Past Events 2015-16
20160709CantoSounds
Post-Youth Realism: Retrograde Poetics and Spatial Involution in Chinese Youth Literature and Cinema
School of Chinese Seminar
Post-Youth Realism:
Retrograde Poetics and Spatial Involution in Chinese Youth Literature and Cinema
Dr Hui Faye Xiao
East Asian Languages and Cultures, University of Kansas
Date and Time: June 6, 2016 (Monday); 5:30-6:45pm
Venue: Room 730, Run Run Shaw Tower, Centennial Campus, HKU
Language: English
In the latest development of the Chinese culture industry, youth literature and cinema have turned out to be the most lucrative products due to the expanding purchasing power of the younger generations. However, beneath the phenomenal prosperity of such a capital-intensive youth economy (青春經濟), a closer reading of these youth-oriented literary and cinematic works reveals a profound sense of crisis and a common mood of nostalgia, which disrupt the firm establishment of the progressive image of forward-looking New Youth in the traditions of critical and socialist realism. The latest youth-oriented literary and cinematic works often present anti-bildungs roman narratives that conjure up a post-youth subject overshadowed by a growing fear of an uncertain future, including biological and social decay. While indulging in the fantasized spectacle of a utopian past, they also tend to portray the present-day- life as trapped in a fragmented and in volute space overwhelmed by a multitude of desublimated, trivialized, and uncanny details.
Focusing on the quotidian, and often dystopian, life in a neoliberalizing China, these works appear to embrace what Jason McGrath calls “postsocialist realism,” moving away from the socialist realist ideological truth of a “historical movement toward a Communist utopia.” However, instead of capturing this de-revolutionized raw reality through a post-socialist documentary aesthetics, the recent youth films utilize star images, studio settings, artificial lighting, scripted performance, continuity editing and other techniques reminiscent of mainstream Hollywood cinema. Moreover, the youth fiction’s frequent references to and parodies of popular culture and media products further demonstrate a transmedial aesthetics of global youth culture in a digital age. Through a close reading of Chinese youth fiction and films released in the new millennium, I explore this new “post-youth realism” that positions itself in different distances from critical, socialist and post-socialist realisms, and calls into question the perceived nature of “reality” and the future-oriented image of “New Youth” in a mediated and fractured world.
Hui Faye Xiao is Associate Professor of modem Chinese literature and culture at the University of Kansas. She has published a book Family Revolution: Marital Strife in Contemporary Chinese Literature and Visual Culture, and articles in Chinese Literature Today, Modern Chinese Literature and Culture (MCLC), Journal of Chinese Cinemas, Journal of Contemporary China, Chinese Films in Focus II, and Gender and Modernity in Global Youth Cultures. Currently she is working on a new book project about contemporary Chinese youth culture.
ALL ARE WELCOME!
Binbin Yang, Heroines of the Qing: Exemplary Women Tell Their Stories(Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2016)
School of Chinese Book Launch
Binbin Yang, Heroines of the Qing: Exemplary Women Tell Their Stories
(Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2016)
Date and Time: May 20, 2016 (Friday); 5:30-6:45pm
Venue: Room 730, Run Run Shaw Tower, Centennial Campus, HKU
Language: Mandarin
Heroines of the Qing introduces an array of Chinese women from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries who were powerful, active subjects of their own lives and who wrote themselves as the heroines of their exemplary stories. Traditionally, “exemplary women” (lienu)—heroic martyrs, chaste widows, and faithful maidens, for example—were written into official dynastic histories for their unrelenting adherence to female virtue by Confucian family standards. However, despite the rich writing traditions about these women, their lives were often distorted by moral and cultural agendas. Binbin Yang, drawing on interdisciplinary sources, shows how they were able to cross boundaries that were typically closed to women—boundaries not only of gender, but also of knowledge, economic power, political engagement, and ritual and cultural authority. Yang closely examines the rhetorical strategies these “exemplary women” exploited for self-representation in various writing genres and highlights their skillful negotiation with, and appropriation of, the values of female exemplarity for self-empowerment.
