Papers by Wangdeyue (Jessica) Qin
There are two late-Ming eras in Chinese history: the historical period from 1573 to 1644 of the C... more There are two late-Ming eras in Chinese history: the historical period from 1573 to 1644 of the Common Era known for its deteriorating climate, political corruption, and natural calamities, and one that is utterly gone, exists only as a retrospective construction in the minds and dreams of its leftover people, a period permeated by a sense of joy, indulgence, and confusion. In the writings of Zhang Dai 張岱 (1597-1684), the late Ming was a complex mixture of splendor and desolation, sensual pleasure and awakening misery. On the wake of its collapse, images, places, and objects of the Ming dynasty (1368-1644), from palaces and tombs to paintings and antiques, became a place of memory and symbolic meanings. In the historical moment of the Ming-Qing transition, nostalgia for the Ming found a site in personal responses to its fall. The upsurge in literature and memoir writing sought to recreate the physicality and culture of Ming objects and practices, as it was very much the case with Zhang Dai’s xiaopin wen 小品文. The late Ming world, as embodying a specific, bygone culture, took shape in Zhang Dai’s recollection of past events, places, family and friends. Zhang tries to reconstruct a lost world through combining genuine memory and imagination - by imagining the details of how “things” used to be. Of particular noticeable in this reminiscence are merry gatherings, in gardens or by the West Lake, accompanied with music, poetry, food, and drink.
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Perhaps men of letters of the Six Dynasties (220-589) would not have thought that, in mainstream ... more Perhaps men of letters of the Six Dynasties (220-589) would not have thought that, in mainstream historiography thousands of years later, their literary legacy were taken merely as a shallow prelude to the glories of the Tang (618-907). With the collapse of the Confucian order by the end of the Eastern Han, this period of division witnessed an interest in experiencing new forms, themes, and practices of writing. The changing political context carved out new social roles for writing and texts. The meaning of writing extended beyond its moral and political framework and grew increasingly independent from the state, subsequently occupying a central place in the forming of a new literary culture. This essay will explore the cultural and social functions of writing and literature in the Six Dynasties period and the Tang dynasty. In the Six Dynasties, literary activities were integral to elites self-fashioning, they were a mode of self-expression that embodied one’s inner values, ideals, and vision of life. As a mode of social exchange, writing facilitated the forming of a collective literati community, a group identity framed by homosocial bonding. By the Tang dynasty, different genres of literary composition flourished. Poetry emerged as a full-blown, self-conscious social art that emphasized personal and human experience while the moralizing discourse was, ostensibly, rendered secondary. If we read it against the backdrop, however, the meaning of writing in the Tang was under constant negotiations and often openly contested. Incorporated into the civil examination system, poetry becoming a resource for aspiring men to obtain lucrative office. Literary culture came to embody a more intimate and nuanced relation between personal character, profession, and the moral and political realms.
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This essay explores the multiple meanings of female suicide in Ming-Qing China. Women’s suicide i... more This essay explores the multiple meanings of female suicide in Ming-Qing China. Women’s suicide in late imperial times had different implications for the different actors, namely, the state, the Confucian elite, the family, and the woman herself. While the state tried to defuse the subversive implication of female suicide by defining its meaning and reducing the numbers of its occurrences, the family saw the action of suicide as possibly damaging to its reputation and therefore discouraged it. The paper examines suicide as a performative, potentially empowering gesture in late-imperial Chinese society. It looks at how the orthodox meaning of female suicide as sanctioned by the state was contested and how women’s identity, subjectivity, and social power were negotiated via their decision and action of suicide. How did women interpret the action of suicide? How did they perceived and expressed virtue, honour, integrity, and emotions?
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Perhaps it should not be surprising that the subject matter of Chinese history in modern times is... more Perhaps it should not be surprising that the subject matter of Chinese history in modern times is what constitutes China as a nation. For most Chinese historians in the first half of the 20th century, the goal of writing historical narratives is to narrate the nation. Most of our known historical discourse of modern China is an instance in which history and nationalism as an imagined community interacted, collided, and often united.
