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Past Events |
Talk by Dr Anne Witchard
preceded by book launch
老舍在伦敦
Date: Wednesday, 17th April
Book Launch: 5.30pm-6pm, Arthur Probsthain Bookshop
Talk: 6.30pm-8pm, Room B102, Brunei Gallery, SOAS, Univeristy of London, Russell Square
Lao She is revered as one of China’s great modern writers. His life and work have been the subject of volumes of critique, analysis and study. However, the four years the young aspiring writer spent in London between 1924 and 1929 have largely been overlooked. Anne Witchard, a specialist in the modernist milieu of London between the wars, reveals Lao She's encounter with British high modernism and literature from Dickens to Conrad to Joyce.
Free entry for Meridian, SACU and SOAS CSSA members
£5 entry to talk for non-members
To book a place, please reply your name and membership status to us.
Our Email: themeridiansociety@gmail.com
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Dr Anne Witchard
Anne Witchard is lecturer in English literature in the Department of English, Linguistics and Cultural Studies at Westminister University, and the author of Lao She in London (2012). Her previous publications include Thomas Burke’s Dark Chinoiserie (2009), and she co-edited with Lawrence Phillips London Gothic (2010)
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Between 1918 and 1924 Lao She was an administrator and faculty member in several primary and secondary schools in Beijing and Tianjin. In 1924 he went to London to teach Chinese at SOAS (then the School of Oriental Studies), London University, where he closely observed and enjoyed London life, and absorbed the literary heritage, especially of Charles Dickens, and contemporary writers, in the heart of the Bloomsbury literati. There he wrote his first published novel, The Life of Old Zhang, in 1926. |
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The Challenges facing China: Today and Future
Book Talk by Barnaby Powell
Time: 6.45pm to 8.30pm
Date: Tuesday, 22nd January, 2013
Venue: Room G50, SOAS, University of London, Russell Square, London WC1H 0XG
Free entry for Meridian, SACU and SOAS CSSA members
£5 donation on entry for non-members
No Need to Book, but please reply if you plan to attend.
The talk will be based on the recent publication of a third book by Barnaby Powell and Alex Mackinnon, 2018 - China goes Critical, which takes the events that have shaped modern China over the past 150 years and assesses whether its government can match the vast expectations of its people with much needed reforms.
It asks the question: does history suggest that China is entering a critical phase and transition? The book suggests that President Xi has five years to direct the energies of the Chinese people towards a better future, if a critical revolution is to be averted.
Barnaby Powell is a Chinese son-in-law and a veteran of development banking in East and South-East Asia. His previous books with Alex Mackinnon are China Calling: a foot in the global door (Palgrave Macmillan, 2008) and China Counting: how the West was lost (Palgrave Macmillan, 2010) |
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The Meridian Society: Chinese New Year Event
Lunch and Film Show "The Opium War"
From 1pm, Sunday 10th Feb,
The Meridian Society wishes all our members and friends a Happy Chinese New Year!
The day's festivities will start with a sumptuous lunch at Hunan General's Mansion Restaurant (menu below). This will be followed by the screening of "The Opium Wars" by Xie Jin at BFI Southbank, marking the 4th year of our collaboration with the BFI (details below).
Programme:
1.00-2.30 pm Lunch at Hunan General's Mansion Restaurant
3.15-5.45 pm Screening of "The Opium Wars" at BFI Southbank
Lunch menu:
4 Cold dishes: 花生米(Fried Peanuts)，五香牛肉(Five-spiced Beef)，黄瓜蘸酱(Cucumber with dip)，红油猪耳(Pig's Ears in Chilli Oil)
8 Hot dishes: 清蒸鲈鱼(Steamed Sea Bass)，干锅鸭(Dry Port Duck)，铁板牛柳(Sizzling Beef Fillet)，千叶豆腐(Thousand layer tofu)，豉椒鸡(Spicy Chicken in Chilli and Black Bean Sauce)，红烧肉(Mao's Braised Pork)，大盆长豆角(Fried Runner Beans)，蒜蓉小白菜(Garlic Pak Choi)
Soup: 排骨汤(Rib Soup)
Tea, Rice and fresh fruit will be served.
