A brief introduction to the Qu'ran. Includes audio by Qamar Adamjee, Malavalli Family Foundation Associate Curator of Art of the Indian Subcontinent.

An introduction to the special exhibition, The Dragon's Gift: The Sacred Art of Bhutan on view at the Asian Art Museum fron February 20–May 10, 2009. Exhibition produced by the Honolulu Academy of Arts.

The Shang dynasty extends from roughly 1500 to 1050 BCE. According to various histories and traditions, the Shang people originated along the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow river. They defeated the Xia under the king Chengtang and established a number of city states. The Shang have been known in the archaeological record from around 1898‒99, when oracle bones drew attention to the site of Anyang, revealing the last capital of the Shang, and confirming the existence of the dynasty. Since then, the period has been divided into two main stages known as Erligang and Anyang. It is believed the Shang moved their capital at least five times, and several dozen Shang sites have been identified. At this point, however, the best known sites are at Anyang and Zhengzhou.

Buddhism was introduced into Tibet from India and China beginning in the 600s. Over the succeeding centuries, Buddhism became the dominant cultural form in Tibet, exerting a powerful influence not only over religion, but also over politics, the arts, and other aspects of society. Tibetan Buddhism eventually spread into Mongolia and Nepal, as well as into China, where it received imperial patronage especially during the Yuan (1260–1368) and Qing (1368–1644) dynasties.

Mari L'Esperance reads a poem she wrote in response to seven paintings by Fuyuko Matsui in the exhibition Phantoms of Asia: Contemporary Awakens the Past (on view at the Asian Art Museum from May 18–September 2, 2012). This presentation was part of MATCHA. Co-presented by Litquake.

Archaeology is the study of the material remains of humanity’s past. Excavated materials, along with other historical objects and text records, form the primary source material on Ancient China.

Refined Character Type: Arjuna, third of the Pandava (Pandawa) brothers, approx. 1950. Indonesia; West Java. Wood, cloth, and mixed media. From The Mimi and John Herbert Collection, F2000.86.115.

Arrival of a Portuguese ship, one of a pair (Nanban screens), Six panel folding screen, 1620-1640. Japan. Ink, colors, and gold on paper, The Avery Brundage Collection, B60D77+.

Asian Art Museum Art Speak teaching artist, Adrienne Skye Roberts, discusses the inspiration behind her work with the Art Speak interns and her own art.

The Art/Lit Living Innovation Zone is a new work of public sculpture developed as part of the Living Innovation Zone (LIZ) program. The installation was designed by a team of youth in the Architecture Program at Youth Art Exchange, who were inspired by dragons—a mythological creature found in the art and literature of many different cultures and time periods. Their dragon is decorated with a myriad of patterns found on artwork in the collections of the Asian Art Museum. Over the next two years, the intended life of the project, the sculpture and area around it will be programmed with activities, decorated with new murals, and celebrated with art openings.