HICCS 2025

This panel examines religious transformations and interactions in early China.

黃敬家(JING-JIA HUANG)
Department of Chinese, National Taiwan Normal University, Professor

题目：
婦女與宗教：宋代禪修女性從官宦世家到女中丈夫的轉變

摘要：
在中國佛教各宗派中，禪宗持有較為平等的性別態度，對女性的覺悟能力給予完全的肯定。然而，即使禪宗明確地聲稱覺性沒有生理性別之差，實際史料卻仍是以男性禪師為主，其中零星的女性禪修者的紀錄顯得格外珍貴。禪宗燈錄中雖然出現過唐代禪尼的身影，但她們僅是男性禪師傳記中的一段經歷。相對地，宋代禪尼在禪宗燈錄中有了獨立的傳記和明確的傳承法系，雖人數仍然不多，但有更多的禪門女性身影是被記錄在禪門筆記中。因此，本文從宋代禪門燈錄包括《嘉泰普燈錄》、《聯燈會要》、《五燈會元》，以及禪門筆記包括《羅湖野錄》、《雲臥紀談》、《宗門武庫》、《叢林盛事》、《枯崖漫錄》等所見的禪門女性修行者，來探究這些女性禪師的參學悟道過程及傳法活動，了解她們的生活樣貌，及其在禪門系譜中的地位。她們當中多有出身於士大夫官宦世家，乃至有出身皇家后宮者，她們多在生前已獲得禪師的印證，在燈錄譜系中有明確的傳承法系，擅於以詩偈傳達悟境，他們在傳法或與男性禪師逗機往來時，展現超越性別外相的悟力。透過本研究一方面可以建構宋代女性禪師的身影，以見女性禪修者獨立的人格與智慧典型。一方面有助於了解女性在宋代禪門的處境和貢獻，建構宋代禪門女性的歷史。

Elsa Cuillé
University of Strasbourg, Ph.D Candidate

Title:
Possessed by Spirits: Identities and Functions of Mediums in Tang China (618-907)

Abstract:
In short stories written or collected during the Tang dynasty (618-907), there are mentions of people whose bodies were used by spirits to convey words or actions. They were called by many names, but for the sake of clarity we will use the etic term “medium”, although the variety of emic names will also be addressed. Mediums can be defined by their association with spirit possession as a form of religious phenomenon. This paper will focus on gaining a better understanding of who these mediums were and what role they played in Tang dynasty Chinese society. This paper will start by addressing the methodological issues related to the study of less documented Chinese religious phenomena, especially when it comes to the Tang dynasty. The study of mediums in the medieval period faces a few obstacles First, there is a lack of reliable and direct sources. Second, it is difficult to identify certain situations as involving mediums. Finally, there is often no direct mention of possession, and the spirits seem to speak more than once without a clear intermediary. Then, using examples from anecdotes collected in the Taiping guangji 太平廣記 and dated to the Tang dynasty, I will question the identities and functions of the medium in Tang society. These questions will include whether the medium was a trained professional or an ordinary layman, whether he belonged to the elite or to the common people, and whether he was identified as a man or a woman. The type of spirit possession described will also be analyzed, as it may be spontaneous or induced. The rituals surrounding the possession (before, during and after) also provide information about the phenomenon and its actors. The behavior of the medium also varies; some transmit words of the entity possessing them, others do not. These words may be spoken or written in ordinary or special languages and scripts. In addition, the spirit that possesses the medium's body can be classified as benevolent or malevolent, and the interaction between the possessing entity and the rest of human society, especially the witnesses, can be positive or negative. With this paper, I hope to address a topic that is still understudied in the field of religious history, especially when it comes to religious actors in the Tang dynasty. This work may shed more light on the religious practices and actors of medieval Chinese society, as well as raise questions regarding gender and class.

Meng Wang
Department of philosophy, Renmin University of China, Ph.D Candidate

题目：
從無明到戲論——龍樹對「緣起論」從本體論到認識論的解釋方法之轉變

摘要：
一直以來，龍樹都被看作是佛教思想的革新者，因其中觀學說的成立，佛教內部出現了部派佛教與大乘佛教的根本分野。龍樹為了防止有部學說基於「假必依實」的「本體論」準則來理解「緣起論」造成的種種過失，從「認識論」的角度重新理解緣起論，不僅徹底貫徹了緣起理則，而且使得緣起論更具語言哲學的意涵。而實現此種革新的核心路徑在於引入「戲論」這一重要概念，代替原先居於首要位置的「無明」，重構了認識論視角下的緣起鏈條，即戲論——分別——煩惱、業。此種路徑實現了對緣起論的解釋方法從本體論到認識論的轉變，是龍樹對於佛教核心理論「緣起論」的一次既重理性又重實修的成功拓展。

