical Theory from Columbia University, she was a Professor of Contemporary Art History as well as a curator of emerging art. Most recently, she was the CEO of Vivienne Tam, a fashion company and, prior to that, the Managing Director of Assouline, a French creative advertising agency. Instead of the visual arts, her focus today is the culinary arts, an appetizing and universal lens through which to share stories about our current obsession with Asian culture. The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) asked, "How lucky can you get?" WSJ went on to point out that, "In the case of LUCKYRICE, there's seemingly no end to the good fortune. What started in 2010 as a New York-only event has morphed into something of a national powerhouse, with additional festivals in Los Angeles, Miami, San Francisco and Las Vegas." The audience learned about the LUCKYRICE Festival, the mission of LUCKYRICE, her latest cookbook, the LUCKYRICE Agency, and much more.
SHOW #33: SEPTEMBER 17, 2016. Mid-Autumn Festival was celebrated on-air. Host Mead welcome Mr. Howard Liao and his associates of the Chinese American Heritage Association of Fairfield County, Connecticut. (CAHAI.org) The audience learned about CAHAI, its mission, goals and activities -as well get an explanation of the Mid-Autumn Festival from those who know best. CAHAI held a first-ever Mid-Autumn Festival on October 1 at Jennings Beach in the Town of Fairfield, Connecticut 1:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m. There was a talent show, music, singing, dancing performances, traditional Chinese festival foods such as moon cakes and wonderful delicacies, hands-on activities, arts, crafts and games, too. For more information go to www.cahai.org.
SHOW #34: SEPTEMBER 24, 2016. Host Jeffrey Bingham Mead welcomed Ms. Willow Weilan Hai, the director of the China Institute Gallery, to the Conversations segment. She is also the chief curator of Art in a Time of Chaos: Masterworks from Six Dynasties China, 3rd-6th Centuries due to open to the public on Friday, September 30. This was the inaugural exhibition at the China Institute of America’s new headquarters in Lower Manhattan in New York City. The exhibition is the first major survey to examine Chinese culture and its international influence during the Six Dynasties period, as well as the relationship between the two dominant political centers in the South and North. I had the pleasure of previewing this remarkable, not-to-be-missed exhibition in August at the Honolulu Museum of Art in Hawaii. I found myself contemplating Chinese history and culture in a new way. Many layers of history and culture came alive for me -and I am certain you’ll feel the same way. The Six Dynasties period, from the 3rd to 6th centuries, was one of the most dynamic periods in Chinese art history, akin to the European Renaissance in the impact it had on artistic creativity and the celebration of individual expression in China. Over the past twenty years, archaeological excavations have unearthed extraordinary works of art, forever altering scholarly understanding of this chaotic, four-hundred-year period of political upheaval, geographical division and civil strife. Not only was the Six Dynasties period a pivotal link in the historical timeline between the Han and Tang dynasties, but it is increasingly recognized for having laid the foundation for Chinese artistic standards.
SHOW #35: OCTOBER 1, 2016. On Host Mead’s recent trip to Hawaii he experienced the vanished world of imperial China through vividly-captured photographs developed on glass plates through an incredible exhibit, China Through the Lens of John Thomson 1869-1872 at the East-West Center Gallery in Honolulu. The guest on this broadcast was Michael Schuster, curator of the gallery and of this exhibit. John Thomson was a pioneer in photojournalism and one of the most influential photographers of his generation. Michael Schuster is a specialist on arts in Asia and the Pacific. He served as folk arts coordinator of the Hawaii State Foundation on Culture and the Arts. Schuster has studied Asia Pacific arts for 30 years, training with master artists from India, Burma, Indonesia and Japan. He has served on panels for the National Endowment for the Arts and the Western States Arts Federation. He currently serves on the advisory panel for community outreach at Shangri La, owned by the Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art. He holds a Ph.D. in Asian theater from the University of Hawaii. Established in 1960, by Congress, the East-West Center promotes better relations and understanding among the people and nations of the United States of America, Asia, and the Pacific through cooperative study, research and dialogue. The broadcast also featured the weekly Confucius Moment, news of the Mid-Autumn Festival at Jennings Beach, Fairfield, Connecticut, hosted by the Chinese American Heritage Association (www.cahai.org), and the opening of the riveting Art in a Time of Chaos: Masterworks from Six Dynasties China 3rd-6th Centuries at the China Institute in America in Lower Manhattan, New York City.