Venue: Hunan General's Mansion Restaurant (湘军府), 31 Bloomsbury Way, WC1A 2SA (Nearest Tube Station: Holborn/Tottenham Court Road)
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Film show:
Legendary director Xie Jin (with writer Ann Hui) produced this spectacular account of the first Opium War. A shameful period in British history, in which British sea power was utilised in support of free trade – in this case opium – culminated in the seizure of Hong Kong. Though the film received state support, international critics and historians felt that its treatment of the subject was accurate and even-handed.
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| The film will be introduced by Peng Wenlan, chairperson of the Meridian Society, who was also UK line producer of the film in 1996. She will be giving her personal insights into the film's production, its reception, the director's vision and the UK actors involved |
Venue: BFI Southbank, Belvedere Road, South Bank, London, SE1 8XT. Nearest train/tube stations: Waterloo (South Bank exit); Embankment and Charing Cross (cross Hungerford Bridge to South Bank).
Event prices:
Meal + film: £28 (Meridian Society and SACU members only); £34 (non-members)
Meal only: £25 members; £30 non-members
Film only: £5 members; £6 non-members
Booking your place:
Reservations via email by 28th January to themeridiansociety@gmail.com, stating number of places and type (member/non-member) of booking.
Your cheque should be made out to The Meridian Society for the appropriate amount and sent to: The Meridian Society, c/o the Treasurer, 5 Mildmay Street, London N1 4AB, or taken by hand to Arthur Probsthain Bookshop, 41, Great Russell Street, London WC1B 3PE no later than 31st January, 2010. If you wish to make a payment online, please let us know via email and we will send you our account details.
We wish you and your family a very happy Chinese New Year of Snake!
Other related events:
10th February: Chinese New Year Parade
The Chinese New Year parade in central London will be held on the same day, starting at 10.30am from the West End and ending at Trafalgar Square at noon.
9th-11th February: Season of Chinese films
BFI Southbank is showing a season of Chinese films over the New Year period.
Tickets can be booked via their Box Office For details of the films, please go to Chinese New Year under the Events page on the following link - https://whatson.bfi.org.u
The Meridian Society Christmas Lunch and Talk
As we enter into the Christmas season once again, we are holding a Christmas lunch with a talk by Prof. Patricia Laurence, a distinguished scholar in English literature (with a special interest in the Bloomsbury writers and Chinese literature) from City University, New York. She will give a pre-lunch talk "Bloomsbury and the Crescent Moon: A 1930s tale of Chinese & English literary romance".
Our venue will be Hunan General's Mansion Restaurant (湘军府) near the British Museum.This is a very pleasant restaurant serving Hunanese and other Chinese dishes.
Time: 12:00, Saturday, 15th December
Venue: Hunan General's Mansion Restaurant (湘军府), 31 Bloomsbury Way, WC1A 2SA (Nearest Tube Station: Holborn/Tottenham Court Road)
Menu: Chilli Fish香辣鱼, Dry Pot Hand-torn Chicken干锅手撕鸡, Sweetcorn with Pine Nuts松子玉米, Sizzling Squid铁板鱿鱼 , Fried Aubergine and Runner Beans茄子豆角, Fried Cabbage with Red Chilli手撕包菜, Fried Pork with Chilli辣椒炒肉, Fillet Steak with Black Bean & Pepper豉椒牛柳, and Rib Soup排骨汤. Rice and fresh fruit will be served.
