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Sifu John Chen at the Ba’z Tai Chi and Kung Fu Studio leads Museum guests in a Tai Chi demonstration. |
MONKEY
1944, 1956, 1968, 1980, 1992, 2004, 2016, 2028
People born in the year of the monkey have a quick wit, and are optimistic and adventurous.
The zodiac advises that these individuals’ lucky flower is the chrysanthemum, and that they can find successful careers
in banking, science, engineering and film. — from The Chinese Zodiac
Swing on into the Year of the Monkey at the Penn Museum’s 35th Annual Chinese New Year Celebration on Saturday, January 30, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The festive day features traditional music and dance, tai chi and tangram workshops and martial arts presentations, family crafts and much more—with the grand finale drums and the roar of the lion dance and parade. Activities are held in the China Gallery, which houses one of the finest collections of monumental Chinese art in the country, and throughout the international galleries of the Museum. A special red envelope of surprises awaits every family who attends the festivities.
The celebration—one of Philadelphia’s oldest—is free with Museum admission donation ($15, general admission; $13, seniors [65+]; $10, children [6-17] and full-time students [with ID]; $2, ACCESS Card holders; free to children under 5, members, active U.S. Military, STAMP and PennCard holders).
Exploring Ancient and Modern Traditions
At 11 a.m., Chinese painting instructor Onlei Annie Jung will lead a drop-in painting workshop to teach basic stroke techniques of monkey images. At 2 p.m., she returns for a separate workshop to explain the seven tans of the tangram, an ancient Chinese puzzle game believed to have been invented in China during the Song Dynasty, and introduced in Europe in the early 19th century.
Guided family tours at 12:30 p.m. and 2:45 p.m. will wind through the Museum to find monkeys and primates, exploring how they were valued in other cultures. Tour stops include the Egypt gallery, the Mexico and Central America gallery, and the Human Evolution: The First 200 Million Years exhibition.
Qin Qian and local musician and instructor Kurt Jung will perform modern and traditional Chinese melodies on the erhu (Chinese two-string fiddle) and the yangchin (Chinese hammered dulcimer) at 12:30 p.m. and 2 p.m. Mr. Jung will also discuss the role of music in ancient Chinese society in these sessions.
Students from the Penn Chinese Language Program will lead a family storytime at 1 p.m. featuring the adventure book, Journey to the West (Monkey), a novel published during the Ming Dynasty and considered one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. The tale weaves the historical pilgrimage of a Tang Dynasty Buddhist monk with folk tale elements and imaginative, comical elements.
In China, tai chi is categorized as a martial art applied with internal power. Focusing the mind solely on the movements of the form helps to bring about a state of mental calm and clarity. Sifu John Chen and his students from the Ba’z Tai Chi and Kung Fu Studio will offer an interactive workshop at 1:30 p.m. At 2:30 p.m., guests can join Falun Gong practitioners from the Greater Philadelphia Falun Dafa Association for sets of gentle and relaxing exercises.
Beginning at 2:15 p.m., the award-winning Great Wall Chinese School Little Mulan Dance Troupe will perform a selection of traditional and folk dances from China.
Throughout the day, a Chinese Art Marketplace will provide activities for families, including a Year of the Monkey craft station, and paper cutting presentations by local artists. Chinese calligraphy painters write on red paper in the newer Spring Festival tradition of pasting special couplets on every door in the home.
Members of Cheung’s Hung Gar Kung Fu Academy will offer a dynamic, Shaolin-style Kung Fu demonstration at 3 p.m., then treat visitors to the sharp footwork and pulsating drums of a spectacular Grand Finale Lion Dance to chase away evil and usher in good luck for the year.
The Pepper Mill Café will join the festivities by offering a selection of Chinese lunch entrées and kid-friendly foods.
The Epoch Times, media sponsor of the 35th Annual Chinese New Year Celebration at the Penn Museum, will offer free copies of their weekly, Chinese language newspaper.
The Celebration is the second in the Museum’s World Culture Day series. Guests can pick up a Passport to Cultures upon arrival and begin collecting their 10 stamps to earn an invitation to a special Penn Museum Junior Anthropologist ceremony.
More About the Sign of the Monkey
Traditional Chinese element theory assigns one of five elements to each year of every zodiac sign: Gold (Metal), Wood, Water, Fire and Earth. Fire is the element associated with this Year of the Monkey. In particular, Fire Monkey attributes include having a harmonious family, being popular among friends and a tendency to relocate from their hometowns to find success. Famous people born in fire monkey years include Star Wars actress Carrie Fisher, Tom Hanks and Mae Jemison.
About the China Gallery
Families can explore extraordinary artistic achievements of the Chinese through artifacts including silk paintings, jade and coral figurines, bronze vessels, stone sculptures and glazed pottery. Guests can also view the Museum’s distinctive 19th-century crystal ball—the centerpiece of the Harrison Rotunda—as well as renowned Chinese Buddhist sculptures and the stone reliefs of Emperor Taizong’s favorite horses, Curly and Autumn Dew.
