Happy Lunar New Year from the USC US-China Institute!
How to Make the Universe Right: The Art of the Shaman from Vietnam and Southern China
The UCSB Art, Design & Architecture Museum is hosting an exhibition called How to Make the Universe Right. It features scrolls and ceremonial objects from ancient Vietnamese and Chinese groups and will be on view until May 1, 2015.
When:
January 17, 2015 12:00am to May 1, 2015 12:00am
Where
![](https://china.usc.edu/sites/default/files/styles/event_node_featured/public/events/featured-image/how-to-make-the-universe.jpg?itok=25ZWiLFd)
How to Make the Universe Right presents an unprecedented group of scrolls and ceremonial objects of the Yao people and other groups from Vietnam and Southern China. This rich tradition of Shamanist practice brings together Daoist and Buddhist deities, Confucian ancestor worship, and Animism.
These scroll paintings, costumes, masks, instruments and the other ceremonial objects represent an unbroken link to the past of Asian mountain cultures whose roots go back 2000 years. Scrolls vary in number from sets of three to complete sets of seventeen or more depending on the shaman’s stature and the intended purpose of the work. The complete Daoist pantheon is usually represented, including the Three Pure Ones, the Jade Emperor, and Master of Saints. The spiritual stories represented in the scroll paintings also include celestial beings such as the Three Merciful Ones, the Four Heavenly Messengers, and the Ten Kings of Hell, and divine animals such tigers, dragons, lion-dogs, and others.
With the help of scrolls and other spiritual objects, such as the ones exhibited in this show, shamans guide their people’s vital spiritual life binding them together and helping them “make the universe right.”
Cost:
Free and Open to the Public
Event Website URL:
Featured Articles
January 4, 2024
We note the passing of many prominent individuals who played some role in U.S.-China affairs, whether in politics, economics or in helping people in one place understand the other.
Events
Thursday, March 21, 2024 - 4:00pm PST
Ying Zhu looks at new developments for Chinese and global streaming services.
Tuesday, March 19, 2024 - 4:00pm
David Zweig examines China's talent recruitment efforts, particularly towards those scientists and engineers who left China for further study. U.S. universities, labs and companies have long brought in talent from China. Are such people still welcome?