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The various meanings of female virtue shifted considerably throughout China’s
longue durée. Wome... more The various meanings of female virtue shifted considerably throughout China’s
longue durée. Women’s position in traditional Chinese society was by no means unchanging, nor were their social expectations and representations. Under specific historical and cultural circumstances, certain “women’s virtues” were prioritized and valorized over others. In early imperial China, a good woman may embody a wide range of versatile qualities compared to later times when women, especially elite women, became subjected to a more restricted standard of behaviour and increasingly relegated to the inner quarters. By looking at records from the Spring and Autumn period to the Han dynasty, this essay argues that female virtue in early China was defined rather broad in scope and relatively flexible. Women were frequently praised and encouraged for exemplifying qualities associated with a strong personality and self-determination such as intelligence and assertiveness, while female virtue and its implications were closely linked to the political and public realms, transcending the boundary between inner and outer.
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"Every communal apartment dweller is probably scarred for life by that symbolic 'mutual responsib... more "Every communal apartment dweller is probably scarred for life by that symbolic 'mutual responsibility' - a double bind of love and hatred, of envy and attachment, of secrecy and exhibitionism, of embarrassment and compromise."
By incorporating an ideal communist design, the communal apartment aimed at socialist transformation and a specific form of social conditioning. Ideology is manifested in the most trivial places, namely, spatial structures and daily routines. It was the internal structure of the apartment, rather than the outside features, that gave rise to the most ardent ideological imaginings.
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“The character of dwelling in the mountains is silence, the character of dwelling in the city is ... more “The character of dwelling in the mountains is silence, the character of dwelling in the city is clamour, only dwelling in a garden enjoys the pleasant balance,” said leading Ming literatus Wang Shizhen 王世貞 (1526-1590) once to his friend Chen Jiru 陳繼儒 (1558-1639). Besides being a literatus, Wang had many other identities: a historian, a refined poet, and among all, a lover of gardens. For many men of letters, gardens are a miniature form of nature. They are a place for solitary enjoyment; an ideal space where one could reside and escape from the wider society. In his dialogue with Chen, Wang saw gardens as an ideal environment, linking nature with the secular world. Such a view underlined an important feature of gardens in the Ming dynasty (1368-1644), a period when garden culture flourished in the history of China. In the Ming, the construction of private gardens gained cultural and economic prominence, both in the quality of gardens, and in the amount of textual and visual works they generated. As much as they remain as a symbol of reclusiveness, gardens also performed critical roles in other aspects of life. How did gardens interact with the fascinating, rapidly transforming social and cultural environment? What changes took place in the practices around gardens and people’s views of them? This essay will look at the intersection of Ming gardens with other discourses and discursive activities, with an emphasis on their roles in agricultural production, as spaces for active social engagement and expression of local identity, and finally, their relations with the more problematic categories in the late Ming such as status, wealth, and consumer culture.
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The Cultural Revolution (CR), launched in 1966, saw a massive effort by the Maoist leadership to ... more The Cultural Revolution (CR), launched in 1966, saw a massive effort by the Maoist leadership to engineer the socialist transformation of Chinese society. The question of why the cultural revolution happened and why at that specific time, remain central to understanding how the campaign unfolded. While post-Mao historiography of the People’s Republic of China often identifies the CR as a period of grave economic and political setbacks, a close examination of the campaign suggests a picture of nuances beyond an oversimplification of power struggle and Mao Zedong’s cult of personality. Taking into account Mao’s incentives andthe particular historical context, the causes of the CR comprised both top-downincentives and popular agency. While Mao initiated the CR to restore revolutionary consciousness among the communist party and wider society, the widespread popular enthusiasm was largely inspired by people’s perceived class interests and the expression of group identities, discontent and achievement of different ends.
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Religion, whether orthodox or popular, has historically played an integral part in Chinese societ... more Religion, whether orthodox or popular, has historically played an integral part in Chinese society and contributed to a high level of cultural integration and the forming of a Chinese identity. Among the many popular deities venerated, the Lord of Guan was one of the most prominent and well-received. Originally a historical figure – the general from the state of Shu 蜀 in the Three Kingdoms period (220-280) – the person of Guan Yu 關羽
gradually departed from his original image as recorded by Chen Shou 陳壽 (233-297) in his Records of the Three Kingdoms 三國志, and instead was reimagined by people in different hierarchies and social positions. This paper attempts to provide a glimpse into the historical development of the Guan Yu cult. It focuses on the appropriation of the figure by various historical groups – Buddhists, Daoists, local people, and the imperial state – suit their needs and purposes. These historical agents constructed and expanded different versions of the Guan Yu myth that contributed to the widespread popularity of the deity’s image in both oral and textual narratives and in popular forms of worship. Whether it was Guan Yu who was converted to religious doctrines, Guan Gong as a deified god who assisted the local community, or Guandi who was standardized by conforming to state-accepted models, the cult of Guan Yu was an evolving social phenomenon that was susceptible to changes and adaptations once interfaced with other prevailing ideologies, social agencies, and power.