SHOW #36: OCTOBER 8, 2016. Host Jeffrey Bingham Mead welcomed on the Conversations segment China’s most renowned Judaic scholar in the modern era, Professor Xu Xin of Nanjing University. The broadcast also featured the weekly Confucius Moment. The Treasures of China segment profiled the Shanghai Jewish Refugees Museum. Go to this link to learn more about Professor Xu Xin: http://marvelsofchina.blogspot.com/2016/10/coming-up-next-chinas-renowned-judaic.html
SHOW #37: OCTOBER 15, 2016. On this broadcast Host Mead welcomed Mr. Luc Bendza from his home in Beijing. Growing up in the Gabonese Republic in Africa, Luc Bendza dreamed of becoming a Kung Fu Chinese martial artist -a dream that brought him to China. In this show Bendza shared with the audience how his dream became an extraordinary reality. Today he is a well-known Wushu athlete, actor and artist. He shared with the audience what wushu is, why it is so popular and how almost anyone can benefit from this unique Chinese martial art. The broadcast featured the weekly Confucius Moment and the latest destination in the 'Treasures of China' segment.
SHOW #38: OCTOBER 22, 2016. Host Jeffrey Bingham Mead welcomed Professor Franklin Ng of Fresno State University, California. The audience heard about his forty-plus years in Asian American studies programs and his thoughts on Asian immigration to the USA and more.The show also featured the weekly Confucius Moment, and on Treasures of China the renowned Marco Polo Bridge was spotlighted.
SHOW #39: OCTOBER 29, 2016. On Conversations Host Mead welcomed Ms. Karen Frederick, curator of the Greenwich Historical Society in Connecticut. Our pathways to the Pacific Rim took us back in time to late 19th and early 20th century Japan and America. An Eye to the East: The Inspiration of Japan is the Society's newest exhibit. Through paintings, prints, photographs, carvings, ceramics and textiles, the exhibit examines the influence of Japanese art and culture on America's first American Impressionist art colony at the Bush Holley House (built circa 1725) in the village of Cos Cob. The crafts featured all trace their origins to Chinese civilization. The Treasures of China segment spotlighted the internationally famous Bund in Shanghai. The audience also heard more words of wisdom on the Confucius Moment.
SHOW #40: NOVEMBER 5, 2016. On this broadcast Host Mead welcomed Hawaii Filmmaker Robin Lung to the Conversations segment. The audience heard about Lung’s documentary film 'Finding Kukan,' which opened on they same day at the Hawaii International Film Festival and would shortly have its North America premiere at DOCNYC in New York City. The broadcast also featured the weekly Confucius Moment and Treasures of China segments. The Community Calendar segment started today with news of when and where audience members could see Finding Kukan.
SHOW #41: NOVEMBER 12, 2016. This broadcast was on the same weekend as Veteran’s Day, which is a federal holiday throughout the USA. It annually honors living veterans of the military. On this broadcast Host Mead welcomed Dr. Gwendolyn Gong live from Hong Kong and her daughter Devereux Gong Powers from California. They and Dr. John H. Powers are the co-authors of The Mississippi Chinese Veterans of World War II: A Delta Tribute. The broadcast also featured our weekly Confucius Moment and Treasures of China segment. A copy of this book was provided to Beijing AmBridge in the last week of November.
SHOW #42: NOVEMBER 19, 2016. Host Jeffrey Bingham Mead welcomed Mr. Harrison Ho of the Admission Network of Chinese Universities and Colleges (ANCUC), a professional online network that links international students with Chinese universities and colleges: "In order to promote the mutual understanding, cooperation and exchanges in various fields between China and the US, the Chinese government has set up this Sino-American Cultural Exchange Scholarship program to sponsor American students to study and conduct research in Chinese universities. Now, dozens of designated Chinese universities offer a wide variety of academic programs in Science, Engineering, Agriculture, Medicine, Economics, Legal Studies, Management, Education, History, Literature, Philosophy, and Fine Arts for scholarship recipients at all levels.” Host Mead also welcomed Retired Brigadier General Frances I. Mossman, President and Founder of International Coordinated Systems LLC based in Honolulu, Hawaii. The unique approach developed and used by ICoord.Systems enables businesses, government agencies and NGOs to achieve sustainable, optimum solutions for international conflict prevention, mitigation, resolution and management.
