The Literary Worlds of the Kangxi Emperor’s Southern Tours

Between 1684 and 1707, the Kangxi emperor conducted six inspection tours to southern China. These are not only regarded major historical events central to understanding the Qing empire, but they also remain popular subjects for legends and adaptations to the present day. Looking beyond their political and economic functions as well as their fictional representations in later days, this talk focuses on the actual literary activities and works generated by and produced during Kangxi’s southern tours. We will explore the characteristics of this specific form of court literature produced outside the Forbidden City and its significance in Chinese literary history.

Speaker:

Professor Tan Tian Yuan

Shaw Professor of Chinese, University of Oxford

A Singaporean scholar, Professor Tan focuses on the research related to late imperial China, with specific interests in literary history and historiography, text and performance, and cross-cultural literary interactions. He currently leads the TEXTCOURT research project (“Linking the Textual Worlds of Chinese Court Theater, ca. 1600-1800”) funded by the European Research Council.

Moderator:

Professor Ong Chang Woei

Head

Department of Chinese Studies, National University of Singapore

Pre-registration required.

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Advisory: Attendee limit per session: 120