Chinese food at Forbes and Meyran: Oakland's Bamboo Garden.

Via Dr. Young Suh Kim.

The corner of Forbes and Meyran Aves. in Oakland still doesn't have its noodle place---the Asian Noodle Bar has been "coming soon" since November 2014---but that spot was the home of a long-running Chinese restaurant for more than 50 years. Bamboo Garden occuped 3531 Forbes Ave. from July 22, 1935 to the 1980s and advertised Chow Mein and Chop Suey to appeal to American tastes. According to 2005 a letter published in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, it was the favorite restaurant of Dr. Jonas Salk.

Documentary A Chronicle of My Cultural Revolution, June 8.

The University of Pittsburgh's Asian Studies Center, SilkScreen, and StartUpTown will present the film A Chronicle of My Cultural Revolution on June 8.

StartUpTown to present director Xu Xing’s film "A Chronicle of My Cultural Revolution." This documentary of personal experiences of the Cultural Revolution starts with the director’s own love story. The film will be followed by a short presentation by East Asian Librarian Haihui Zhang on the CR/10 project, a collection of memories and impressions of ordinary people and their experiences with China’s decade long Cultural Revolution.

The event will be held at the StartUptown: Paramount Film Exchange at 1727 Blvd. of the Allies (map). It is free and open to the public, but donations are encouraged.

Wayback Wednesday: When a K-pop group performed in Pittsburgh in 2009.

On July 25, 2009, the K-pop quintet Wonder Girls toured the US with the Jonas Brothers, and provided the first and only K-pop performance in Pittsburgh. They were one of the biggest girl groups in Korea in 2007 and 2008, and had focused on an international tour in 2009. Unfortunately, and perhaps unsurprisingly for the time and the presentation, they made little impression in Pennsylvania.

“The Chinese Exclusion Act in American and World History, 1882-1965”, part of February 11 Teach-In at Pitt.

Visiting Assistant Professor in the University of Pittsburgh's Department of History David Luesink will speak on “The Chinese Exclusion Act in American and World History, 1882-1965” as part of Pitt's Teach-In on New Immigration & Trade Policies on February 11.

The Teach-In is an opportunity to explore and learn more about the historical context and implications of America’s new trade and immigration policies.

The sessions run from 1:00 to 5:00 pm---and a full schedule is available here---and Dr. Luesink's talk runs from 4:00 to 4:50 in the the Yugoslav Room (#142) in the Cathedral of Learning (map).

When the former mayor of Pittsburgh was the US ambassador to Japan.

Photograph from Library of Congress.

George W. Guthrie, mayor of Pittsburgh from 1906 to 1909, served as the United States Ambassador to Japan from 1913 until his death in 1917.

BusinessWorld profiles Japanese chef, inventor, former Pittsburgher Machiko Chiba.

The Philippines' BusinessWorld has a profile on Japanese chef and inventor Machiko Chiba, who recently demonstrated her Cook-Zen microwavable cooking pot in Quezon City. Chiba lived in Pittsburgh in the late 1980s where she "discovered microwave cooking", according to her daughter.

"The Long Defeat: Cultural Trauma, Memory and Identity in Japan" at Pitt, November 18.

The University of Pittsburgh's Asian Studies Center will present Akiko Hashimoto, Professor Emerita of Sociology, and her talk "The Long Defeat: Cultural Trauma, Memory and Identity in Japan" on November 18. A description, from the Pitt International Week website:

In this talk, Dr. Akiko Hashimoto explores the stakes of war memory in Japan after its catastrophic defeat in World War II, showing how and why defeat has become an indelible part of national collective life, especially in recent decades. Divisive war memories lie at the root of the contentious politics surrounding Japan's pacifist constitution and remilitarization, and fuel the escalating frictions in East Asia known collectively as Japan's 'history problem.' Admission is free and open to the public with particular interest for Japan Studies, History, and Sociology majors. Pizza will be served.

The talk begins at 12:00 pm in 4130 Posvar Hall (map).

Talk on history of University of Pittsburgh's Japanese Nationality Room, September 6.

The University of Pittsburgh's Asian Studies Center shares news of a talk on the history of the University of Pittsburgh's Japanese Nationality Room on Sunday, September 6.

We would like to invite you to a talk on the history of the Japanese Nationality Room (JNR) at the University of Pittsburgh, followed by an informal gathering at the Croghan-Schenley Ball Room, Cathedral of Learning, Room156.

Time: 1:30-2:30 on Sunday, September 6
Place: Japanese Room, Cathedral of Learning Room 317
Speakers: Mr. Arimoto, Dr. Maeshiro, and Dr. Motoyama

Leading the talk will be three longstanding members of the JNR Committee, each with more than 20 years of involvement from the room's founding until the present day: Woodworker Mr. Arimoto and the two Emeritus Members of the JNR Committee, Dr. Maeshiro and Dr. Motoyama.