Talk by Dr Mary Tiffen
preceded by book launch
赫德爵士的朋友们
| Sir Robert Hart, Inspector-General of the Chinese Imperial Customs, 1863-1908 had a hectic career in the service of the declining Qing dynasty. It ruined his family life, but his friendship with three generations of Carrall women partially relieved his loneliness. A cannon ball just missed Emma in 1854, allowing her to meet Hart in 1858 and to ask for a Customs post for her son, Jim Carrall. Jim and his wife Frances survived a horrific French attack on Fuzhou in 1884 and their daughters visited Hart in Peking just before the Boxer rebellion of 1900. Letters, diaries, and over seventy photographs bring nineteenth-century expatriate China vividly to life. |
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Date: Wednesday, 7th November
Book Launch: 6pm-6.30pm, Arthur Probsthain Bookshop
Talk: 7pm-9pm, Room G3, SOAS, University of London, Russell Square
Venues:
Arthur Probsthain Bookshop
41 Great Russell Street
London WC1B
(opposite British Museum)
Room G3, SOAS, Univerisity of London
Russell Square
London WC1H 0XG
Entry: Free, plus book discount, for members of Meridian Society, SOAS CSSA and SACU; £5 donation for non-members
Dr Mary Tiffen read history at Cambridge University, but after a Ph.D at the London School of Economics, made her main career in examining the social and economic aspects of agricultural change in Africa and the Middle East. She is best known as the leader of a team examining change in Machakos District, Kenya, 1930 to 1990. Now in retirement, she has been examining her own family background, and found a fascinating story of her connection over three maternal generations with an outstanding Ulster man who was head of the Chinese Imperial Maritime Customs from 1863 to 1908.
THE SCRAMBLE FOR CHINA
a talk by Professor Robert Bickers
preceded by book launch
Date: Thursday, 13th September
Time: 7.00-8.30 pm
Venue: To be confirmed
Entry: Members of The Meridian Society and SACU free
Non-members £5 donation
Registration: themeridiansociety@gmail.com
Robert Bickers obtained his PhD at SOAS, University of London. He is Professor of History at Bristol University. His publications include Empire Made Me: An Englishman Adrift in Shanghai; Britain in China: Community and Colonialism, 1900-49; Picturing China, 1870-1950: Photographs from Bristol Collections; The Boxers, China and the World ed. with R.G Tiedermann)
His latest book, The Scramble for China: Foreign Devils in the Qing Empire, 1832-1914, covers the period of upheaval in China's modern history, when European powers invaded and controlled Chinese territory, pioneered by merchants, traders, missionaries, East India Company officials, military adventurers and finally gunboat naval officers and seamen. This was the quest to open up China to foreign trade, prising open a free market against the restraints and restrictions of the Qing Dynasty Manchu rulers. The tool was opium imports in exchange for tea, silk and other Chinese luxuries and the method was war, starting with the first Opium War of 1839-1842.
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This talk will be preceded by book launch at Arthur Probsthain Bookshop
Time: 6.00 - 6.30 pm.
Venue: 41 Great Russell Street, London WC1B |
CHINA TOUR OCTOBER 2012
THE FOOTSTEPS OF THE LONG MARCH
Tour details now available.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE DETAILS (Word Doc)
CLICK HERE FOR BOOKING FORM
MERIDIAN SOCIETY AGM
Date: 17th July
Time: 6pm
Venue: Khalili Lecture Theatre, School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS),
Thornhaugh Street, Russell Square, London WC1H 0XG.
FOLLOWED BY THREE FILMS FROM "RUN CHINA RUN"
These documentary films look at the "aftershock" of 2008 Beijing Olympics, on what Beijing has gained and lost.
Xie Jingjing (Christina), Film Curator of Chinese Visual Festival, will be introducing these films at the event.
Alert in Beijing 北京的警惕
Hu Tingting/ 2008/10min
胡婷婷/2008/10分钟
With a population of more than 17 million in Beijing, security during the Olympics was of prime importance. There were over 80,000 volunteers assisting in maintaining security and order during the games, scattered over the vast city.
Life Carries On 平静的生活
Zhou Houheng/2008/10min
周侯衡/2008/10分钟
On 8th August, 2008, the Beijing Olympics started with the grandest Opening Ceremony. Under the Bell Tower, Grandpa Han taught Taichi as he did every day, his life not much different from the time before the Olympics. On the day of the Opening Ceremony, tourists from both within China and overseas all crowded in under the Bell tower.