István Olajos
Eotvos Lorand University, Ph.D candidate

Title:
Hostility, Heated Debates and Silent Thievery – The Thousand Faces of Vivid Religious Interaction in Early Medieval China Recorded in the Shamanic Stories of the Taiping Encyclopedias

Abstract:
The main objective of the recent paper is to offer an in-depth analysis of the development of religious life in early medieval China, focusing on the role of Chinese shamans (wu 巫) and their practices (wushu 巫術).
A key element of the author's study is the investigation of how shamanism persisted beyond the Han 漢 era (after-220 AD), along with an exploration of the various activities and rituals associated with wu that are depicted in later sources from the Song dynasty 宋朝 (960–1276). These source materials, i.e. encyclopedia Taiping yulan 太平御覽 and Taiping guangji 太平廣記, are dating back to the 10th century, and provide a unique advantage over other contemporary works: they preserve numerous accounts from the examined era that cannot be found in any other sources. Another important aspect of the analysis is an examination of the relationship between shamanism and the new religious movements emerging in the religious landscape of medieval China. Two major religious organizations, Buddhism and Taoism, are highlighted in this paper as they began their proselytizing activities during the same era and thus interacted not only with shamanism but also with one another.
A thorough examination of the rich source material in the Taiping encyclopedias provide us vital information about Chinese shamanism in the post Han period: first, the persona of wu and its shamanic activities did not disappear with the fall of the Han Dynasty, moreover it played an important part in people’s life in the turbulent historical period. Second, a categorization of shamanic activities emerges based on the application of wu techniques, depending on whether the shaman served at the imperial court, in rural areas, or during wartime.
Surprisingly, Buddhism and Taoism did not only see shamanism as a competitor and a collection of heretical practices, but in order to attract more followers, they often adopted various techniques from the wu. This religious rivalry and "thievery" are well-documented in the encyclopedias Taiping yulan and Taiping guangji. As for Buddhism, the stories often feature monks with supernatural abilities, who are portrayed as more effective healers than shamans. The tales also expose the negative karmic consequences (bao 報) associated with shamanic activities, which were often linked to Taoist practices. In the case of Taoism, it is generally observed that their main goal was to reform their system of activities and to minimize similarities to shamanistic techniques as much as possible.
Thus, the analysis of these stories offers a deeper understanding of the formation, relationships, and interactions among early medieval religious organizations. Moreover, it provides evidence for the continuity of shamanic activities during this period, which is often overlooked by scholars.

This panel examines the interplay of politics and society in modern China, exploring collaboration and colonialism in Tibetan grasslands during early Maoist rule, the origins of Red Guard factionalism during the Cultural Revolution, and the symbolic role of automobiles in China's early industrialization.

Benno Weiner
Carnegie Mellon University, Associate Professor

Title:
Collaboration and Colonialism on the Tibetan Grasslands of Early-Maoist China: The Political Lives of a Patriotic Nationality Representative

Abstract:
Among the thorniest issues historians face when researching non-Han communities during the Maoist period is evaluating the political lives and legacies of members of the pre-1949 traditional elite who after 1949 were enlisted into the Chinese Communist Party’s United Front (tongyi zhanxian). These were people who under different circumstances would have been targeted by the new regime as class enemies. Instead, they were christened “patriotic nationality representatives” (aiguo minzu daibiao) and given positions as leaders of local and regional “nationality autonomous areas.” I have written about the Party’s ideological justification for opting, at least for a time, to preserve and promote non-Han indigenous elites (2020, 2023). Acting both as agents of the new state and through the charismatic authority of their indigenous positions, these figures would prove pivotal in the establishment CCP power across non-Han borderlands in the early years of the People’s Republic.
Borrowing from theorists of colonial collaboration such as Ronald Robinson’s “excentric idea of imperialism” (1986) and Uradyn Bulag’s notion of “collaborative nationalism” (2010), this paper explores the contemporary decisions made by one Tibetan “patriotic nationality representative” as a grassroots vantage point from which to consider the complex interplay of agency, belief, coercion, and resistance within a colonial setting that masked itself both through a transformative ideology and by demands for the active political participation of the colonized. Gélek Gyatso (1920-1969, T. gde legs rgya mtsho, C. Gelei Jiacuo) was a locally prominent monk-official from contemporary Qinghai province in the region Tibetan speakers refer to as Amdo. Most of what is known about Gélek Gyatso comes from official Chinese-language sources published in the 1990s and early 2000s that celebrate his life as an exemplary United Front figure. Unlike most of his contemporaries, however, Gélek Gyatso left a spotty but revealing archival footprint which suggests a more complex political subjectivity. Augmented by insights drawn from other regionally prominent United Front figures, this paper
considers a range of possible interpretations for the actions of Gélek Gyatso and other traditional elites in Amdo and beyond when confronted with unprecedented challenges but also new opportunities presented by incorporation into an extraordinarily interventionist, transformative, and ultimately colonial state power.
(Refer to the speaker's profile page for full abstract)

