Portland State partners with Lan Su Chinese Garden to highlight Asian culture
For the very first time, the Portland State Institute for Asian Studies has teamed up with volunteers associated with the Lan Su Chinese Garden to hold a once-monthly garden program on the university campus, called First Saturday East Asian Program Series.
This year’s program series, titled “Windows into Beauty and Meaning,” is open to both students and the Portland community. It features lectures on Chinese gardens, architecture, art and the historical culture of China and East Asia and showcases their connections with the Pacific Northwest, according to press material.
“I think we are very fortunate to have several institutions helping us understand world cultures, and the Lan Su Chinese Garden and PSU are two of them,” said Cynthia Johnson Haruyama, executive director of the garden. “It’s an amazing opportunity for collaboration and replication of what the other one is doing.”
Haruyama will present the third lecture in the series, “Staff travels and relationship building,” Dec. 3, and will focus on Chinese gardens in North America.
This area carries a special meaning for Haruyama.
“I have been a student of Chinese history and philosophy for 30 years, and this garden is an amazing treasure in Portland, Ore.,” she said. “The chance to put together my experience with my love of Chinese history and culture was too good to pass up.”
The program series is held every first Saturday of the month. Earlier this term, guided tours of the garden were held by Martin Nicholson, curator of the Hoyt Arboretum.
The mission of the Lan Su Chinese Garden, established in 2000, is to “cultivate an oasis of tranquil beauty and harmony to inspire, engage and educate our global community in the appreciation of a richly authentic Chinese Culture,” according to its website.
For this reason, volunteers associated with the garden reached out to students and faculty at Portland State.
“China is such an important country in the world now, and I think most Americans are interested in knowing more about China so that we can all be global citizens together,” she said. “Chinese gardens encompass the philosophical and societal values of Chinese culture; they’re our window into understanding Chinese history and culture.”