Bachelor Mountain 光棍
Yu Guangyi/2011/100 min
于广义/2011/100分钟
In the forest of Heilongjiang Province, in the far north of China, timber supplies have dwindled after a century of logging and most of the local men have lost their livelihoods. Meanwhile, the allure of better jobs in nearby cities has led to an outflow of local women, resulting in a "bachelor mountain" populated by legions of lonely, impoverished, single men.
Living in a world of extreme loneliness, San Liangzi, a forty-six year old unemployed logger who lost his job and wife twelve years ago, has grown used to talking to himself. He has been secretly in love with Meizi ,the only single woman in the village for over ten years, and doing unpaid chores for her has brought him the most pleasure in his life. He enjoys the illusion of love，which gives him warmth in such a tough environment and enables his soul to escape the harshness of reality. But his girl will never accept his love because she doesn't like men....
Xie Jingjing, Film Curator of Chinese Visual Festival
Xie Jingjing graduated with a MA degree in English Literature from Guangdong University of Foreign Studies. Before moving to London in 2009, she worked as the Screening Programmer for the only national Chinese documentary festival, Guangzhou International Documentary Festival, for four years. In 2008, she programmed over 110 films to be screened in 5 major commercial cinemas for the festival and it was the largest documentary screening event in China so far. She was the film curator and project manager of the 1st London Chinese Visual Festival. Her successful film programme in the 1st CVF has attracted interests among various institutes and was invited to programme for the BFI's 2012 Chinese New Year documentary session. She was recently invited as a guest speaker for a Chinese documentary screening at a recent Chinese theme event in London, China Inside Out, organi sed by English Pen.
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TIGER HEAD, SNAKE TAILS – A TALK BY JONATHAN FENBY
preceded by book launch
Date: 30th May 2012 (Wednesday)
Time: 7.00 – 8.30 pm
Venue: 41 Great Russell Street, London WC1B (Opposite British Museum
Jonathan Fenby is the author of Chiang Kai-shek and the China he Lost (2005), the Penguin History of Modern China - 1850-2009 (2009) amongst other books. He was a former editor of The Observer and South China Morning Post in Hong Kong.
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An illustrated lecture by Dr Li Ruru on Modern Chinese Theatre, and a calligraphy demonstration by Mr Kam Sang Law of the Chinese Dragon and its symbolism and significance in Chinese Culture.
The Meridian Society, together with The Society for Anglo-Chinese Understanding (SACU), are pleased to organise a lecture on Modern Chinese Theatre by Dr Li Ruru, an expert in the performance of Beijing Opera.
Dr Li Ruru will be talking on the playwright Cao Yu and the significance of his works in the development of modern Chinese literature. Cao Yu was the great pioneer of modern Chinese drama, author of the famous play, Thunderstorm, 1933.
This joint-event will be held on Saturday 28th April.
The lecture will be followed by a demonstration on Chinese Calligraphy by Kam Sang Law. Law will demonstrate how the character, 'dragon' is written in different styles and he will bring along objects which have the dragon as motif.
Programme of the Day:
12:15pm
Lecture by Dr Li Ruru
1:30pm
Lunch (with viewing of video clips on Chinese drama)
2:30pm
Calligraphy Demonstration by Kam Sang Law
3:30pm
Promotion of the Meridian Society tour, 'In the Steps of the Long March' (October 2012) and SACU/Meridian tour, 'In the Footsteps of Joseph Needham' scheduled for 2013.
Dr Li Ruru
Dr Li Ruru is a senior lecturer at Leeds University (where she obtained her PhD degree) and is the step-daughter of Cao Yu, the pioneer of modern Chinese drama. Cao Yu was the author of the famous play, 'Thunderstorm' in 1933. Dr Li published a book in 2010 entitled, 'The Soul of Beijing Opera: Theatrical Creativity in the Changing World.' She recently organised an exhibition of Cao Yu's work in cities around the UK and at SOAS.
Kam Sang Law
Kam Sang Law has been practising calligraphy for 27 years. He studied under renowned masters and has developed his own style. His work has been selected for many prestigious exhibitions in Hong Kong, where he was Vice President of the Jiazi Society of Calligraphy.
