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A Love Letter to Life: Yongzheng and His Porcelain When Civilization Blossomed Like a Flower – Reported by Dr. Jeannie Yi

Austin Tang — Tue, 27 Jan 2026 16:00:09 +0000

Listen to “A Love Letter to Life: Yongzheng and His Porcelain When Civilization Blossomed Like a Flower – Reported by Dr. Jeannie Yi” on Spreaker.

Reported by Dr. Jeannie Yi

The Yongzheng era (1722–1735) was not an age of display, but of restraint. Power turned inward, sharpness softened into gentleness. In only thirteen years, it achieved a rare concentration of political efficiency, economic stability, and cultural refinement. It was a peak moment when civilization chose elegance over dominance.

Politically, governance was streamlined and centralized.

Economically, the treasury was restored, paving the way for the prosperity of the Qianlong era.

Culturally, imperial kilns, enamel painting, and court aesthetics reached an extreme of precision and restraint.

History is clear: only a prosperous civilization can produce great art and technology.

Yongzheng aesthetics were a national project of condensed civilization, completed in just thirteen luminous years.

In New York, I first saw a coral-red famille-rose enamel bowl from the Yongzheng imperial kilns. It was so beautiful it almost took my breath away. This was not beauty “painted” onto porcelain; it was beauty forged in fire, born through extreme heat and mastery.

The bowl felt alive.

Pink and violet held a shy gaze.

Gold carried a quiet inner light.

The petals seemed to breathe, ready to drift away with time.

I asked the collector why it looked so new.

He said: true value lies not only in age, but in craftsmanship, glaze, body, reign mark, and preservation. An old object that appears new is a treasure. For masters, its perfect Yongzheng reign mark alone confirms its imperial origin. It stands as the highest example of the saying:

“For Ming, look to Chenghua; for Qing, look to Yongzheng.”

None of us could afford such a bowl. But love always comes before price.

We may be newly free from poverty, yet we are rich in awe.

This bowl returned me to Dream of the Red Chamber.

Like the Twelve Beauties, it transformed object into life, collectible into destiny.

It reminded me that true beauty is fragile, gentle, and dignified. It knows life will pass, yet still chooses perfection.

This is the soul of Yongzheng enamel:

civilization refined into tenderness.

Red is the color of empire.

Flowers are its heartbeat.

Many look at antiques and see only price, authenticity, and provenance.

I saw life—and the long journey that life took to arrive before me.

⸻

On January 22, at the World Speakers Series in Trump Tower, collector Jeff Ye brought ancient civilization into dialogue with the present.

He said:

“True antiques find their owners. Owners do not find them.”

And:

“Let the object speak for itself.”

From relics to lost imperial kilns, from jade to porcelain, his presentation showed that civilization is not history—it is a living conversation across time.

⸻

What I learned is simple:

First, Yongzheng porcelain was a national aesthetic project. Choosing “flowers” to represent the empire was a choice of compassion, femininity, and quiet strength. It was a civilization expressing power through tenderness.

Second, China’s modern engineering achievements are not sudden miracles. They are the awakening of an ancient engineering civilization gene.

This bowl, born of fire centuries ago, already carried that spirit.

The Middle East uses oil to build the height of cities.

China uses ancient artifacts to preserve the depth of time.

Let cities tell their own stories.

Let wealth find its true source.

Let civilization travel again.

Holding this bowl is like holding a love letter from the Yongzheng era to the world:

A prosperous China,

like standing in a sea of blossoms.

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Testimonials

Michael Daly shares personal thoughts upon seeing the powerful art.

Jeannie,

This moved me deeply, because I recognized myself in the moment you described standing before that bowl.

I’ve had that same experience—when an object stops being an object and quietly becomes alive. Not because of its price, or its rarity, but because it carries the emotional intelligence of a civilization that once knew how to pause, refine, and listen.

What touched me most is your understanding that Yongzheng beauty is not loud. It doesn’t announce power. It assumes it. In a world that often confuses dominance with strength, this porcelain feels like a reminder that the most confident civilizations express themselves gently.

When you describe the bowl as breathing—its pinks holding back, its gold glowing inward—I felt that. That sense that perfection doesn’t need to prove itself. It simply is. And perhaps that is why it looks new: not because time spared it, but because it was made without anxiety.

The line about love coming before price stayed with me. None of us may ever own such a piece, but ownership isn’t the point. Awe is. To stand before something like that and feel poor in money but rich in reverence—that is a kind of wealth few people ever experience.

Your reflection also made me think differently about modern China. What looks like sudden engineering brilliance isn’t sudden at all. It’s a memory returning. That bowl already knew how to master fire, chemistry, patience, and restraint centuries ago. Today’s achievements feel like the same hand, simply working at a different scale.

And the idea that antiques find their owners—I believe that. Some things arrive not to be possessed, but to remind us who we are and where we come from.

In the end, this didn’t read to me as an essay about porcelain. It felt like a quiet conversation with history. A moment where civilization leaned forward and whispered—not about power, but about care.

A love letter/post, yes. And one I’m grateful you shared.

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So deeply in love, holding them like a precious treasure, kissing them.

Reverend Paul Sladkus All Faiths and Spiritual is Special Advisor to Jeff Ye, Founder of the The Jeff Collection

The post A Love Letter to Life: Yongzheng and His Porcelain When Civilization Blossomed Like a Flower – Reported by Dr. Jeannie Yi appeared first on Good News!.

