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Festivals & Culture

An oil painting of a Toy Peddler selling goods to a crowd
A label with old photographs reading, After settling near Los Angeles and connecting with the nearby Autry Museum of the American West, Situ was encouraged to interpret Chinese immigrant life in his paintings. This idealized perspective of a festival day was influenced by the early photographs of Arnold Genthe. When describing this scene, Situ stated, “Dupont Street, before the earthquake and fire, was the heart of Chinatown. Just as Chinese street merchants would venture throughout the city, others would come to Chinatown to ply their wares. And no one drew a crowd like the toy peddler.”
A label reading, Born in the rural countryside of southeastern China, Situ received formal art training in his native province of Guangdong, formerly Canton. He graduated with BFA and MFA degrees from Guangzhou Institute of Fine Art, and then joined the teaching staff for several years in the 1970s. Situ immigrated to Los Angeles in 1987 but did not initially find success in painting Chinese subjects in a Western European style. After a decade in Canada, he returned to Los Angeles and found a warmer reception to his art. He also connected with the nearby Autry Museum of the American West and was encouraged to paint Western American historical scenes. Depicting early Chinese American experiences was a natural direction for him. Situ remains in the region today as a leading painter of the West. I come from the same region of China as many of these early immigrants. I’ve heard many stories from family and friends about people who followed a dream and came to America. We are all familiar with that story. Many Chinese people still dream of following previous generations to America to seek their fortune. We called America ‘the gold mountain’ and the American flag ‘the flower flag’ because the country is so rich, and the flag is so beautiful. —Mian Situ
A label reading, Using carved playing tiles, mahjong is a game of strategy, skill and luck that originated in China in the 1800s. Played by four people sitting at a square table, players group together tiles to earn points — similar to the card game gin rummy. Playing mahjong is a sensory experience; the beautifully carved tiles make clicking sounds when they touch, and they feel solid and smooth when held. When mahjong sets first arrived in the United States in the 1920s, the game was seen as cosmopolitan and trendy. It caught on quickly with the elite and soon after with the broader public. Within the anti-Chinese climate of the time, it was an aspect of Chinese culture embraced by many American groups. Jewish American women especially took to the game in later decades, helping to cement mahjong in U.S. popular culture. There are many versions played around the world today.
A glass case containing a jewelry box, a doll and postcards
A label reading, The dizi is a traditional Chinese flute that has been played for more than 2,000 years. Constructed from a single piece of bamboo, it is widely used in Chinese folk music, opera, and the modern Chinese orchestra. Early Chinatown performances often included the dizi. It is common for poetry to be engraved at the top of the flute, like this example with a selection from Tang dynasty poet and musician Wang Wei (699–759 AD):
An oil painting of the Dragon Parade
A label reading, Here, the Lunar New Year celebration is underway in San Francisco in 1904, a Year of the Dragon in the Chinese zodiac. The dragon dance showers the crowd with luck for the coming year. Dancers work as a team to bring the handmade dragon to life by raising and lowering the support poles to the rhythm of loud cymbals and drums. Choreography often includes running in spiral formations to make the dragon turn and twist on itself, causing the performers to jump over or around the body. Zhou created this painting in 2012, the most recent Year of the Dragon. The next Year of the Dragon begins on Feb. 10, 2024, the upcoming Chinese New Year.
label with a photograph of a dragon in a parade reading, Dragon dances are included in many celebrations to bring good luck. Adding to the Independence Day festival in their new country, these Chinese immigrants carried a dragon in the parade in Oakland, California. This image was published in the San Francisco Examiner on July 5, 1907.
Artist Jie Wei standing front of a painting

Artist Jie Wei Zhou stands in front of Dragon Parade 

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