Date: 28 April 2012 (Saturday)
Time: 12:15pm
Venue: National Union of Journalists (NUJ)
308-312
Gray's Inn Road
London WC1X 8DP
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Michael Freeman.
Tea Horse Road: China's ancient trade road to Tibet.
Join Michael Freeman on Tuesday, 13th March, for an illustrated talk with images of dramatic landscapes and amazing journey of the Tea Horse Road, China's ancient trade road to Tibet.
One of the longest and most dramatic trade routes of the ancient world, the Tea Horse Road carried a crucial exchange for 15 centuries between China and Tibet. China needed war horses to protect its northern borders, and Tibet could supply them. When the Tibetans discovered tea in the 7th century, it became a staple of their diet, but its origins are in southwest China, and they had to trade for it.
Michael Freeman, author and photographer of many books on Southeast Asia's ancient culture and peoples, spent two years compiling this visual record of dramatic landscapes, from the tea mountains of southern Yunnan and Sichuan to Tibet and beyond.
Sun Shuyun. The Long March
Date: 28th February 2012 (Tuesday)
Time: 6pm - 8pm
Talk: 6.30pm - 8pm
Venue: Camden Chinese Community Center, 9 Tavistock Place, London WC1H 9SN.
This is a free event, but please book places.
With free Chinese tea from 6pm
Shuyun has written about the founding myth of modern China, the testing march for survival of the Communist armies during the mid-1930s. Brought up and inspired by the stories of heroism, suffering and sacrifice, she retraced the route of the trek from the southern mountains of Jinggangshan to the arid hills of Yan'an in the northwestern province of Shaanxi, which became the Communist base during the war against Japanese occupation.
Sun Shuyun has penetratingly and critically explored the myths and stories of this epic historical episode, and interviewed many of the local people and veterans of those experiences, revealing many aspects which paint a more realistic and complicated picture than the officially promoted version of history.
This talk will provide a vivid background for those who are interested in following in the footsteps of the Long March with the next Meridian Society tour, and for all others more generally interested.
Sun Shuyun is the author of several other exploratory books on ancient and modern China: A Year in Tibet, and Ten Thousand Miles Without a Cloud, which recounts the historical tale of the journey of the Chinese Buddhist monk, Xuanzang, who travelled to India and back to bring the Buddhist sutras to China during the 7th Century. Sun Shuyun herself travelled to these places to experience life in Tibet and to explore the territories along the Buddhist sutra road
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Lunch & Film 午餐 电影
CHINESE NEW YEAR LUNCH & FILM SHOW
Saturday 4th February, 2012, marks the Year of the Dragon, one of the most potent symbols of Chinese culture, and The Meridian Society will be celebrating this in a fittingly reverential manner. We will begin our festivities with a sumptuous lunch consisting of 7 dishes + soup + rice + tea + fruit at New Loon Fung Restaurant, followed by a screening of the blockbuster epic 'Confucius' directed by Hu Mei and starring Hong Kong screen giant Chow Yun Fat at BFI Southbank (see introduction to film below).
