SZ @ China Institute
The plate of the old China Institute
The summer of 2015 is marked as unusual for everyone working at China Institute, a non-profit organization in New York founded in 1926 to promote a deeper understanding of China. With early founders including renowned Chinese and American scholars like Hu Shi and John Dewey, the institute today has about 35 staff members, American or Chinese, who vary in their services from over 30 years to less than a year. What makes 2015 different is that this 90-year-old institute is moving out of its Upper East Side townhouse after 71 years of residence to the Wall Street area in downtown Manhattan, at the corner of Washington and Rector Street.
All had to be left behind: the signature red door of the townhouse at East 65th Street; its sophisticated cast-iron staircases climbing inside the old building; the serene traditional Scholar Garden in the backyard, where a turtle and a goldfish tribe have happily lived together in a pond surrounded by bamboos……everything that was built up in the 4-story townhouse since it was donated to China Institute in 1944 by Dr. Henry R. Luce except for the two stone guardian lions at the entrance. One male, and the other female, the lions were easy to be packed and taken downtown. Once affectionately called the “China House”, the old China Institute housed the best Chinese fine art exhibitions in the U.S., and welcomed the most famous Chinese artists, authors, scholars, and other intellectuals to speak or perform. The earliest Chinese language and cultural studies courses in this country for the public were also pioneered here.
The move had been planned for a few years but in fact, the seed may have been planted long ago. Dr. Paul Chih Meng, the 2nd President of the China Institute (1930-1967), wrote in his autobiography Chinese American Understanding in 1981 that the trustees regretted that they had not taken Henry Luce’s offer of a larger house as space for the institute only after 2 years moving into the townhouse, as needs grew immediately. Mr. Meng held his wedding ceremony in the “China House”.
Over the years, that regret only grew larger accompanied by the American public’s soaring interest in China, due in part to its stunning economic growth over the past 30 years. A China with over 5,000 years of history and tradition, together with unprecedented rapid economic and social changes besides revolutions, fueled by ever-growing globalization (and further fueled by social media), has captured the public imagination in every aspect. Not only have the programs outgrown the old China House but “China” as a topic seems to outgrow China Institute: there are an increasingly large number of cultural organizations, museums, schools, and universities in New York, that are bringing their understanding of China to the American public (and whoever turns to their online channels, i.e., websites, Facebook pages, Twitter, Instagram……you name it!)
Nevertheless, the move finally came after 71 years. On Aug 17, 2015, the Institute’s staff walked into the lobby of 100 Washington Street, swiped themselves through the automatic bars at the entrance (the two lions really won’t take cards), and entered the 2nd floor. The first stage of a 2-staged renovation project of the new space, the institute now has a clean-cut reception area behind a glass door and a minimal-style office area with grey carpet, green chairs, and many glass doors. With a few public areas still undergoing some final touches, the new Institute is getting ready to open its doors in late August.
For most of the people working at the institute, me being one of them, moving into an overall 50,000 SF new space from a 9,000 SF townhouse is exciting, although inevitably mixed with some nostalgic melancholy. If it was a “hidden jewel” on the Upper East Side, the Institute is now a newborn that awaits the downtown neighborhood to discover, or, rediscover. It will open its doors with its language classes for both adults and children, as well as a series of public lectures, author talks, film screenings, and corporate events throughout the coming fall. The institute’s most proud China Gallery will have its first show in the fall of 2016 when the ground floor is completed and a Grand Opening can finally unveil the whole Institute.
Nothing could be more obvious to signal the changes that are yet to come than physically moving to a new neighborhood. For the Institute, whose staff will still be unpacking their boxes in the coming weeks, the ability to adapt and yet maintain its spirit that many members and long-time friends have held so dearly to their hearts, perhaps is most critical. Just before the move, on a Thursday afternoon, a small celebration was held in the Scholar Garden for a well-beloved senior lecturer, Mr. Ben Wang, for his 30th anniversary with the Institute. Only present and former staff, Mr. Wang’s students and followers, a handful of scholars, Institute members, and long-time friends were present. While speaking with Dr. Annette Juliano, an art historian, and curator of China Institute’s art exhibitions several times, I discovered that Dr. Juliano became involved with China Institute while still in graduate school. “I was first here as an intern,” Dr. Juliano said, sipping a cocktail in the Scholar Garden. While looking forward to the new place, the Honoree, Mr. Wang, whose lectures on Chinese classical literature, art, and language have won admirers for years, was dressed elegantly with his silver hair, his stylish jacket, and his red-belted watch to match his burgundy leather shoes, said he will certainly miss the old institute, like many of the people at the Scholar Garden will do.
There is a lot to reflect on its past. Indeed, an astonishing amount of files, books, and most importantly, artworks have resurfaced through the packing process from many hidden closets in the old building. The new space is vast and blank as any new place. Its history has to be carried on and will continue to be written here. One would think that a 90-year-old institute with its generations of people who were involved with its mission, there must be something that transcends the past into the future. In the past, people could feel it as they walk through the red doors. Now, with glass doors, sleek walls, and a newly reinvented logo, the Institute has to demonstrate its strength in its completely new space where the construction is halfway through.
And, the turtle and fish moved in to a tank with a pump in the new space.
8/21/15
Astoria, New York