While the entire world is celebrating the spirit of sports, demonstrated through the physical competition, the Chinese Culture Center would like to introduce the games of the hands and mind.

Along with its history of art, culture and science, China also has a rich tradition of puzzles and a fascination with puzzling objects. Besides, many traditional Chinese puzzles are artistic creations that reflect classical art forms and display extraordinary craftsmanship. An important part of the Chinese Puzzles exhibition will be its hands-on component. While the antique puzzles on display will please the eye, visitors will also have a chance to challenge their hands and minds by playing with and solving an assortment of newly made Chinese puzzles.

In China, puzzles are called yizhi youxi (intelligence games), and for many generations they have challenged the minds of young and old and tested the ingenuity of rich and poor alike. Even members of the royal family enjoyed playing with puzzles!

Chinese Puzzles is an exhibition of antique Chinese puzzles from the Yi Zhi Tang Collection and will include traditional puzzles, such as qiqiaoban (tangram), jiulianhuan (nine rings puzzle), and Huarong Dao (sliding block puzzle). But it will also have examples of puzzling objects, visual puzzles, and cleverly designed practical objects, such as puzzle rings and multi-step padlocks.

Chinese Puzzles will be the first exhibition anywhere devoted exclusively to the subject of Chinese puzzles. This exhibition showcases the Yi Zhi Tang Collection, which was formed by Bay Area residents Wei Zhang and Peter Rasmussen.

To celebrate the opening of the Chinese Puzzles Exhibition, the Chinese Culture Center will be holding a reception on July 22nd at 6:00 PM.

This exhibition is funded by Walter & Elise Haas Fund, Vincent Woo Foundation, The San Francisco Foundation, Union Bank of California and Grants for the Arts.

Free.

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