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Among the philosophers of early imperial China, Zhuangzi holds a skeptical view on the status of ... more Among the philosophers of early imperial China, Zhuangzi holds a skeptical view on the status of language, its usage, and its effects on one’s interpretation of Dao. Zhuangzi identifies the indeterminacy in language and its incapability to locate the “real” knowledge in words. Questions are then raised regarding Zhuangzi’s discussion of Dao — if he ultimately mistrusts language and its ability to convey the trueness of Dao. Throughout the book of Zhuangzi, Zhuangzi’s skepticism toward language seems evident in his use of “goblet words” (zhi yan). On one hand, the use of goblet words undermines the value of propositional language and its conveyed message. The inclusiveness of goblet words creates endless possibilities and broader perspectives in understanding and perceiving the universality and holism of Dao. Zhuangzi expresses his attitude on knowledge and Dao through his rejection of the fixity of words and the use of goblet communication — an effective way of transcending the limitations of human languages into a higher use of invoking personal engagement with the essence of Dao and, thereby, attaining the Great knowledge.
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Law, in the cases of both the Qin and early Han, acts as a substitute for, and at the same time i... more Law, in the cases of both the Qin and early Han, acts as a substitute for, and at the same time in representation of, authority and power. By examining the interaction and relationship between law, government, and the society it governs, this paper briefly addresses the versatility in the purpose and function of the Qin and Han law. While law was sophistically crafted and applied to regulate the bureaucracy, sources of labor, and the general populace, the role of law was beyond a mere political tool for the exercise of state power –– it performed as an intermediary to resolve conflicts between institutions and individuals by incorporating a certain degree of flexibility and cooperation.
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While the CCP asserted unconditional sovereignty over Tibet, the party was clearly aware of its ... more While the CCP asserted unconditional sovereignty over Tibet, the party was clearly aware of its distinct culture, customs, administrations, and that liberating and transforming Tibet would present unprecedented obstacles. The experience of Tibetans under
Mao’s socialist revolution is a complex picture and often differentiated depending on one’s gender, social status, and political leaning. Despite the CCP’s active attempt to resolve the ingrained divergence and tension between the two sides, the party’s vision of peaceful incorporation was lost to a revolutionary ambition before a voluntary acceptance of socialism was completed, ultimately resulting in the subjugation of Tibetan culture and an uneven absorption of the population.
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By the 1960s and 1970s, revisionist historians attempted to integrate political, economic, and so... more By the 1960s and 1970s, revisionist historians attempted to integrate political, economic, and social factors to suggest a more complex picture of the Russian Revolution beyond the simplification of Marxist theory or conspiratorial politics. By briefly examining the Russian Revolution from three historiographical lenses –– a Marxist perspective, a social interpretation and a view of gender –– this paper attempts to reveal the continuities and discontinuities which existed among these different lenses. While Marxist historians stress the inevitability and the Bolshevik representation of the general population, social historians reject the revolution’s predictability and refine the correlation between the masses and a Bolshevik presence by reexamining the independent consciousness and active involvement of people of different social stratums and sexes in advancing the process of revolution and the Bolshevik success.
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Book Reviews by Wangdeyue (Jessica) Qin
What prolonged the Ming dynasty? How did the empire manage to survive its many external challenge... more What prolonged the Ming dynasty? How did the empire manage to survive its many external challenges and shortcomings if neither capable emperor nor mighty force prevailed as contributing factors during the course of the dynasty? In his work Ming China 1368-1644: A Concise History of a Resilient Empire, John W. Dardess attempts to address the issues surrounding the durability of one of China’s longest lasting empires. The author divides the book into five chapters and approaches his narrative by incorporating both chronology and encompassing themes. Dardess fluently employs a macro perspective and compiles 276 years of history into a concise, yet insightful account of the Great Ming suitable for both knowledgeable students and interested readers.
