Past Exhibitions

 Qu Yuan, a Chinese poet who lived approximately 2,300 years ago, was erudite and full of wisdom, noble, and possessed high moral character, refusing to ever wallow in the mire. He fought against all vice and pursued his ideals and political values fiercely in a society that was sunken hopelessly into depravity and degradation. 

This exhibition was a collaboration between SDCHM, the SDSU CCC, and the San Diego Dragon Boat Team! It was up from March 29, 2024 to September 1, 2024 at the  Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Extension. 

Photos of the exhibition are available here. 

 Anna May Wong, born Wong Liu Tsong in 1905 Los Angeles, emerged as a trailblazing figure in Hollywood, becoming the first Asian American movie star.  During her four-decade career, Anna May Wong's talent graced over 70 films, television shows, theaters, and radio programs.

This mini-pop-up exhibition was on display from March 1 to March 10, 2024 at our Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Extension. 

 The rise of snuff taking, and the subsequent use and collecting of snuff bottles (biyanhu), was a phenomenon occurring at the beginning of the Qing Dynasty. It is best understood within the broader social and historical cross-cultural perspective of the introduction of tobacco. 

Curated by Clare Chu, this exhibition incorporated around 120 snuff bottles, aiming to contextualize them in relation to historical context, considering events relevant to the popularization of the substance, its use, and, then, the popularization of snuff-bottles-as-objects.  It opened on September 1, 2023 and ran through February 25, 2024.

You can review a photo album of the exhibit here.  A video recorded tour is available here.

  Mr. Jahja Ling is universally praised for his work as music director of San Diego Symphony Orchestra, transforming it from post-bankruptcy into one of the top-tier major orchestras during his tenure from 2004-2017.  Born to a Chinese family in Jakarta, Indonesia, and now a citizen of the United States, he is the first and only conductor of Chinese descent who has held a director position with a major orchestra in the United States. 

In collaboration with the SDSU Chinese Cultural Center, this exhibition ran from March 24, 2023 until August 13, 2023.  It built on a separate exhibition that was originally developed by the Bonita Museum and Cultural Center.

Check out our photo album of the exhibit here.  A video recorded tour of the exhibition is available here.

Acupuncture is an ancient system of manipulating human energy pathways with thin needles to balance the body. It came to our shores with the Chinese immigrants in the 1800s, but was still illegal in the USA in the 1970’s.

Our Acupuncture exhibition, which ran from August 13, 2022 until February 26, 2023, glimpsed a rich history of the integration of cultures and medicine. Many advocate for Traditional Chinese Medicine won legalization and education, and continue the practice of this 5000-year old system in medicine here.

Images of the exhibition are available @https://photos.app.goo.gl/9EPuAutGFh2xEWyH9 .  A video recorded tour of the exhibition is available@https://youtu.be/DXFbDZdS2fc

Among the many treasures of the San Diego Chinese Historical Museum, Ambassador and Mrs. Drumright’s collection of Chinese paintings are certainly highlights.  This temporary exhibition on display at our Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Extension celebrates the friendship between the Drumrights and artists of the Republic of China, particularly those they met during the Ambassador’s four year tenure in Taiwan; hence, our show’s title is Ambassador and Mrs. E.F. Drumright's Ink Diplomacy.  There were approximately 35 works of art and 12 photos featured in the exhibition, which ran from April 1, 2022 until July 10, 2022.

Images of the exhibition are available @https://photos.app.goo.gl/8oXF8hBbVd8EYb377.  We also have made available a video recorded tour of the exhibition@https://youtu.be/JIXvgiUxyEo.

 Dragon imagery is ubiquitous in the San Diego Chinese Historical Museum’s permanent collection.  The mythical creatures appear on many different types of artifacts, ranging from flags and tapestries to clothing and jewelry to funerary jars.   Dragons was a family-friendly exhibition that explored the symbolism of the dragon in Chinese culture through these very artifacts.  

Dragons ran at the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Extension from June 1, 2019 until January 30, 2020.  Images of the exhibition are available @https://photos.app.goo.gl/R25XshB66Kbdd6RS7

This temporary exhibition partnered artifacts from the Museum’s permanent collection with a pictorial on the legal history of Chinese-American women, curated by legal historian and Attorney at Law, Chang Chiu Chen.  The panels developed by Dr. Chen pay tribute to the struggles and triumphs of Chinese-American women, as they fought for the right to immigrate, to live with dignity, to attend public schools, and to be able to enjoy success in the United States.  

HERSTORY ran at the Chuang Archive and Learning Center from March 9 until June 1, 2019.  Images of the exhibition are available @https://photos.app.goo.gl/opA1rEbC9211jHgV7

World In Porcelain featured more than 100 pieces of Chinese export porcelain from the collection of Professor Yu Chunming.  The exhibition explored through these objects the expansive trade era between China and the West through the development of the Maritime Silk Road, from the 1500's to the mid-19th Century.  

World In Porcelain ran at the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Extension from  September 14, 2018 until February 17, 2019.  Images are available @https://photos.app.goo.gl/i5CjFTkPoDxN5Qjm9

This exhibition showcased a collection of artifacts and art pieces representing the “Four Treasures of the Chinese Study,” which are used in the study of Chinese calligraphy and writing.  They include: ink stick, ink stone, writing brush, and paper.  

Pieces and personal effects from over 20 local artists were shown as part of Four Treasures, which ran from October 14 to December 17, 2017 at the Chuang Archive and Learning Center.

Unseen Portrait: The Art of Tom Hom featured over 50 works by local Chinese American leader and political legend, Tom Hom.  The exhibition included sketches, cartoons, watercolors, and oil paintings, highlighting Tom's  dedication to documenting the Chinese American experience in artistic form.

Unseen Portrait ran from May 20 -

August 20, 2017 at the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Extension.

Radical Machines: Chinese in the Information Age explored the seemingly impossible, yet technologically crucial Chinese typewriter – a machine that types a language with no alphabet, yet has more than 70,000 characters.  

The exhibition was curated by award-winning Stanford historian Dr. Thomas S. Mullaney, and ran from January 21 to April 16, 2017 at the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Extension.