China Institute @ Your School
(Online or In-person)
Through China Institute’s We All Live in the Forbidden City program, we offer a series of standards-based, interactive programs that introduce K-6 students to Chinese history and culture. Children are introduced to the program’s subject matter—developed in conjunction with the award-winning We All Live in the Forbidden City series of children’s books—through animated videos, interactive storytelling, group discussion and creative activities. All workshops are led by the Institute’s experienced educators and are adjusted according to grade level. Using China’s Forbidden City as a lens, the program addresses universal values such as respecting and being inspired by the natural world; understanding the balance between freedom and responsibility; and the importance of leadership and teamwork. Each workshop session is one hour long.
Thanks to our generous supporters, we were able to provide free workshops for public schools in the tri-state area for this school year by February 2023. Currently, we are offering public and private schools at subsidized rates. Up to 30 participants per workshop.
Please contact our Program Director, Yonglian Xiao, at yxiao@chinainstitute.org or call (212) 744-8181, ext. 110.
TO APPLY
Please fill out the workshop request form and send it back to Yonglian Xiao at yxiao@chinainstitute.org
This program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.
Workshop Sponsor
Workshop #1 - The Palace is like a Big Forest
Workshop #2 - How Are You, Mr. Emperor?
Workshop #3 - The Emperor’s Big Family
In this workshop, students will discover what life was like inside the court of the Forbidden City and how it resembled one big family. Through discussions, a game, and a role-playing exercise, they will learn how the imperial court functioned and exercise problem-solving skills. By learning about the duties of people inside the palace, students will learn to appreciate individual contributions and the importance of collaborative efforts. Finally, by filling out a clever questionnaire, students will reflect on their own talents and interests, and how they can benefit their communities.
Workshop #4 - Bowls of Happiness
By studying the art of Chinese porcelain, students will discover how bowls are made and learn how to appreciate them as works of art. They will learn about auspicious symbols found in Chinese culture (such as bats, butterflies, and peaches) and explore their meanings, which serve as expressions of caring between people. Through group sharing about their love toward nature, an animated video, and a fun game with chopsticks, they will learn about the Chinese language and everyday culture, especially how beautiful elements in nature influenced the designs on Chinese artworks. Lastly, students will learn a short meditation and to reflect things in life with gratitude, followed by coloring auspicious symbols and design their own images that conveys good wishes.
Art & Nature in the Forbidden City: A 3-Session Workshop Series
This series of three one-hour workshops incorporates and builds on the materials from the stand-alone workshops “The Palace is like a Big Forest and “Bowls of Happiness” to strengthen the impact and reinforce the ideas of the program. This series explore the role of nature and art within the Forbidden City and Chinese culture generally and how the students can apply it to their own lives.
Session 1: The Palace is like a Big Forest
In this initial workshop children learn about the largest wooden architectural structure and largest enclosed palace in the world: the Forbidden City in Beijing, China. Students learn how the inspiration for building the palace came from nature. Through additional games, movement activities, discussion, and an animated video, children learn not only how nature influenced and inspires Chinese culture and the building of the Forbidden City, but also how nature can inspire and nurture us in our daily lives. They each design their own ideal home or place in nature. They also discuss how to respect and live sustainably within our natural environment. The students have a take-home project to complete their drawing and write about why it is their ideal home or place.
Session 2: Bowls of Happiness
The students present and discuss their take-home projects.
In the first workshop students examined how nature benefits and inspires us in our everyday lives. In this workshop they look at how people create art that reflects their inspiration from nature. By studying the art of Chinese porcelain, students discover how bowls are made and learn how to appreciate them as works of art. They learn about auspicious symbols found in Chinese culture (such as bats, butterflies, and peaches) and explore their meanings, which serve as expressions of caring between people. Through group sharing about their love toward nature, an animated video, and a fun game with chopsticks, they will learn about the Chinese language and everyday culture, especially how beautiful elements in nature influenced the designs on Chinese artworks. Lastly, students will learn a short meditation and to reflect things in life with gratitude, followed by coloring auspicious symbols and design their own images that conveys good wishes.
Session 3: A Home in Nature, Nature in the Home
The students present and discuss their take-home projects and are encouraged to mail their postcard to the person for whom it was designed.
In this final session, students reflect on what they have learned so far in the workshop about Chinese art, architecture, and how nature can inspire us in our lives. Students watch a short video about the Forbidden City and discuss what they learned about Chinese architecture and symbols. Working in groups they design their own palace or city, thinking about how they can work together to create an ideal home for everyone, how they can use and be inspired by nature in its construction, and how it can be sustainable. Each group presents their palace. The class then looks at different buildings and homes from ancient to contemporary times that incorporate and are sustainable within their environment (such as igloos, Falling Water, modern tree houses). Finally the class talks about what they can do to protect nature in their everyday life, how they can give back to nature, and how they can take their inspiration from nature out into the world.
