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History and Memory in Seventeenth Century Chinese Drama
This talk will focus on the reverberations of the Ming-Qing dynastic transition in early Qing drama. Three issues will be discussed: the difference between veiled and direct reference to the fall of the Ming dynasty; the perspectives of first- and second-generation memory; the uses and implications of meta-theatrical references. The plays canvassed include Wu Weiye’s dramatic oeuvre, The Palace of Everlasting Life by Hong Sheng, and The Peach Blossom Fan by Kong Shangren.
Wai-yee Li grew up in Hong Kong and received her BA from the University of Hong Kong. After finishing her PhD at Princeton, she taught at a number of universities and is currently the 1879 Professor of Chinese Literature at Harvard University. She has published books on early China and Ming-Qing China. Her recent publications include a translation of The Peach Blossom Fan (Oxford UP, December 2024) and The Confucius Chronicles (Columbia UP, January 2026).
Date:
19 January 2026, 17:00
Venue:
Dickson Poon Building, Canterbury Road OX2 6LU
Venue Details:
Kin-ku Cheng Lecture Theatre (lower ground floor)
Speaker:
Professor Wai-yee Li (Harvard University)
Organising department:
Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies
Organisers:
Dr Mark Czeller (University of Oxford),
Dr Cheuk Yee Wai (University of Oxford),
Professor Tian Yuan Tan (University of Oxford),
Dr Bo-jiun Jing (University of Oxford),
Dr Zhe Wang (University of Oxford),
Dr Evelyn Chan (University of Oxford),
Professor Denise van der Kamp (University of Oxford)
Organiser contact email address:
information@chinese.ox.ac.uk
Host:
Professor Tian Yuan Tan (University of Oxford)
Part of:
China Studies Seminar series
Booking required?:
Not required
Cost:
Free
Audience:
Public
Editor:
Clare Orchard
