ICCS Newsletter Spring 2018




NEWSLETTER




SPRING 2018


Contents
1. Programme
2. Chinese New Year Dinner - 19th February.
3. The Belt and Road Initiative. Paul Gillespie
4. Carmel O Sullivan. The role of drama in Early Childhood Education.
5. Fay's Farewell.
6. December Food Fest Wesley House.
7. 68th Anniversary of the Founding of the People’s Republic of China.
8. Wild Lights.
9. ICCS Members’ Special Objets d’Art .
10. Upcoming Events.
11. Tribute to Nora Mc Dowell.

1. Programme


For information on our programme, click HERE.   

Please note our meeting venue,

United Arts Club,
3 Fitzwilliam Street,
(just off Baggot Street,)
Dublin 2,

and meeting days,

the FOURTH WEDNESDAY (mostly!) of each month.











2. Chinese New Year Dinner -19th February.
This year’s Chinese New Year Dinner will take place once again in the Green Dragon Well Restaurant in Dun Laoire on 19th February, just 3 days after the Spring Festival begins in China itself to celebrate the Year of the Dog. The Dog is the eleventh animal in the 12 year, Chinese Zodiacal Cycle and is a symbol of loyalty and honesty. People born in this year possess the best qualities of human nature as they are ‘honest, friendly, faithful, loyal, smart, straightforward, venerable(sic) and have a strong sense of responsibility’
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3. The Belt and Road Initiative. Paul Gillespie


Paul Gillespie pictured with Deborah Wilson

At the outset of his talk Paul Gillespie put the scale of the Belt and Road Initiative into perspective for us as it will, in time, constitute no less than a third of the world’s GDP incorporating financial investments running into trillions of dollars and a series of infrastructural projects including freight and super-speed railways, bridges, tunnels and pipelines designed to open up economic corridors into vast tracts of Asia and Europe as well as maritime routes to Indonesia and Africa. Significantly, the process is due for completion by 2049, the 100th Anniversary of the Founding of the Chinese Communist Party.

In some respects Xi Jin Ping’s New Silk Road harks back to Deng Xiao Ping’s drive for increased prosperity in the 1980s but it follows an opposite tendency to Deng’s wish for China to hide her strength and never to claim leadership in the world. By contrast, Xi wants the country to take a lead in bringing stability to unstable regions and looks forward to the Chinese people making a greater contribution to humanity. Maybe China was just biding her time as it is now propitious for such ambitious plans, given the surplus capacity in the Chinese economy and a need for infrastructural development as well as the abiding political imperative to reverse the humiliation of the Middle Kingdom’s colonial occupations in recent centuries. Going West also holds out the prospect of avoiding the middle income trap(i.e. it facilitates a move away from an economy based on cheap labour to one based on higher value, more innovative products) and a damaging focus on competing with the US.

In such a grand scale project it is impossible to please everybody. Criticisms from other countries centre around the unviability of products, opacity in the planning process and the sino-centric nature of the initiative. Russia and India, for example, are critical of being bypassed although the Russian concerns have been addressed, at least in part.

There are other pressures to deal with, apart altogether from the non-committal stance of countries lying outside its scope like Japan and South Korea: demands for reciprocity and European worries, the French Government’s in particular, as concerns increase over the potential for Chinese dumping of cheap products to undermine local industry. Nonetheless, the desire for infrastructural development which the Belt and Road Initiative brings with it makes it welcome in many countries and invites comparisons with the Marshall Plan after World War 2 but it is 10 times larger in scale.





Undoubtedly China is becoming more outward looking under Xi Jin Ping and it has decentralised its economy but there has been no loosening of control in the political sphere and the ‘7 Unmentionables’ remain which means that issues such as universal values, citizens’ rights, an independent judiciary and the Communist Party’s historic mistakes are not up for public discussion. Nevertheless, for Paul Gillespie, the challenge the Belt and Road Initiative presents for us will be to find ways to react constructively to a development that can be an important force for peaceful coexistence in the world and is certainly one that will have a significant influence on all our lives for many years to come.

by Paul Murray













4.Carmel O Sullivan. The role of drama in Early Childhood Education.


