Chinese Culture Center
Encyclopedia
The Chinese Culture Center (Chinese: 舊金山中華文化中心) of San Francisco, California
, USA, is a major community-based, non-profit organization established in 1965 to foster the understanding and appreciation of Chinese
and Chinese American
art
, history
, and culture in the United States
.
The facilities of the Center, totaling 20000 square feet (1,858.1 m²), include a 299-seat auditorium, a 2935 square feet (272.7 m²) gallery, book shop, classroom
, and office
s. Centrally located between Chinatown
and the Financial District, the Center attracts a broad spectrum of audiences from the Chinese community, the city at large, and the greater Bay Area, as well as visitors from all over the country.
in Chinatown. It was the first Chinese cultural center in the San Francisco Chinatown, located on one floor of a Holiday Inn
. The Chinese Culture Foundation, established to run the Center the same year in 1965, was pressured by older Chinese American
s who wanted to use the center to preserve a link to the culture in China, and younger Chinese Americans who wanted to create a culture with both Chinese and American influences. In the 1970s, the Center began hosting celebrations of the Spring Festival, including family-oriented activities such as martial arts
demonstrations, batik
and pottery making, and food demonstrations. The celebration included screenings of films and slideshows about post-1950s China
and in the 1980s, the Center organized trips to sponsor American-born Chinese
to visit their ancestral homes in China. Because it refused sponsorship by the Republic of China
government, it was accused of supporting communism, and shunned by the Chinese establishment in San Francisco. However, after the Chinese economic reform
and democracy in the Republic of China on Taiwan
, the Two Chinas became less hostile, and so the San Francisco Chinese Chamber of Commerce and other older Chinatown organizations began to cooperate with the Chinese Culture Center in the 1990s.
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
, USA, is a major community-based, non-profit organization established in 1965 to foster the understanding and appreciation of Chinese
Chinese art
Chinese art is visual art that, whether ancient or modern, originated in or is practiced in China or by Chinese artists or performers. Early so-called "stone age art" dates back to 10,000 BC, mostly consisting of simple pottery and sculptures. This early period was followed by a series of art...
and Chinese American
Chinese American
Chinese Americans represent Americans of Chinese descent. Chinese Americans constitute one group of overseas Chinese and also a subgroup of East Asian Americans, which is further a subgroup of Asian Americans...
art
Art
Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....
, history
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
, and culture in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
The facilities of the Center, totaling 20000 square feet (1,858.1 m²), include a 299-seat auditorium, a 2935 square feet (272.7 m²) gallery, book shop, classroom
Classroom
A classroom is a room in which teaching or learning activities can take place. Classrooms are found in educational institutions of all kinds, including public and private schools, corporations, and religious and humanitarian organizations...
, and office
Office
An office is generally a room or other area in which people work, but may also denote a position within an organization with specific duties attached to it ; the latter is in fact an earlier usage, office as place originally referring to the location of one's duty. When used as an adjective, the...
s. Centrally located between Chinatown
Chinatown
A Chinatown is an ethnic enclave of overseas Chinese people, although it is often generalized to include various Southeast Asian people. Chinatowns exist throughout the world, including East Asia, Southeast Asia, the Americas, Australasia, and Europe. Binondo's Chinatown located in Manila,...
and the Financial District, the Center attracts a broad spectrum of audiences from the Chinese community, the city at large, and the greater Bay Area, as well as visitors from all over the country.
History
The Center was built as a compromise between developmental forces, such as the San Francisco Chinese Chamber of Commerce, and ethnic associations such as the Asian People's Coalition, who wanted a community center or affordable housingAffordable housing
Affordable housing is a term used to describe dwelling units whose total housing costs are deemed "affordable" to those that have a median income. Although the term is often applied to rental housing that is within the financial means of those in the lower income ranges of a geographical area, the...
in Chinatown. It was the first Chinese cultural center in the San Francisco Chinatown, located on one floor of a Holiday Inn
Holiday Inn
Holiday Inn is a brand of hotels, formally a economy motel chain, forming part of the British InterContinental Hotels Group . It is one of the world's largest hotel chains with 238,440 bedrooms and 1,301 hotels globally. There are currently 5 hotels in the pipeline...
. The Chinese Culture Foundation, established to run the Center the same year in 1965, was pressured by older Chinese American
Chinese American
Chinese Americans represent Americans of Chinese descent. Chinese Americans constitute one group of overseas Chinese and also a subgroup of East Asian Americans, which is further a subgroup of Asian Americans...
s who wanted to use the center to preserve a link to the culture in China, and younger Chinese Americans who wanted to create a culture with both Chinese and American influences. In the 1970s, the Center began hosting celebrations of the Spring Festival, including family-oriented activities such as martial arts
Chinese martial arts
Chinese martial arts, also referred to by the Mandarin Chinese term wushu and popularly as kung fu , are a number of fighting styles that have developed over the centuries in China. These fighting styles are often classified according to common traits, identified as "families" , "sects" or...
demonstrations, batik
Batik
Batik is a cloth that traditionally uses a manual wax-resist dyeing technique. Batik or fabrics with the traditional batik patterns are found in Indonesia, Malaysia, Japan, China, Azerbaijan, India, Sri Lanka, Egypt, Nigeria, Senegal, and Singapore.Javanese traditional batik, especially from...
and pottery making, and food demonstrations. The celebration included screenings of films and slideshows about post-1950s China
History of the People's Republic of China
The history of the People's Republic of China details the history of mainland China since October 1, 1949, when, after a near complete victory by the Communist Party of China in the Chinese Civil War, Mao Zedong proclaimed the People's Republic of China from atop Tiananmen...
and in the 1980s, the Center organized trips to sponsor American-born Chinese
American-born Chinese
An American-born Chinese or "ABC" is a stereotype that describes a person born in the United States of Chinese ethnic descent, a category of Chinese American. Many are second-generation born after the U.S. Immigration Act of 1965 were free from limits on immigration from East Asia...
to visit their ancestral homes in China. Because it refused sponsorship by the Republic of China
Republic of China
The Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan , is a unitary sovereign state located in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China currently governs the island of Taiwan , which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other minor...
government, it was accused of supporting communism, and shunned by the Chinese establishment in San Francisco. However, after the Chinese economic reform
Chinese economic reform
The Chinese economic reform refers to the program of economic reforms called "Socialism with Chinese characteristics" in the People's Republic of China that were started in December 1978 by reformists within the Communist Party of China led by Deng Xiaoping.China had one of the world's largest...
and democracy in the Republic of China on Taiwan
History of the Republic of China
The History of the Republic of China begins after the Qing Dynasty in 1912, when the formation of the Republic of China put an end to over two thousand years of Imperial rule. The Qing Dynasty, also known as the Manchu Dynasty, ruled from 1644 to 1912...
, the Two Chinas became less hostile, and so the San Francisco Chinese Chamber of Commerce and other older Chinatown organizations began to cooperate with the Chinese Culture Center in the 1990s.
External links
- Official site
- Interview with Chinese Culture Center program director on Art Practical.