ALL ARE WELCOME!
新詮釋、新思維：第一屆文學研究新芽工作坊New Interpretation, New Ideas: The First Annual Literary Studies Symposium for Junior Researchers
新詮釋、新思維：第一屆文學研究新芽工作坊
New Interpretation, New Ideas:
The First Annual Literary Studies Symposium for Junior Researchers
徵文啟事
「新詮釋、新思維：第一屆文學研究新芽工作坊」，由香港大學中文學院與香港中文大學中國語言及文學系聯合主辦，旨在促進兩校研究生的學術交流，同時加強兩校之間的聯繫。是次工作坊謹定於2016年5月27日（星期五）假香港大學校園舉行。徵稿主題包括：
一、文學作品的典律現象之生成
二、文學的重新解讀與反思
三、文學與文化的交錯與跨越
四、文學的傳播與接受
五、其他與古典文學或現當代文學研究相關的議題
歡迎兩校從事文學研究的博、碩士生來稿，進行學術意見的交流與互動。投稿詳情如下
發表語言： 廣東話、普通話、英語
日 期： 2016年5月27 日（星期五）
時 間： 上午八時至下午六時
地 點： 香港大學百周年校園逸夫教學樓730室
申請資格： 就讀於兩校的博士（PhD）及碩士（MPhil）研究生
報名辦法： 請於2016年5月1日前提交論文摘要（500字為限）交予所屬學校的負責人
費 用： 本工作坊不設參加費，主辦單位將為參加者提供當天的午餐和晚宴
負 責 人： 香港大學：余文章老師（isaacyue@hku.hk）& 香港中文大學：徐瑋老師（wtsui@cuhk.edu.hk）
香港大學中文學院、香港城市大學中文及歷史學系合辦第一屆香港大學、香港城市大學中文文學碩士課程學員論壇
香港大學中文學院、香港城市大學中文及歷史學系合辦
第一屆香港大學、香港城市大學中文文學碩士課程學員論壇
日期︰2016年6月11日（星期六）
地點︰香港大學百周年校園逸夫教學樓4.36室
本論壇旨在促進院校交流，並讓同學分享研習心得。歡迎現正就讀香港大學中國語言文學文科碩士課程之同學積極參與。有意發表論文者，請於2016年5月17日前，提交論文題目及摘要（600–800字），另於5月30日前，提交論文全文（10000–20000字）。論文摘要及全文，均請提供word檔及pdf檔，並傳至kingwaisiu@hku.hk。
查詢︰蕭敬偉老師
電話︰3917 7296
電郵︰kingwaisiu@hku.hk
Translational Cannibalism: On Howard Goldblatt’s Translations of Mo Yan
2015-2016 School of Chinese Research Student Seminar
Translational Cannibalism:
On Howard Goldblatt’s Translations of Mo Yan
Ms Ma Anting 馬桉珽女士
Date and Time: May 3, 2016 (Tuesday); 5:30-6:45pm
Venue: Room 730, Run Run Shaw Tower, Centennial Campus, HKU
Language: English
Following Oswald de Andrade’s proposals and manifestos, the Brazilian intellectuals Augusto and Haroldo de Campos propose “cannibalism” as a strikingly original metaphor for translation and translation studies that revisits the imbalance of power and strives to redeem cultural identity in the postcolonial context. Redefined by the Campos brothers, cannibalism is drastically restricted to an original philosophy that devours foreign discourses and understands the nation’s aesthetically valuable cultural production in its dialogical relationship with the universal. On the other hand, cannibalism has been closely associated with an inhumane and uncivilized activity in the Chinese scenario. Starting with another look at the Chinese novelist Mo Yan and Howard Goldblatt’s translations in particular, I will discuss how the idea of cannibalism is dealt with by means of both a continuation and a variation of the cultural definition in both Brazilian and Chinese terms. In rethinking the crucial significance of “translational cannibalism”, the main question to be addressed in my presentation is that of the ways in which Howard Goldblatt’s translations of Nobel Literature laureate Mo Yan is critically re-evaluated.