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Synopsis of ' Confucius '
"Confucius"by Hu Mei
China; 125 mins, 4 Feb 14:10 NFT2
Set at the end of the Spring and Autumn Period, when civil war and social upheaval were violently bringing an end to the feudal system of the Zhou Dynasty, Hu Mei's biopic dramatises the life and belief of the legendary Chinese sage and shows the often difficult conversion of idea into action. Starring Hong Kong icon Chow Yun Fat, it features exquisitely colour-coded set design and costumes, impressive wide-screen spectacle and superb battle sequences |
Details of venues:
Venue for lunch: New Loon Fung Restaurant, 42-44 Gerrard Street, London W1D 5QG
Venue for film show: BFI Southbank, Belvedere Road, South Bank, London SE1 8XT |
Flamboyant Mr Chinnery (1774-1852)
An English Artist in India and ChinaThursday
Asia House - Thursday, 24 November
Exclusive guided tour by Dr Patrick Conner, curator of exhibition of paintings of China and lecture: China before Chinnery by Dr Frances Wood
Venue: Asia House, 63 New Cavendish Street, London WC1 7LP
Time: Convene at Asia House at 5.45 pm, Thursday 24th Nov. Guided tour of exhibition commences at 6 pm. Lecture begins at 6.45 pm
Nearest tube: Oxford Circus
George Chinnery is one of the most neglected British artists in his native country. Whilst there have been substantial exhibitions of his work in Lisbon (1995), Tokyo (1996), Hong Kong (2005) and recently in Macau (2010), there has been no public exhibition in Britain since the Arts Council show in 1957, and prior to that a retrospective at the Tate in 1932. This is the first loan exhibition of Chinnery's work in Britain for over 50 years
Chinnery spent the last fifty years of his life in India and on the China coast, where he died and lies buried, and almost all his best work was done in the East. In Calcutta, Canton and Macau he became something of an exotic creature himself – exuberant, droll, unpredictable, a man who relished his status as the oldest of old hands on the China coast.
At his best Chinnery was a splendid artist. For a living he painted portraits of swaggering lieutenants, hoary governors and their beribboned wives, American sea-captains, and Chinese and Parsi merchants.He immersed himself in these Asian cultures and his drawings and watercolours of local people and their daily activities are regarded by many as his most compelling work: crowded market scenes, fishermen landing on the beach, blacksmiths working at their bellows, gamblers playing in the street, boat-people making makeshift shelters, junks at anchor on a calm evening.
The exhibition comprises some 100 works showing Chinnery's range, from oils and watercolours to landscapes and portraits – with a special emphasis on his vivid and deceptively simple watercolours, and his fluent drawings of the people going about their everyday lives.
China before Chinnery - Lecture by Dr Frances Wood
Chinnery was the first serious British artist to live and work in China. Dr Wood will explore earlier depictions of China including illustrations produced in Europe from books written by 17th century Jesuits, sketches by William Alexander, a brilliant young artist attached to the British Embassy to China(1792-4), and 19th century 'export paintings'produced in Canton for East India Company men.
Dr Frances Wood is Head of the Chinese Section at the British Library and author of numerous successful books on China including The Forbidden City, The First Emperor of China, China's First Emperor and His Terracotta Warriors and The Diamond Sutra: The Story of the World's Earliest Dated Printed Book.
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2011 MERIDIAN SOCIETY DINNER DEBATE
Wednesday, 7th December 2011 at New Loon Fung Restaurant
This is always a popular event since it provides food for thought as well as food for the stomach. It should prove to be a convivial evening so we hope you will find time to join us! In previous years, this restaurant has always provided us with a sumptuous Cantonese meal.
This year's debate is based on the views of Prof Amy Chua in her recent book "Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother", which advocates pushing children to achieve excellence.
CLCK HERE FOR MORE DETAILS |
BRITAIN IN A DAY - WORKSHOP
A film about you and made by you - BBC nationwide project
Date: 10.30am-2.30pm, Sunday 6th November, 2011
Venue: Room B104, Brunei Gallery, SOAS (School of Oriental and African Studies), University of London, Thornhaugh Street, Russell Square, London WC1H 0XG
http://www.soas.ac.uk/visitors/location/maps
(Light refreshments will be served.)
On Saturday 12th November 2011, the BBC is inviting people around Britain to take part in an historic film project called BRITAIN IN A DAY and help build a self-portrait of the nation. The idea is inspired by Life in a Day, Ridley Scott's highly acclaimed documentary featuring stories from all corners of the world.
For BRITAIN IN A DAY, participants are being asked to film stories about themselves using simple cameras or mobile phones and to upload them on YouTube. A selection of the best stories will be edited by Scott Free Productions into a feature-length documentary to be screened in cinemas and on BBC Two in Spring 2012 as part of the Cultural Olympiad.
Free workshops are being run by Rosa Productions around the country to encourage people to take part. Led by a professional TV trainer, they will:
- Provide information on the project;
- Discuss story ideas and story-telling methods;
- Give tips on basic camera technique.