Carmel O Sullivan pictured with Deborah Wilson
One disquieting image from Carmel O Sullivan’s talk concerns the world of work in the future with Artificial Intelligence set to accomplish many middle range tasks while human beings are in danger of being marginalised, but will still be vital in the rarefied realms of higher order creative thinking and necessary at the other end of the scale as it would be too expensive to design sophisticated robots in order to perform menial tasks!

Issues of human dignity and a redefining of the nature and role of work certainly arise in this rather Orwellian scenario but the Chinese Government’s 60 billion dollar investment in early childhood education does display an understanding of such future challenges as well as reflecting its commitment to the Global Development Goals that aspire to providing pre-primary education for all girls and boys by the year 2030.

At a policy level in China there is an appreciation of the need to educate the whole person, dissolve unhelpful distinctions between social and emotional education for well being and purely cognitive learning, an awareness of the need for soft skills and flexibility in the work place of the future and for creativity in all its forms. There is also a recognition that, even though Chinese students perform well in tasks based on rote learning they can be found wanting when it comes to risk taking and problem solving. Hence the desire on the part of the authorities to move away from memory based learning to play based education where role play and drama can help to develop the individual.

In doing so there are significant cultural factors to contend with. The importance of filial piety in Daoism and Confucianism means that meaningful change must begin with parents which means that there is a reverence for rote learning to overcome. This is the case even when older generations pay lip service to the value of a more, modern, play and drama based model of education for young children. Carmel gave us an example of this contradiction in action in the form of a Suzhou study which showed that over 90 % of parents regarded play as essential or important for the development of their child but this was undermined by the fact that 64% of the children played mostly alone or with adults. This obviously has implications for their social-emotional awareness and is, in part, a legacy issue from the one child policy and grandparents who may not have the time to promote opportunities for play for grandchildren under their care.
The Gao Kao(Chinese Leaving Cert)
with up to 10, 000 students in a centre.
There are also other forces at work. The damaging influence of the Global Education Reform Movement with its emphasis on standardisation and competitiveness, test based accountability and over-emphasis on a narrow set of subjects taught in low-risk ways to achieve learning goals which are designed to prepare students for tests and not for life, takes on a darker relevance in China where there have been suicides in primary schools in which parental pressure was implicated.
All the more reason to side with Carmel’s hopes that the more enlightened view of the Chinese educational authorities, who recognise the damaging properties of anxiety and its inhibiting effect on the brain’s ability to synapse, will prevail, and that dopamine-inducing play and drama will nurture the formative early years of her citizens.
by Paul Murray










5. Fay's Farewell.




from l. to r. Jenny Slevin, Yvonne Mc Guire, Denis Mullen, Marian Brennan, Fay Huang, Yanyi Blake, Deborah Wilson, Olga Wang, Norman O Galligan, Anita O Galligan.


A wonderful night to express our appreciation for Fay as she retires after 5 and a half years in the Cultural Office of the Chinese Embassy and to extend a warm welcome to her successor, Olga Wang




6. December Food Fest - Wesley House.

ff17.jpg
Debbie, Shu Rong and Yanyi orchestrated affairs as we all enjoyed a wonderful gourmet evening in Wesley House. The menu included Yuk Sung Chinese Lettuce Wraps, Cantonese-style Prawns with crispy garlic, Whiskey Spare Ribs, stir-fried Chinese Cabbage and Sichuan Rice Noodles with Leeks.
We began by being tutored to roll out our glutinous rice balls and they reappeared as an ingredient in the dessert which was as delicious as the title sounds: Rice Wine with Glutinous Rice Balls, Pumpkins and Coconut Milk. The texture was reminiscent of drinking Bubble Tea with a twist of sweetness!
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We were not to know that the night would be overshadowed by the untimely passing of Nora Mc Dowell so soon afterwards. A special tribute to her as a person and to her work for the Irish Chinese Cultural Society accompanines this newsletter.





7. 68th Anniversary of the Founding of the People’s Republic of China.