"Rebel Flags in Korea: Confederate Banners Fly Anywhere!!!"

African-American publications in the 1950s noted the prominence of confederate flags flown by American soldiers in South Korea during the Korean War. The Pittsburgh Courier, on September 29, 1951, wrote on the phenomenon in an article "Rebel Flags in Korea: Confederate Banners Fly Anywhere!!!". An excerpt:

The Confederate flag which is receiving widespread use in this country is also used in Korea, it was learned this week.

A platoon of the United States First Calvary Division, consisting of a large number of Southerners, flew the Stars and Bars in Korea.

By a special act of Congress, the Fifth Maryland Regiment flies the Confederate flag with the Stars and Stripes. It is also the official insignia of the "Dixie" Division of the National Guard which draws its personnel from the North and South.

"Dress Designs Reflections of Visit to Pitt Nationality Rooms".

Speaking of the Chinese Nationality Room, a Pittsburgh Press article from December 31, 1944 followed dress designer Dorris Varnum [sic] to the Cathedral of Learning to profile "a delightful collection of dresses" inspired by her visit to Pittsburgh. "[T]he dress expressing her notion of the Chinese Memorial classroom" is pictured on the right.

Smooth rayon jersey was the fabric chosen for the print, and black designs are splashed against grounds of pale jade green, lotus blossom and Ming blue.

The black designs could be taken to express one conception of plum blossoms seen on the carved doorframe of the classroom. These blossoms, which grow out of snow and ice, blooming before the winter is past, are Chinese national flowers.

Very appropriately, this bright dress makes its bow during a season of snow and ice.

Pitt Chronicle on Chinese Nationality Room in Cathedral of Learning.

The Chinese Nationality Room in 1939; via Historic Pittsburgh.

The December 8 issue of the Pitt Chronicle profiles the Chinese Nationality Room, which turns 75 years old this year.

A group of Pitt students from China petitioned the Chinese government in 1920 for a donation to begin fundraising for the room’s development. The Chinese government pledged $5,000 in gold, but the eruption of The Chinese Civil War in China in 1927 put that donation on hold. Not to be dissuaded, the committee of students and Pittsburgh business owners canvassed neighborhoods of Chinese residents up and down the East Coast to solicit donations, eventually raising the initial $5,000 deposit.

Following 15 years of fundraising, the Chinese government in 1935 forwarded its contribution to Pittsburgh, and the room was dedicated four years later. It cost the equivalent of about $250,000 in today’s dollars, and is one of 29 Nationality and Heritage Rooms housed in the Cathedral of Learning. Each represents a different nation or heritage, all of which played a part in the historical development of this region.

A good bit of the history of the China Memorial Room---as it was then called---and its design is available in the October 6, 1939 Dedication Ceremony program, preserved in full by Documenting Pitt. Introducing several pages on the design and decor, the program writes "The design and decoration of this Room attempt to express something of China's 4,000 years of culture and wisdom." It concludes:

The China Memorial Room has been designed, decorated, and furnished with the hope that it will give the people of Chinese descent in Pittsburgh a just reason for pride in their ancestral heritage. At the same time the Committee believes that the Room will command the respect and admiration of all other people in America.

Chinese Nationality Room at Pitt turns 75 today.

The Chinese Nationality Room in the University of Pittsburgh's Cathedral of Learning turns 75 today. The room was dedicated on October 6, 1939, and the photograph above is from the University of Pittsburgh Historic Photographs Collection.

Gallery Exhibition: Jewish Refugees in Shanghai (1933-1941) opens September 15 in Squirrel Hill.

The exhibition "Jewish Refugees in Shanghai (1933-1941): An Exhibit of Storyboards and Artifacts" will run in Squirrel Hill for a month from September 15. An excerpt from the Confucius Institute at the University of Pittsburgh, one of the exhibition's sponsors:

The story of Jewish refugees in China during World War II is something that relatively few people understand or know about in the overall history of Jewish immigration and settlement. As many as 16,000 Jews fled Europe during WWII to live and work in Shanghai. This exhibit is in collaboration with the Jewish Refugees Museum of Shanghai and consists of 45 storyboards outlining the process of immigration from Europe to China, the various struggles and cultural adaptions, and the personal stories of survivors and their families. The exhibit offers a unique perspective on the lives and struggles of individuals who lived in China during the war and emphasizes the cross-cultural intersections of both Chinese and the Jewish settlers during a chaotic and significant historic period.

The exhibition runs through October 15 at The Edward and Rose Berman Hillel Jewish University Center of Pittsburgh (map). Reservations are required for the September 17 opening reception with keynote speaker Dr. Steve Hochstadt of Illinois College.