To reflect the diversity of British society today, the BBC want members of the Chinese community to be involved, to make personal films about life, identity, community, work, leisure, etc. A special workshop has been organised in London by The Meridian Society for anyone of Chinese origin.
Individuals and groups of all ages and all walks of life are welcome to take part and no prior knowledge of filming is required. This is a fantastic opportunity to be part of a momentous event and let viewers share your thoughts and experiences.
TO BOOK PLACES:
If you wish to attend this workshop, please email us at themeridiansociety@gmail.com Numbers are limited and places are strictly on a first come, first served basis. So please make sure you book immediately.
For further information on the project, please go to:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/britaininaday
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/oct/04/bbc-project-britain-one-day |
Talk and demonstration on Chinese martial arts by Master Desheng Li
Monday, 17 October, 7-9 pm
Room B104, Brunel Gallery, SOAS (School of Oriental and African Studies), Thornhaugh Street, Russell Square, London WC1H 0XG
Entry: TMS and SOAS CSSA Members free, non-members £5 donation
Register now:themeridiansociety@gmail.com
| Master Desheng Li has been practising Chinese martial arts since he was eight years old, being brought up in a family with a strong tradition of practising martial arts. Apart from developing his own family style to a more sophisticated style called Nan Hai Style (South Sea Style),he has also learned various styles of martial arts, including Wing Chun, Choi Li Fat, Hong Style, Mantis, etc. In 1971, he established his own martial arts school in Hong Kong 1971 when he was 26 years of age. He then established his second martial arts school in Belgium in 1980 where he has many students. He has studied widely Chinese classical philosophy which has enabled him to practise and teach martial arts beyond the physical level. During the talk, Master Li will discuss the philosophy of martial arts, share his insight and answer questions from the audience. He will also give a demonstration on martial arts and self-defence. |
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Day trip to Herons Bonsai in Newchapel, Surrey
Sunday 4th September 2011
This is a seven and half acre nursery owned by Peter Chan who is a multiple gold medallist at the Chelsea Flower Show. He has kindly agreed to open the New Pavilion exclusively to The Meridian Society on this day to assist our fundraising efforts, and has also agreed to give a talk and demonstration. We have arranged a programme of events that should appeal to all, not only to gardeners or lovers of bonsai. This should prove to be an enjoyable excursion and day out for all the family. We hope you will come and join us.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE DETAILS |
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BALLOT BOX CHINA
Dr Kerry Brown will be giving a talk on grassroots democracy, local elections and popular accountability in China today.
Date: Friday 1st July 2011
Speaker: Dr Kerry BrownTime: 6:30pm-8pm
Venue: Room V122, Vernon Square, School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), Vernon Square Campus, Penton Rise, London, WC1X 9EW
Click here for Google Map Direction
(Please note: venue is at branch campus, not the main campus at Russell Square)
Transport: The nearest tube station is King's Cross
Ticket: Meridian Society & SACU Members: free, non-members £5 donation, pay at door |
Dr Kerry Brown is Head of the Asia Programme at Chatham House.
Previous publications include: Friends and Enemies: The Past, Present and Future in China (2009).
Struggling Giant: China in the 21st Century (2007).
He leads the Europe China Research and Advise Network (ECRAN), a 3-year project started in January, 2011.
Kerry is Research Associate at the Centre for International Studies and Diplomacy at SOAS.
He was previously in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, working in the China section in London, and as First Secretary at the British Embassy in Beijing, 2000 to 2003.
Kerry studied at Leeds University, Cambridge University, SOAS and in Inner Mongolia.
This Lecture is a joint events hosted by SOAS Chinese Scolar and Student Society (CSSA) and The Meridian |
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THE MERIDIAN SOCIETY
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 2011
Time: Wednesday 29th June 2011 at 6.00 p.m. Members are requested to assemble at 5.50 p.m.
Assembling point: Entrance foyer of The Brunei Gallery, School of Oriental and African Studies, Thornhaugh Street, London W.C.1.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE DETAILS |
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