SHOW #43: NOVEMBER 26, 2016. This broadcast coincided with the annual American Thanksgiving holiday -and biggest travel season of the year throughout the USA. Host Mead welcomed Dr. Li Bo of Xinyuan Hospital and the Chinese Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences. Dr. Li educated the audience about traditional Chinese medicine and medical practices -including his time in the African nation of Tanzania at Muhimibili National Hospital. The broadcast also featured the Confucius Moment, and took listeners to another exciting destination on Treasures of China: the Hall of Supreme Harmony in Beijing's Forbidden City. We shared news of the first snowfall in Beijing this season, too. Also shared was news of the Sino-American Cultural Exchange Scholarship Program that sponsors American students to study and conduct research in Chinese universities.
SHOW #44: DECEMBER 3, 2016. Host Mead welcomed Mr. Ling Kai Tor, a Chinese podcaster originally from Beijing but who now lives in New York City. His podcast is called Antique Shanghai Pop Music and features music from 1930s and 1940s Shanghai. Ling says, “…antique Shanghai pop music has the appeal to a certain sentimentality that is not only understood through the context of history; it can be thought as a discontinued school of aesthetics, a lost craft.” Shanghai was a city like no other in China -or the rest of the world- in the 1930s and 1940s. It is a fascinating podcast featuring the music of that era with his commentary. Featured also were weekly words of wisdom on the Confucius Moment, and on Treasures of China the audience heard about the Shenyang Palace Museum.
SHOW #45: DECEMBER 10, 2016
Host Mead welcomed back a former guest, Professor Xu Xin of Nanjing University. Professor Xu enlightened the audience about Ho Feng-Shan, a Chinese diplomat in Vienna. He risked his own life and career during World War II to save thousands of European Jews fleeing the Holocaust. Professor Xu is the founder and director of the Diane and Guilford Glazer Institute for Jewish and Israel Studies at Nanjing University. He has been a scholar of Judaism, Jewish culture and the history of Chinese Jews since 1986. Among his many accomplishments, Xu led a team of scholars on an abridged Chinese translation of the Encyclopedia Judaica and served as its editor -a book that was used by Chinese diplomats when China and Israel opened diplomatic relations in 1992. Xu was also the first Chinese scholar to introduce modern Hebrew literature to Chinese readers. he has also created Masters and doctoral programs on Jewish history and culture. Xu has served as a visiting professor and taught at Chicago State University; Florida Community College and Montclair State University. He was a guest speaker at Hebrew University of Jerusalem (1988) and at Tel Aviv University (1993 and 1998). In 1995 he was a fellow at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion and a visiting scholar at Harvard University’s Center for Jewish Studies (1996 and 1998). In 2011 Professor Xu appeared at the Asia Society in New York City, where he reflected on the Jewish communities in Kaifeng, Harbin and Shanghai. Xu launched 12 Nanjing testimonies at the University of Southern California (USC) Shoah Foundation which is dedicated to making audio-visual interviews with survivors and witnesses of the Holocaust and other genocides. His activities have been widely reported by such newspapers and magazines as Chicago Tribune, Jerusalem Post, New York Times, Harvard University Gazette, The Jerusalem Report, The Jewish Week, The Forward, China's Talents, Xinhua Daily, Modern Express, and China Daily.In 1996, Professor Xu was awarded a Special Government Allowance by the State Council of the People's Republic of China. Xu's essay on Modern Hebrew Literature won a Second Place of Excellent essays on Social Sciences by the Bureau of Higher Education of Jiangsu province in 1994. Currently he serves as President of the China Judaic Studies Association and vice-president of China Association for Middle East Studies. Professor Xu Xin joined the broadcast live by phone from Nanjing University, China.