巴西知識分子坎波斯兄弟繼承奧斯瓦爾德·德·安德拉德的宣言，提議“食人主義”作為翻譯及翻譯研究的一種極具獨創性的隱喻，來重新探討后殖民主義背景下的權力關係不平等，力求對文化身份的救贖。在坎波斯兄弟的重新定義下，食人主義約簡為一種獨特的哲學思想，即吞噬外國的話語，並且在對話關係中理解文化生產。另一方面，食人主義在中國語境中常與不人道、未開化相聯繫。通過新角度看待莫言及其作品的翻譯，是次演講將討論食人主義的概念在翻譯中的繼承與變體。在對“食人主義翻譯”意義的再次思考中，是次演講著力的主要問題是如何重新批判式地評價葛浩文對諾獎得主莫言的翻譯。
ALL ARE WELCOME!
新檔案史料：從十九世紀初期美國史看咖咑怎樣學習中國語言文化New Archival Findings: Benjamin Bowen Carter’s Pursuit of Chinese Studies in the Context of Early 19th Century American History
School of Chinese Staff Seminar
新檔案史料：從十九世紀初期美國史看咖咑怎樣學習中國語言文化
New Archival Findings: Benjamin Bowen Carter’s Pursuit of Chinese Studies
in the Context of Early 19th Century American History
楊文信博士 Dr Yeung Man Shun
Date and Time: May 6, 2016 (Friday); 5:30-6:45pm
Venue: Room 730, Run Run Shaw Tower, Centennial Campus, HKU
Language: Putonghua
是次演講介紹美國布朗大學圖書館及羅德島歷史學會所藏咖咑（1771-1831）學習中國語言文化的史料。咖咑是十九世紀初期極少數曾在廣州學習中文的美國人，他的學習材料和筆記，與美國外交人員卡靈頓（1775-1843）、羅素（1771-1832）和法國學者雷慕沙（1788-1832）的往來書信等，都足以證明他具備一定程度的中文水平，可以協助外交翻譯工作，且對中國經典有所認識。這些珍貴史料的發現，可以將美國人學習中國語言文化的歷史由亨特（1821-1891）上推近二十年，對重塑早期中美文化關係有重要意義。
This talk introduces the archival documents housed in the Brown University Library and Rhode Island Historical Society on Benjamin Bowen Carter (1771-1831)’s Chinese studies. Carter was one of the few Americans to live in Canton and to have learnt Chinese at the beginning of the nineteenth century. Taken together, his learning materials, written notes, and correspondence with American diplomats Edward Carrington (1775-1843) and Jonathan Russell (1771-1832) and French scholar Jean Pierre Abel Rémusat (1788-1832) reveal that he had obtained a degree of Chinese proficiency that allowed him to assist in diplomatic translation work. They also show that he had some knowledge of the Chinese classics. The discovery of these invaluable archival materials proves that Carter was 20 years ahead of William C. Hunter (1821-1891) in studying Chinese language and culture, thereby reshaping our understanding of early Sino-American cultural relations and its place in American history.
楊文信博士，1997年開始在香港大學中文學院執教，現為中國歷史文化助理教授。楊博士曾任美國國會圖書館克魯格研究員、京都大學文學部短期研究員，目前的主要研究課題是美國國會圖書館的中文善本珍品。
Dr Yeung Man Shun joined the School of Chinese at the University of Hong Kong in 1997, and is now an assistant professor in Chinese history and culture. He carried out post-doctoral research at the John W. Kluge Center at the US Library of Congress in 2002-2003 and at Kyoto University in 2005. He is currently engaged in research on the Chinese Rare Book collection in the US Library of Congress.