On 27 September 2017 a number of members of the ICCS accepted invitations to attend the 68th Anniversary of the Founding of the People’s Republic of China. Over 400 guests representing all walks of life in Ireland attended the event, including leading personalities from the Irish Chinese community. Among them were Sally Keaveney and her husband Clem who are in the process of relaunching their charitable organisation International Orphan Aid Ireland which offers medical assistance programmes to children in Chinese orphanages.

In his speech, Ambassador Yue spoke very highly of the growth and expansion of China-Ireland relations, a prime example being the plan to introduce Mandarin as a Leaving Certifiicate subject for students entering 5th Year in 2020 with the first sitting of the exam due to take place in 2022.




8. Wild Lights


Wild Lights brought the magic of Chinese Lantern Art to Dublin Zoo from November to early January. Here is a link to the site for those of us who couldn’t manage to get to the event itself:https://dublinzoo.ie/wildlights



9. ICCS Members’ Special Objets d’Art

Embroidered Jacket



My aunt told me this jacket which my grandmother wore to play bridge, dates from the mid-1930s. It is embroidered with a special type of silk thread called perlé wherein the fibres are twisted in such a way as to resemble tiny beads or, in French “perles”. The techniques involve satin stitch, voiding and there is some shading. It is typical of the work done for fashionable Chinese ladies in cities like Shanghai and Hong Kong, or indeed, for the export market.

I am unfamiliar with the stories depicted here, but, as the detail of the front of the jacket shows, there are social meetings, in pavilions, people walking or on journeys, all in garden scenes with exquisite blossoms. In the detail of the back of the jacket, the images are more wistful…of a lonely girl, perhaps dreaming of a lover (a phoenix is flying nearby) or engrossed in the scenery, showing more railings, streams and blossoms which stretch across the whole of the garment.


Deborah Wilson

Flying Horse



This remarkable bronze flying horse was the cover photograph for the catalogue of 'The Genius of China' exhibition that was staged in the Royal Academy, London in the Autumn of 1973, and which I was fortunate enough to attend.

This breath-taking exhibition of nearly 400 archaeological finds from The Peoples Republic of China was probably the first time most people in the West had seen these objects. It was also the first such major exhibition sent abroad from China after the turmoil of The Cultural Revolution.The 'Flying Horse' dates from the 2nd Century AD, during the Eastern Han Dynasty and measures 24cm in height and 45cm in length. While galloping across the sky, one of its hind-legs touches a swallow, who turns its head around in surprise. The horse is neighing, with a slight tilt of its head. The horse conveys a wonderful sense of activity in a most natural way, and I was captivated to see it.

About a decade later in the mid-1980's, while on a visit to China, I saw a replica of the Flying Horse for sale, and promptly bought one. It is about half the size of the original Horse seen at the Royal Academy, but is cast in bronze like the original.It is one of my favourite possessions, and always reminds me of memorable visits to China.


Denis Mullen

10. Upcoming Events


24th January - Prof. Alan Fletcher UCD on Chinese Porcelain: The story of a 700-year old love affair: How China conquered the West through Porcelain.


In the 17th and 18th centuries the fascination of the rich and fashionable in Europe with porcelain grew into nothing less than a wild obsession which came to be known as 'porcelain fever'. In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, although it changed in nature, the actual love affair with Chinese porcelain showed no signs of cooling off. This talk will include discussion of real examples of porcelain from the Ming and Qing periods, and members of the audience will have an opportunity to inspect these at first hand and to learn about their characteristics as well as presenting any early porcelain, that they own themselves, for comment.

28th March – Inner Mongolia, Past and Present.


Mr Yuyang Wang was born and grew up in Inner Mongolia. As an independent film maker Mr Wang frequently travels back and forth to China and engages with the New Silk Road Cultural and Art Exchange Programme.Together with his wife he will present us with a historical perspective on the region as well as the most recent developments on Xian, the Silk Road and the intriguing world of Inner Mongolia.

25th April – A.G.M.

The AGM gives the membership a say in the running of our Society, and an opportunity to become involved in the Committee of the Society through nomination and election.

27th May – Party Time at the Dublin United Arts Club!