Host Mead welcomed back a former guest, Professor Xu Xin of Nanjing University. Professor Xu enlightened the audience about Ho Feng-Shan, a Chinese diplomat in Vienna. He risked his own life and career during World War II to save thousands of European Jews fleeing the Holocaust. Professor Xu is the founder and director of the Diane and Guilford Glazer Institute for Jewish and Israel Studies at Nanjing University. He has been a scholar of Judaism, Jewish culture and the history of Chinese Jews since 1986. Among his many accomplishments, Xu led a team of scholars on an abridged Chinese translation of the Encyclopedia Judaica and served as its editor -a book that was used by Chinese diplomats when China and Israel opened diplomatic relations in 1992. Xu was also the first Chinese scholar to introduce modern Hebrew literature to Chinese readers. he has also created Masters and doctoral programs on Jewish history and culture. Xu has served as a visiting professor and taught at Chicago State University; Florida Community College and Montclair State University. He was a guest speaker at Hebrew University of Jerusalem (1988) and at Tel Aviv University (1993 and 1998). In 1995 he was a fellow at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion and a visiting scholar at Harvard University’s Center for Jewish Studies (1996 and 1998). In 2011 Professor Xu appeared at the Asia Society in New York City, where he reflected on the Jewish communities in Kaifeng, Harbin and Shanghai. Xu launched 12 Nanjing testimonies at the University of Southern California (USC) Shoah Foundation which is dedicated to making audio-visual interviews with survivors and witnesses of the Holocaust and other genocides. His activities have been widely reported by such newspapers and magazines as Chicago Tribune, Jerusalem Post, New York Times, Harvard University Gazette, The Jerusalem Report, The Jewish Week, The Forward, China's Talents, Xinhua Daily, Modern Express, and China Daily.In 1996, Professor Xu was awarded a Special Government Allowance by the State Council of the People's Republic of China. Xu's essay on Modern Hebrew Literature won a Second Place of Excellent essays on Social Sciences by the Bureau of Higher Education of Jiangsu province in 1994. Currently he serves as President of the China Judaic Studies Association and vice-president of China Association for Middle East Studies. Professor Xu Xin joined the broadcast live by phone from Nanjing University, China.
SHOW #46: DECEMBER 17, 2016. Host Mead welcomed Mr. Corey Tong of San Francisco and Honolulu. Tong is a producer of a new documentary film Forever, Chinatown. His films have screened on PBS and other international broadcasters or theatrical venues in over 20 countries. In addition to being a film and media producer, Corey Tong is a public relations and programming acquisitions consultant, guest lecturer and producers representative. He also has a professional background in architecture and design. Tong is the former director of the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival and former IFFCON director of Special Projects (co-production, development market). Forever, Chinatown is the story of unknown, self taught 81-year-old artist Frank Wong. He has spent the past four decades re-creating is fading memories by building romantic, extraordinarily detailed miniature models of the San Francisco Chinatown rooms of his youth. This film takes the journey of one individual and maps it to a rapidly changing urban neighborhood from the 1940s to the present day. A meditation on memory, community, and preserving one's own legacy, Wong’s three-dimensional miniature dioramas become rare portals into a historic neighborhood and a window to the artist’s filtered, romanticized memories and emotional struggles. Forever, Chinatown is co-production of Good Medicine Picture Company and Independent Television Service (ITVS) presented in association with the Center for Asian American Media (CAAM), with funding provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB).
SHOW #47: DECEMBER 24, 2016. On the Christmas Eve December 24 broadcast Mead welcomed back Douglas Chong from Hawaii. Chong is the president of the Hawaii Chinese History Center in Honolulu's Chinatown. He is a noted Chinese community leader and cultural historian in Hawaii. A fifth-generation Chinese American, Douglas grew up steeped in Chinese tradition with his family who is been in Hawaii for nine generations. His publications are products of living and oral history balanced with academic research and his rich knowledge of the Chinese language and history. The audience learned from him about the Zhongshan people of Guangdong province in southern China – which is where most Chinese Americans in Hawaii trace their roots. Also featured were the Treasures of China and Confucius Moment segments.
SHOW #48: DECEMBER 31, 2016. The final Year 2016 broadcast featured an encore interview from October 15 with Mr. Luc Bendza. He comes from a large family in the Gabonese Republic in Central Africa. As a teenager Luc Bendza dreamed of becoming a master of Kung Fu, of disarming his adversaries and enemies with lightning speed and skill, of flying through the air like Chinese martial artists have been doing for untold centuries. In 1996 Luc Bendza earned a Master's degree specializing in Wushu from Beijing Sports Univesity after earning a Bachelors in physical education. He was a student at the internationally famous Shaolin Temple, Shaolin Traditional Wushu School. Bendza is the founder and since 1992 the president of the Gabon Wushu Association. He is the vice-chairman of the Traditional Committee of the International Wushu Federation. In 2010 he was cultural ambassador of the United African Pavilion at the World Expo in Shanghai. He's been a successful actor in numerous films and television shows such as Twelve Dragons, Yongchun Zodiac and others. From his home in Beijing of over 30 years, the audience heard about Luc Bendza's early life, about the Chinese marital art known as Wushu and its core styles, the benefits of Wushu training and practice, the characteristics of a successful Wushu athlete, and how he turned his mastery of Wushu into a successful movie and film career in China.
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