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Pieces of China: James Fallows on the Cirrus SR22—and China’s Aviation Ambitions

Feb 25, 2021

Cirrus SR22 Not many Americans have actually flown a small plane in China. But James Fallows, national correspondent and former Beijing correspondent for The Atlantic, has, and it was a hair-raising experience. A life-long aviation aficionado, Fallows will share the harrowing flight he co-piloted on the Cirrus SR22, a four-seat prop plane, from Hunan province’s […]

Recap: Pieces of China (S3, E4): Peggy Wang on Wang Guangyi’s Great Criticism, 2.4.21

Feb 9, 2021

Pieces of China is an online series using objects to tell the story of China. Season 3, Episode 4 takes a look at Wang Guangyi’s Great Criticism series, which juxtaposes revolutionary images with the Coca Cola and other western commercial logos. The series has become an iconic representation of China’s contemporary art movement and been […]

Recap: Pieces of China (S3, E3): Emile de Bruijn on Chinese Wallpaper, 1.28.21

Jan 28, 2021

Pieces of China is an online series using objects to tell the story of China. Season 3, Episode 3 explores a woodblock-printed wallpaper from 1750 (which survives in three magnificent British houses), that tells the story of the beginnings of China’s trade with the West, as well as the impact of Chinese design from the […]

Pieces of China: Emile de Bruijn on Chinese Wallpaper

Jan 28, 2021

Where does that exquisite De Gournay Chinese-inspired wallpaper originally come from? China, of course—dating back to the 1700s in the workshops of Suzhou. Join us as interiors expert and member of the British National Trust Emile de Bruijn takes us on a journey to examine a woodblock-printed wallpaper from 1750 (which survives in three magnificent […]

Recap: Pieces of China (S3, E2): Yale Curator Denise Leidy on the Sancai Glaze, 1.21.21

Jan 21, 2021

Pieces of China is an online series using objects to tell the story of China. Season 3, Episode 2 explores a beautiful form of Chinese pottery that represents the influence of China and its role as the center of cosmopolitan life at the crossroads of Eurasia at the time of the Tang Dynasty. Sancai (三彩), […]

Recap: Pieces of China (S3, E1): Miranda Brown on the Chinese Dumpling, 1.7.21

Jan 7, 2021

Pieces of China is an online series using objects to tell the story of China. Season 3, Episode 1– the season opener- explored the history of the most iconic Chinese of foods: the dumpling. But, did you know that the dumpling, a world-renowned symbol of Chinese cuisine, did not originate in China? Cultural historian Miranda […]

Recap: Pieces of China (S2, E5), Ronald Knapp on China’s Oldest Covered Bridge, 12.3.20

Dec 3, 2020

Pieces of China is an online series using objects to tell the story of China. Season 2, Episode 5– the season closer- looked at the Rulong Bridge, Qingyuan county, Zhejiang, which dates to 1625, China’s oldest woven arch bridge. Why should we care about this bridge in a remote rural hamlet of China? As it […]

Recap: Pieces of China (S2, E4), Barbara Finamore on the “Beijing Declaration”—and China’s Greener Future, 10.29.20

Oct 29, 2020

Pieces of China is an online series using objects to tell the story of China. Season 2, Episode 4 examined China’s history of environmental policy and its shifting commitment to sustainability over the last several decades. Barbara Finamore (BF) took participants back to 1991 when she boldly snuck past Chinese security guards to watch a […]

Recap: Pieces of China (S2, E3), Ambassador Winston Lord on Secret Trip to China that Changed History, 10.8.20

Oct 8, 2020

Pieces of China is an online series using objects to tell the story of China. Season 2, Episode 3 was a special one as we traveled back to 1971 with former Ambassador and Assistant Secretary of State Winston Lord-then Special Assistant to the U.S. National Security Advisor- as he discussed the secret trip as the […]

Recap: Pieces of China (S2, E2), Jindong Cai on the Concert that Promoted Dialogue, 9.24.20

Sep 25, 2020

Pieces of China is an online series using objects to tell the story of China. In season 2, episode 2, we explored the 1997 concert that promoted dialogue in China, with conductor Jindong Cai of the US-China Music Institute at Bard Conservatory. It was 1997, and Chinese conductor Jindong Cai wanted to add something challenging […]