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Papers by Wangdeyue (Jessica) Qin
longue durée. Women’s position in traditional Chinese society was by no means unchanging, nor were their social expectations and representations. Under specific historical and cultural circumstances, certain “women’s virtues” were prioritized and valorized over others. In early imperial China, a good woman may embody a wide range of versatile qualities compared to later times when women, especially elite women, became subjected to a more restricted standard of behaviour and increasingly relegated to the inner quarters. By looking at records from the Spring and Autumn period to the Han dynasty, this essay argues that female virtue in early China was defined rather broad in scope and relatively flexible. Women were frequently praised and encouraged for exemplifying qualities associated with a strong personality and self-determination such as intelligence and assertiveness, while female virtue and its implications were closely linked to the political and public realms, transcending the boundary between inner and outer.
By incorporating an ideal communist design, the communal apartment aimed at socialist transformation and a specific form of social conditioning. Ideology is manifested in the most trivial places, namely, spatial structures and daily routines. It was the internal structure of the apartment, rather than the outside features, that gave rise to the most ardent ideological imaginings.
gradually departed from his original image as recorded by Chen Shou 陳壽 (233-297) in his Records of the Three Kingdoms 三國志, and instead was reimagined by people in different hierarchies and social positions. This paper attempts to provide a glimpse into the historical development of the Guan Yu cult. It focuses on the appropriation of the figure by various historical groups – Buddhists, Daoists, local people, and the imperial state – suit their needs and purposes. These historical agents constructed and expanded different versions of the Guan Yu myth that contributed to the widespread popularity of the deity’s image in both oral and textual narratives and in popular forms of worship. Whether it was Guan Yu who was converted to religious doctrines, Guan Gong as a deified god who assisted the local community, or Guandi who was standardized by conforming to state-accepted models, the cult of Guan Yu was an evolving social phenomenon that was susceptible to changes and adaptations once interfaced with other prevailing ideologies, social agencies, and power.
Mao’s socialist revolution is a complex picture and often differentiated depending on one’s gender, social status, and political leaning. Despite the CCP’s active attempt to resolve the ingrained divergence and tension between the two sides, the party’s vision of peaceful incorporation was lost to a revolutionary ambition before a voluntary acceptance of socialism was completed, ultimately resulting in the subjugation of Tibetan culture and an uneven absorption of the population.
Book Reviews by Wangdeyue (Jessica) Qin
longue durée. Women’s position in traditional Chinese society was by no means unchanging, nor were their social expectations and representations. Under specific historical and cultural circumstances, certain “women’s virtues” were prioritized and valorized over others. In early imperial China, a good woman may embody a wide range of versatile qualities compared to later times when women, especially elite women, became subjected to a more restricted standard of behaviour and increasingly relegated to the inner quarters. By looking at records from the Spring and Autumn period to the Han dynasty, this essay argues that female virtue in early China was defined rather broad in scope and relatively flexible. Women were frequently praised and encouraged for exemplifying qualities associated with a strong personality and self-determination such as intelligence and assertiveness, while female virtue and its implications were closely linked to the political and public realms, transcending the boundary between inner and outer.
By incorporating an ideal communist design, the communal apartment aimed at socialist transformation and a specific form of social conditioning. Ideology is manifested in the most trivial places, namely, spatial structures and daily routines. It was the internal structure of the apartment, rather than the outside features, that gave rise to the most ardent ideological imaginings.
gradually departed from his original image as recorded by Chen Shou 陳壽 (233-297) in his Records of the Three Kingdoms 三國志, and instead was reimagined by people in different hierarchies and social positions. This paper attempts to provide a glimpse into the historical development of the Guan Yu cult. It focuses on the appropriation of the figure by various historical groups – Buddhists, Daoists, local people, and the imperial state – suit their needs and purposes. These historical agents constructed and expanded different versions of the Guan Yu myth that contributed to the widespread popularity of the deity’s image in both oral and textual narratives and in popular forms of worship. Whether it was Guan Yu who was converted to religious doctrines, Guan Gong as a deified god who assisted the local community, or Guandi who was standardized by conforming to state-accepted models, the cult of Guan Yu was an evolving social phenomenon that was susceptible to changes and adaptations once interfaced with other prevailing ideologies, social agencies, and power.
Mao’s socialist revolution is a complex picture and often differentiated depending on one’s gender, social status, and political leaning. Despite the CCP’s active attempt to resolve the ingrained divergence and tension between the two sides, the party’s vision of peaceful incorporation was lost to a revolutionary ambition before a voluntary acceptance of socialism was completed, ultimately resulting in the subjugation of Tibetan culture and an uneven absorption of the population.