APPLYING FOR MEMBERSHIP

APPLYING FOR MEMBERSHIP :The Subscription Year for the Society runs from 1st January to 31st December. The annual subscription is €40, with a reduced Student Rate of €10, and a Life Member subscription of €300. Cheques to be made payable to: "The Irish-Chinese Cultural Society". Alternatively, you could pay by way of Standing Order or electronic bank transfer. If so, please email for details to: irishchineseculturalsociety@gmail.com



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This Newsletter is published by the Irish-Chinese Cultural Society.

Tribute to Nora Mc Dowell.

Nora Mc Dowell, 1930 - 2017.

It was hard to believe. At our Wesley House meeting of Wednesday December 6th, Nora was in sparkling form: happy that she was back in her own home after a couple of months in medical care. On Friday morning she was dead. ICCS members had lost a much-loved friend, and the Society a valued committee member.

Nora Murphy was born on 24 June 1930. She grew up in Clones Co. Monaghan, where her father, Baldwin Murphy, was a solicitor, like his father and grandfather before him. She always spoke of Clones with great affection. She studied in UCD, and then qualified as a solicitor. She took a job in the firm of McCann White and FitzGerald. It did not last long - one of the partners, John L (Jack) McDowell, asked her to be his wife, and they were married on 22 October 1955. Jack's health was always a subject of concern. He had had a long battle with TB, including a spell in an English sanatorium (where one of his fellow-patients was Noel Browne, later Minister for Health). In spite of this, and an age difference of 22 years, they had 32 happy years together, with a family of three boys. No one who has experienced her warm hospitality will be surprised to learn that over the years she became something of a social hub for her adopted Mc Dowell family, and filled a similar role in her own Murphy family.

Nora's great spirit kept her from buckling under the blow of Jack's death on their wedding anniversary in 1987. She threw herself into a host of activities, with travel prominent among them. (No account of her life would be complete without mentioning an incident during a trip to India with Jane Almqvist. They were riding on an elephant on a jungle safari when a tiger charged them, slashing the elephant’s side with its claws. The mahout was sure that it was just a false charge, to frighten them away from the vicinity of her cubs: but neither Nora, nor Jane, nor least of all the elephant, shared this insight. In spite of the terror, Nora managed to take a photo of the tiger, inches away from her.) In 1988,she joined what is now called the Dublin Zoo Volunteer Programme, just one year after its inception. She worked with Meals on Wheels, played Bridge, and was a moving force in the Active Retirement Group in Rathgar. And, of course, joined the ICCS: where she served as Vice-President, and as Secretary for two three-year terms, and was a most valuable Committee member. She hosted the meetings of the Committee in her house for many years.

In March 2001 Nora and Mary Neville (like Jane Almqvist, another Zoo Volunteer) gave the ICCS a marvellous joint talk with the memorable title "A Whiz through China", describing with great good humour their "classic" trip to China in September 2000. In 2002, Nora travelled to China again, as a self-paying member with the ICCS delegation to Youxie, the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries; a wonderful visit organised by Youxie in conjunction with our then President, Professor Sun Dawen. A highlight was when Dawen, an internationally renowned UCD professor of food engineering, who had been fêted and honoured in his home city of Chaozhou, brought us to his brother's house. (Realising from this how highly a visit to a private house is appreciated is probably what prompted Nora in 2011 to organise a dinner in her Rathmines home for a delegation from Youxie. This was also the first social engagement of Ambassador Luo Linquan and his wife Qiao Li after taking up their appointment here. The occasion could almost be described as riotous, such was the fun and hilarity had by all, and left the Chinese with a wonderful sense of an Irish welcome.) At the end of the official programme, our group split up, and Nora and Jane went off on their own on a silk-and-embroidery-centred trip to the Suzhou region.

Nora took people as she found them, in a completely non-judgemental way. But if somebody was acting a bit above himself, Nora, with her great sense of humour, could politely make her underawedness known. She was a wonderful companion, and will be hugely missed. To her three sons Lonan, John and Mark, and their families, we extend our deepest sympathy.