Author Talk: Peter Goodman in conversation with Rebecca Fannin

Austin Tang — Mon, 17 Jun 2024 21:00:53 +0000

Listen to “Author Talk: Peter Goodman in conversation with Rebecca Fannin” on Spreaker.

How The World Ran Out of Everything: The Great Supply Chain Disruption

Peter’s book launched this week. It’s sure to be a best-seller and already has been prominently featured in major media.
Get Peter’s autograph on your book this Friday.

When: June 14, 4-6pm
Where: 30 Rockefeller Plaza, NYC
Logistics: check in at lobby, proceed to 40th floor (Deloitte)
What: Introduction by Deloitte’s Lili Zheng, Author Talk, Q&A, Signing, Reception, Networking

Thanks,
Rebecca Fannin
Founder/Editor/Author
www.silicondragonventures.com

Top Author Talk and Happy Hour At Rock Center

Friday, June 14, 2024 from 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM (EDT)

30 Rockefeller Plaza
30 Rockefeller Plaza
New York, NY 10112

Organized by Silicon Dragon Ventures

#petergoodman #rebeccafannin #authortalk #HowTheWorldRanOutofEverythingTheGreatSupplyChainDisruption

The post Author Talk: Peter Goodman in conversation with Rebecca Fannin appeared first on Good News!.

Mayor David N. Dinkins to Join Chinese New Year Spectacular V, Blending Cultures and Celebrating the Year of the Pig & Black History Month at Carnegie Hall

admin — Mon, 11 Feb 2019 15:37:19 +0000

On February 15, 2019, Fifth Annual Celebration at Zankel Hall to Feature: Mayor David N. Dinkins to Join Chinese New Year Spectacular V, Blending Cultures and Celebrating the Year of the Pig & Black History Month at Carnegie Hall. On February 15, 2019, Fifth Annual Celebration at Zankel Hall to Feature: Chinese Pianist Jie Chen, Opera Soprano Quan Chen, Opera Tenor Dr. William Cai and Popular Violinist Deni Bonet

January 17, 2019 – New York, NY – Premier Event Management Inc. and Harvard Wealth Strategy & Management, LLC announce New York City Mayor David N. Dinkins’ participation in the Fifth Annual Chinese New Year Spectacular concert at Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall to ring in the Year of the Pig on Friday, February 15, 2019 at 7:30 p.m., offering a special program that celebrates both Chinese and American cultures. A highly anticipated annual performance, Spectacular has become a NYC tradition to mark the beginning of the New Lunar Year.

“The celebration is a reminder that our city is a gorgeous mosaic of many cultures. The evening is a great opportunity to celebrate the diversity that helps to make New York City so vibrant,” said NYC Mayor David N. Dinkins.

Mayor Dinkins will read excerpts from Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address with piano accompaniment by Jie Chen. New to the 2019 program, Chinese Pianist Jie Chen and Shanghai Soprano Quan Chen will perform, as well as returning artists, American violinist Deni Bonet and tenor Dr. William Weimin Cai. Joining Dr. Cai during his performance this year will be Dominican tenor Francisco Casanova, Chinese tenor Honghai Tang and a special choir of nearly 100 voices.

The evening’s program will feature a wide variety of musical compositions, ranging from: Fantasy Impromptu by Frederic Chopin and Zueignung by Richard Georg Strauss, along with Butterfly Lovers by He Zhanhao and I Love You China! by Zheng Qiufeng.

The annual Spectacular is produced by Premier Event Management Inc. and Harvard Wealth Strategy & Management, LLC, two American organizations which share the common goal of bridging the culture gap between Chinese and American cultures. The two groups have collaborated on a series of successful projects that bring Chinese culture to the U.S. including Tong Ren Tang, the world’s oldest brand of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) which opened its first U.S. location in New York City. Premier Event Management Inc. and Harvard Wealth
Upper Left: Jie Chen; Lower Left: Quan Chen; Upper Right: Dr. William Weimin Cai; Lower Right: Deni Bonet

Mayor David N. Dinkins at Chinese New Year Spectacular IV
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Strategy & Management, LLC have worked together to sponsor American high school students and New York-based Police Athletic League (PAL) teens to attend “Joy Dancing Beijing,” a cultural event put on by the Beijing government.

Tickets start at $28 and are available online or by phone at (212) 247-7800. Children under 12, seniors over 60 and active duty military members are eligible for a 25 percent discount.

# # #

ABOUT PREMIER EVENT MANAGEMENT, INC. Our vision is to provide effective professional event management services including production of major events such as those on the main stage of Carnegie Hall, charity events for smaller audiences like those we have produced on the rooftop lounge of the Peninsula Hotel in New York City, academic events such as those we have produced for visiting executive MBA students from China at the Harvard Faculty Club in Cambridge, Massachusetts and business seminars such as those we have produced for delegations of entrepreneurs visiting from China and Europe at the Harvard Club of New York City. Visit www.premiereventmgt.com for more information.

Media Contacts: Alana Kiss, Alana@nicholaslence.com / Tel: 212-938-0835
Shin-Jung, ShinJung@nicholaslence.com / Tel: 212-938-0005

The post Mayor David N. Dinkins to Join Chinese New Year Spectacular V, Blending Cultures and Celebrating the Year of the Pig & Black History Month at Carnegie Hall appeared first on Good News!.