ALL ARE WELCOME!
晚清中國偵探小說的概念界定及本土化起源探究The Concept Definition and Origin of Detective Fiction in Late Qing China
2015-2016 School of Chinese Research Student Seminar
晚清中國偵探小說的概念界定及本土化起源探究
The Concept Definition and Origin of Detective Fiction in Late Qing China
楊一女士 Ms Yang Yi
Date and Time: April 29, 2016 (Friday); 5:30-6:45pm
Venue: Room 730, Run Run Shaw Tower, Centennial Campus, HKU
Language: Putonghua
同樣以犯罪為主題、描寫作案斷案,西方偵探小說與中國公案小說之間的關係如何。排除語言、國別等外在因素的影響，从文学的角度进行衡量，可否將公案小說定義為偵探小說的早期形式。自1896年偵探小說經翻譯傳入中國後，就一直存在爭議。文本從形式上無法蓋棺定論，中國偵探小說的起源也同樣眾說紛紜。
本研究將首先回顧“公案與偵探的文體之爭”，然後結合文體學的基本分類方法，從文學的功能、形態、題材和功用對公案小說和偵探小說進行界定。具體而言，即基於東西方不同的文學傳統、意識形態、文化精神等，從形象塑造、情節安排、表現手法、審美效果和創作動機等方面，較為全面地指出公案小說與偵探小說的不同特點。在區分對比的基礎上，反駁一些研究中將公案小說與偵探小說混為一談的觀點。基於公案與偵探小說各自的定義，重新檢視西方偵探小說翻譯、接受與本土化闡釋的歷時性過程。進一步指出哪些“晚清小說中接續傳統公案模式而又能推陳出新者”集合而成了中國偵探小說濫觴期的界碑，而具體哪一步作品，可以被視作中國本土原创偵探小說源點。
Known as both crime and how to resolve crime, what is the relationship between Western detective fiction and Chinese Gong’an fiction? Aside from outside influence, such as language or nationality, from a literary point of view, could Gong’an fiction be defined as the early form of detective fiction? After detective fiction was first introduced in translation to Chinese readers in 1896, there has been a long-standing debate about this issue.
The proposed seminar will first focus on controversy related to Gong’an fiction and detective fiction’s literary form, using basic classification methods of stylistics, form literary function, style, theme and usage to define differences between Western detective fiction and Chinese Gong’an fiction. The seminar will be based on literary tradition, ideology, ethos, and so on. Analysis of image-building, plot arrangement, expression technique, aesthetic results and creation motivation will show a more comprehensive understanding of different features of Gong’an fiction and detective fiction, stressing that detective fiction should not be confused with Chinese Gong’an fiction. Varied definitions will also provide analysis of Western importation of detective fiction into modern China and how it was explained, transformed and localised at the beginning of the 20th century. More importantly, identifying which fictions have become stale and bringing forth fresh literature could be treated as the monument, not only in terms of a process of nationalisation of detective fiction, but also a modernisation process of Chinese traditional culture. Furthermore, it will also address which Chinese detective fiction came first, as well as the rationale behind the aforementioned explanations.
ALL ARE WELCOME!