A picture from a University of Pittsburgh Lantern Night ceremony, circa 1940. It's at least prior to 1942, as the university tells us:

The Japanese paper lanterns, abandoned when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor in 1941, were replaced by metal lanterns. Later the ceremony was simplified and the less costly candles were substituted.

This year's Lantern Night is scheduled for August 24.

"Hiroshima Day Observed Here", 1963.

On August 6 and 7, 1963, the local papers reported on Hiroshima Day events in Pittsburgh. From the Pittsburgh Press on the 6th:

Paper cranes on helium-filled balloons -- symbols of the children who died 18 years ago during the bombing of Hiroshima -- flew high above Gateway Center today.

The paper birds were sent aloft by a group of Pittsburgh women as reminders that today's children still face the dangers of the nuclear arms race.

The Pittsburgh Women for Peace, Women's International League for Peace and Freedom and the Society of Friends sponsored the outdoor observance of Hiroshima Day. The groups are urging support of the nuclear test ban treaty now awaiting ratification by the U.S. Senate.

"The Asians Among Us".

The local papers have been running articles on immigrants recently, from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's "Pittsburgh's economy has gained from high-skilled immigrants" on May 18 to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review's "New Pittsburgh initiative attempts to bring more immigrants to city" on the 28th. Both articles feature Asian immigrants prominently, and both comment sections are ugly and xenophobic.

Historically, the local papers have, on occasion, taken interest in local Asian immigrants and communities; one such article, a four-pager called "The Asians Among Us", ran in the Pittsburgh Press on April 26, 1981. It profiles some of the earliest local community leaders from Korea, China, and Japan, though some of the stereotypes--"who said Asians are inscrutable?" and the overtly othering headline--are uncomfortable a couple generations later.

"It's cleaner than San Francisco." When Park Chung-hee got the key to the city.

Visiting J&L Steel; photo by 이현표 but found via this article.

In May 1965, South Korean president Park Chung-hee (father of current South Korean president Park Geun-hye) visited Pittsburgh as part of a tour of the US that included stops in Washington D.C., New York, West Point, Los Angeles, and Cape Kennedy. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette wrote, on May 22, 1965, two articles on the occasion: one, a summary of the visit and the pleasantries exchanged between Park and Pittsburghers; another, a profile on the Korean First Lady. From the former:

The president of South Korea, Gen. Chung Hee Park, got the official view of Pittsburgh yesterday---a few minutes at the Mt. Washington overlook, and a half-hour motorcade through Oakland.

"I didn't expect to see so much green," he told Mayor Joseph M. Barr during the ride, "it's cleaner than San Francisco."

And from the latter:

On the approach to the Golden Triangle, Korea's First Lady went into a happy peal of laughter, letting out a quick spate of Korean. (She's so pleased with herself that she could talk so much about the rivers and the bridges in English, her secretary-interpreter Mrs. Margaret Cho explained.

For her arrival in Pittsburgh, Madame Park wore an entrancing lavendor silk Chogory Chima, with panels from teh shoulders, floating in the wind as she walked . . . showing the white silk lining. (The chogory stands for "short jacket," the chima for "down to the floor.").

She was greeted in her native language by a bevy of beautiful young Korean women and some Korean men.

Pittsburgh almost built an "Asia on the Allegheny".

From a February 20, 1989 Pittsburgh Press article.

Looking online for something else brought us to articles in local papers about a late-1980s plan to build an "Asian Trade Center" on the North Shore, part of a redevelopment effort that would soon bring the Andy Warhol Museum and the Carnegie Science Center to the area. In 1988 and 1989, the plan was to construct apartments, hotels, and Asian retail in the blocks between on what is now the site of the Morgan at North Shore Apartments.

*Including 1 Japanese

The Pittsburgh City Council proclamations this year and last that honor the local Organization of Chinese Americans branch contains the line

WHEREAS, since the 1800s, the local Chinese community has been an asset to the City of Pittsburgh and its social, cultural, and economic development[.]

I"ve written before about Pittsburgh's former Chinatown, but wanted to look a little closer at historical Chinese populations in and around the city. According to the 1900 Census of the United States (pages 637, 638, and 569), there were 154 Chinese in Pittsburgh that year, 28 in Allegheny city, and a total of 270 in Allegheny county. The Chinese population of the county was 126 in 1890, and 25 ten years before that. The earliest date for which there are data is 1870 (page 59); 14 Chinese people lived in the entire state, but a footnote points out that the number includes 1 Japanese.

Chinaman's festal period.

The Mansfield Daily Shield out of Mansfield, PA, profiled the Lunar New Year in 1902. The language and the tone are about what one would expect, though the piece does tell us how many Chinese women lived in Pittsburgh at the time: