"Natural Resources and the Making of Modern Xinjiang, 1907-1962" at Pitt, November 10.

The University of Pittsburgh's Asian Studies Center will host Dr. Judd Kinzley and his talk "Natural Resources and the Making of Modern Xinjiang, 1907-1962" on November 10.

This talk will focus on the central role that natural resources played in shaping Chinese state power and authority in China's far western province of Xinjiang. Based on his forthcoming book, this talk will highlight the often overlooked role played by an assortment of Chinese and Soviet state agents, as well as a wide variety of non-state actors, each of whom were seeking to stake their own claim to Xinjiang's lucrative natural resources. Their combined efforts to gain access to the region's gold, wool, petroleum, and rare minerals served to construct the foundations of Chinese state power and authority in this distant border region.

Dr. Judd Kinzley is a historian of modern China with research and teaching interests that include environmental history, state power, industrial development, and wartime mobilization. His research tends to center around understanding the connections that exist between state power and the natural world in various Chinese peripheral and border regions.

The talk runs from 3:00 to 5:00 pm in 4130 Posvar Hall (map) and is free and open to the public.

Thai film Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (ลุงบุญมีระลึกชาติ) free at Maridon Museum, November 10.

Butler's Maridon Museum will present the 2010 Thai film Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (ลุงบุญมีระลึกชาติ) on November 10, as the final installment of the museum's Thai Film Series.

"Chinese Karaoke Night," November 10 at Pitt.

The Chinese language program and the Chinese Language Club at the University of Pittsburgh will present a Chinese Karaoke Night on November 10.

Songs you will hear:
对面的女孩看过来
对不起我的中文不好
中国话
小幸运
给我一个吻
再见
Backstreet Boys - I Want It That Way -- the Chinese version

and many more ~~~~~

Everyone is welcome!

It will run from 7:00 to 9:00 pm in Nordy's Place, located on the ground floor of the William Pitt Union (map).

Ross Park Mall's Tiffany & Co. hiring Mandarin-speaking sales associate.

The Tiffany & Co. jewelry store in Ross Park Mall in the North Hills is hiring a Mandarin-speaking sales professional.

Required Qualifications

• Experience in retail or luxury retail or relevant customer-related experience (e.g., hospitality).
• Proven track record in achieving sales results.
• Flexibility to work non-traditional hours, including days, nights, weekends and holidays.
• Ability to work with a diverse client base.
• Proficiency with Point of Sales (POS) systems, client tracking systems and Microsoft Outlook/email.
• Must have authorization to work in the United States or in the country where the position is based.

Preferred Qualifications:

• A college/university degree.
• Graduate Gemologist degree or previous Gemological Institute of America (GIA) course work is preferred.
• Proficiency in multiple languages.

APA Y-Advocate training for high school students, November 11 at Pitt.

The Organization of Chinese Americans will hold a half-day session for Asian Pacific American high school students on topics of leadership, community engagement, career planning, and financial responsibility at the University of Pittsburgh on November 11.

KDKA: "Increase In Asian Population Is Changing Region Culturally, Economically"

2015 Lunar New Year Parade, via @OCA Pittsburgh.

KDKA, the local CBS affiliate, has a quick look at the influence of the growing Asian population in the region.

“I think there’s always room for people to bring something specialty, something different, something more tradition[al], and introduce to the consumer,” said Mike Chen, the owner of Everyday Noodles.

When Chen moved here from Los Angeles 33 years ago, there were very few Asians in the city, but he says this new influx will be a welcome change in the Pittsburgh — both economically and culturally.

Chang Chun Chemical Corporation seeking bilingual English-Mandarin Sales Assistant in Pittsburgh.

Taiwan's Chang Chun Chemical Corporation is seeking a bilingual English-Mandarin Sales Assistant for its office in Wexford, PA.

Communicating with Headquarters in Taipei for order processing and shipment arrangement

To support sales function such as issuing purchase order, invoice or sales related documents

To maintain filling, updating and keeping of records

Managing stock inventory and sales operation as instructed by the Sales Manager

Handling customers’ enquiries and maintain tip top service to customers.

Pittsburgh Pirates re-sign Taiwanese minor league catcher Jin-de Jhang.

via pb+.

Pirates Prospects reports that the Pittsburgh Pirates have re-signed Taiwanese catcher Jin-de Jhang (張進德) to a minor league contract. Jhang, whose signing in 2011 was considered part of a "scouting revolution" by the Post-Gazette, spent last season in AA ball with the Altoona Curve.

The Pirates have never had a Taiwanese player on the major league roster.

How To: Asia: Chinese Brush Calligraphy, November 1 at Pitt.

The University of Pittsburgh's Asian Studies Center will host a Chinese Brush Calligraphy demonstration as the next installment of its How To: Asia series.

Join us for a demonstration of Chinese brush calligraphy, followed by a chance to make and take home some calligraphy of your own!

The event starts at 5:00 pm in 4130 Posvar Hall (map). The event is free though space is limited and RSVP is requested to asia at pitt.edu.

Mother (마더), Okja, and The Host (괴물) at Row House Cinema's Bong Joon-ho film series, November 3 -9.

The Row House Cinema presents its first film series by a Korean filmmaker, with 2009's Mother (마더), the 2017 Netflix release Okja, and 2006's hit The Host (괴물) comprising a Bong Joon-ho film series from November 3 through 9.

A 2010 Roger Ebert review summarizes Mother:

The mother of the title, played by respected South Korean actress Kim Hye-ja, is a force of nature. In a village, she runs a little shop selling herbs, roots and spices. Her sideline is prescribing herbal cures. Her son Do-jun (Weon Bin), in his late 20s, lives at home and they sleep in the same bed. He's a few slices short of a pie. Early in the film, he's saved from death in traffic when his mother races to the rescue.

Do-jun has a friend named Jin-tae (Jin Gu). Jin-tae easily manipulates him. Do-jun's mental fogginess may be his most attractive quality. In the town, a shocking murder occurs. A girl's body is left where all can see. A golf ball with Do-jun's name is found near the death site.

A June 2017 Atlantic review introduces Netflix's Okja:

Okja begins with a splendiferous introduction to its title character. Who is Okja? The ecstatic businesswoman Lucy Mirando (Tilda Swinton) is thrilled to tell us, via multimedia presentation, by revealing to the press and her investors a new kind of “super-pig” her global corporation has discovered. A giant, lumbering beast resembling a hippo (though with a more baleful face), this creature is the future of cuisine, Lucy explains, and Okja is a prized calf sent to a farm in South Korea as part of a worldwide competition to find the best environment for her species. There she’ll roam around the mountains for 10 years, munch on the grass, and becoming a loving companion to young Mija (Ahn Seo-hyun), the farmer’s granddaughter.

And a Slate review introduces The Host, which was the highest-grossing South Korean film from its release until 2014:

Park Hie-bong (Byeon Hie-bong) manages a snack stand on the banks of the Han with his son, a bleached-blond ne'er-do-well named Gang-du (Song Kang-ho). Gang-du has a 13-year-old daughter, Hyeon-seo (Ko Ah-sung), whose mother abandoned her at birth. As Hyeon-seo and her layabout dad watch her aunt, Nam-joo (Bae Du-na), place third in a national archery competition on TV, something strange is happening in the river outside. What looks to be a giant, multilegged tadpole hangs upside down from a bridge piling, does a few impressive loop-the-loops under the bridge, and then disappears into the water. Passersby gather to watch, throwing food at the mysterious amphibian. Moments later, in defiance of the monster-movie convention of the slow reveal, the thing is galumphing along the riverbank in full daylight, munching its way through entire trailers full of people.

Tickets and showtime information are available at the theater's website. The single-screen theater is located at 4115 Butler Street in Lawrenceville (map).