唐朝蕃將僕固懷恩研究A Study on Non-Han General Pu-gu Huai-en in the Tang Dynasty
2015-2016 School of Chinese Research Student Seminar
唐朝蕃將僕固懷恩研究
A Study on Non-Han General Pu-gu Huai-en in the Tang Dynasty
趙櫻淇小姐 Miss CHIU Ying Ki, Celia
Date and Time: April 22, 2016 (Friday); 5:30-6:45 pm
Venue: Room 730, Run Run Shaw Tower, Centennial Campus, HKU
Language: Cantonese
唐朝蕃將僕固懷恩（？－765）於軍政壇內的人脈關係網錯綜複雜，其先忠後反的表現對自身的命運、朔方軍的發展與唐代宗（李豫，726－779，762－779在位）的統治均產生深遠的影響。從僕固懷恩的事跡中充份體現帝王治術多變，平衡穩定大局，軍政環環相扣，人生禍福相依。在僕固懷恩之案中，唐代宗如何巧妙地運用因事制宜的治術穩定局勢？僕固懷恩為何周旋其中雖然一子錯，卻未落得滿盆皆落索？是次學術演講將析論僕固懷恩跌宕起伏的歷史歷程。
Pu-gu Huai-en (?-765), who was a non-Han general in the Tang Dynasty, handled the intricate interrelationship between military and political networks. Pu-gu Huai-en’s initial loyalty and subsequent rebellion not only changed his own destiny, but also exerted a far-reaching influence on the development of Shuo-fang Jün and the governance of Tang Dai-zong (Li-yu, 726-779,762-779 reigned). In Pu-gu Huai-en’s case, it fully demonstrated the varied governing strategies of the emperor to maintain stability of the general situation, in which the military and politics were interdependent and misfortune went hand-in-hand with fortune. How could Tang Dai-zong skillfully utilize varied governing strategies according to the social circumstance to stabilize the political situation? Why would Pu-gu Huai-en not lose everything after rebellion? The rise and fall of the historical experience of Pu-gu Huai-en will be analyzed in the seminar.
ALL ARE WELCOME!
「中國化」與「台灣化」：以《台灣文化》雜誌看戰後初期台灣文化的重編 Sinification and Taiwanification: Defining early postwar Taiwan (1945-1949) in Taiwan Culture
2015-2016 School of Chinese Research Student Seminar
Sinification and Taiwanification:
Defining early postwar Taiwan (1945-1949) in Taiwan Culture
「中國化」與「台灣化」：以《台灣文化》雜誌看戰後初期台灣文化的重編
Mr Alexander Bradford Martin 馬阿里先生
Date and Time: April 11, 2016 (Monday); 5:30-6:45pm
Venue: Room 730, Run Run Shaw Tower, Centennial Campus, HKU
Language: English
The end of World War II marked a sudden change of linguistic and cultural policy in Taiwan and prompted a reexamination of its identity and culture. Taiwanese intellectuals and writers encountered a Nationalist regime charged with erasing the legacy of Japanese rule as well as a perceived “slave mentality”. Coupled with difficult economic circumstances, official policies promoting cultural and linguistic Sinification deprived many critics of a stable venue in which to challenge the prerogative of assimilation into China and/or to assert the value of the Taiwanese colonial experience; however, in an important exception, the governing authorities supported the formation of an association comprised of both party officials and local Taiwanese, which published the variety magazine Taiwan Culture. In this talk I hope to clarify the organizational structure and ideological orientation of Taiwan Culture, to analyze the literary style and language of its essays and fiction, and thereby to define the (re)creation of an indigenous Taiwanese cultural identity and historical narrative within this semi-official organization.
1945年日本戰敗後, 台灣在語言、文化、政治等方面瞬時發生巨大變化，促使台灣人重新評估自己的身份認同。當時，接收台灣的國民政府爲消滅長達半世紀日本殖民統治的文化遺產及其所衍生的“奴化意識”，進而推動“中國化”的語言文化政策，再加上當時經濟情勢的惡化，當地知識分子難以透過寫作來抗議中國化方針，並肯定台灣本位的日本殖民經驗價值。然而，在文學界裡，官方與民間對立的趨勢有一個重要的例外，那就是長官公署下由官人與本省左翼知識分子所組成的台灣文化協進會，以及其機關刊物《台灣文化》。我希望藉由本次演講能夠釐清《台灣文化》的組織建構與意識傾向、剖析該雜誌的社論及小説的風格與批判對象，並藉此描述台灣本位文化認同意識的框架與歷史敘述的重編。
ALL ARE WELCOME!
