Problematizing the Paratextual Space in Traditional Chinese Drama Prints

This paper considers the relationship between playwrights and their theatrical works through examining a group of drama prints produced in the Qing dynasty. Despite the longstanding tradition of portraiture in traditional China, fictions and dramas seldom included images of the authors. However, starting from the early Qing period, some drama prints included images of the authors in the form of portraits and figures in illustrations. That phenomenon was part of a larger trend in which playwrights and their scholarly friends increasingly took up the paratextual space for self-representation or communal conversation. The paper argues for an increasing authorial presence in traditional Chinese drama, a development enabled by changes in play production and shifting understandings of the dramatic genre.

Just finished a Luce Foundation/ACLS Early Career Seminar in NYC. I was fortunate enough to have inspiring and intensive conversations with four mentors, twelve junior fellows, and Luce/ACLS officers. It’s heart-warming to witness Luce/ACLS’ commitment to China studies; NYC is unique, with its unique people, food, and rain showers.

I valued so much the rapport between my friends and young colleagues. It’s one of the rare occasions in which we can leave aside many things and focus on exchange of ideas.

Special thanks to Paola Zamperini, my mentor during and beyond the two-day program.

Photo credits: Bin Xu

I’m looking forward to participate in the University of Pittsburgh Summer Institute for Chinese Studies––seminar on science, technology, and medicine (5/26-6/1, 2019). Many thanks to Joseph Alter and other colleagues at UP for including me in the program!

This is belated news: My paper “The Inconvenient Imperial Visit: Writing Clothing and Ethnicity in 1684 Qufu” (Late Imperial China) won a 2017 SEC/AAS article prize.