Jun Yang
Academy of History and Documentationnof Socialism, Department of History, East China Normal University, Junior Fellow and Assistant Researcher

Title:
Rethinking the Origins of Red Guard Factionalism in Beijing’s High Schools: Three Cases Studies at the First
Two Months of Cultural Revolution

Abstract:
Existing literature on the evolution of the Red Guards movement has highlighted opposing factions that violently fought against one another and produced sociological and political interpretations to explain mass factionalism. Despite significant differences, researchers generally attribute factionalism to the debates over the so-called “blood-line theory” in the late summer of 1966. However, this attribution has tended to inadvertently reproduce certain key features of the Red Guards’ own political understanding at the time. My research seeks to reconsider established interpretations of Red Guard factionalism by examining three long-neglected high schools (Beijing Normal High, Girls’ High and No. 65), which played critical roles in the early Red Guard movement. Utilizing newly available sources, this paper will focus on the role of party officials’ work teams in these schools and argue that by dividing students based on family class status and initiating antagonisms that pitted some against others, work teams had amplified fissures that already existed on campus and later exploded into factionalism in the schools. Following their abrupt withdrawal, students previously supported by work teams continued to use similar tactics for igniting the violent “blood-line” debate in the society at large. Thereby, the students activated preexisting interests and orientations rooted in entrenched social and political cleavages in China’s state-socialist regime. At the same time, Red Guard factionalism and movement developed and expanded from high school campuses to the society.

Chuan Wang
University of Alabama, Full-Time Instructor

Title:
Political Symbols on Wheels: The Role of Automobiles in Early Auto Industrialization in China

Abstract:
While acknowledging the vulnerable industrial foundation left after the civil war, the CCP began to build an independent automobile industry in the early 1950s. These initial years' car manufacturing was primarily a means to fulfill its path to heavy industrialization, which followed the Soviet Union’s model. Motor vehicles like trucks produced were primarily for logistical purposes, thereby preparing for potential warfare. However, this industrialization strategy did not readily introduce passenger cars to the Chinese people. While an independent automobile industry had contributed to the CCP’s industrialization and modernization, it had little connection with everyday mobility. Meanwhile, China issued the household registration system in 1958 to formally restrict population mobilization. In this paper, I argue that at a time when mobility was slow and restrictive, cars paradoxically became a political symbol of the party cadre’s socio-economic privilege and the CCP’s ultimate power. On the one hand, the missing connection between the car and the people, or simply put, the lack of a “people’s car” in the Mao period, demonstrates the CCP’s designer’s role in China’s automobility system. On the other hand, the role of the automobile remained open to redefinition as cars began to enter the everyday lives of the Chinese people.

This panel organized by Dominik Mierzejewski explores the dynamics of governance and policy implementation in China, examining center-province relations under the Belt and Road Initiative, regional strategies for patriotic education, and the influence of Tuanpai within subnational party committees.

Dominik Mierzejewski
University of Lodz, Associate Professor

Title:
Quasi-Centralization of Local Interests and Centre-Province Relations under the Belt and Road Initiative “Umbrella"

Abstract:
This paper addresses the critical issue of the domestication of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Most analyses present the BRI as China's grand strategy, based on imperial approaches supported by the PRC government. This, however, is only part of the complex picture. From a domestic perspective, the BRI is illustrated by discussing central-local dyadic relations from a post-1978 viewpoint. In the first part, the author sheds light on central-provincial government relations by discussing the continuity of fragmentation in China and the horizontal relations between provinces. The second part delves into theoretical debates over China's decentralisation-centralisation cycles, emphasising the post-Tiananmen debates initiated by Wang Huning, Wang Shaoguang, and Hu Angang, known as the new-left movement, which has been further developed under Xi Jinping. The empirical part of the paper presents a case study of practical interactions between Sichuan province and Chongqing municipalities. The paper concludes that, while the central government has taken extra measures to integrate China's fragmented economy, the question of the future 'united market' remains unanswered. As argued in the paper, the international actorness of China’s provinces allows Beijing's government to quasi-centralize local players' interests and navigate their horizontal competition in more coordinated directions. However, the fully integrated direction is seen as a possible threat to the central government's paramount position.

Joanna Nawrotkiewicz
University of Warsaw, PhD Student

Title:
Patriotic Education Across China: Comparing Local Implementation Strategies

Abstract:
Patriotic education policies play a crucial role in maintaining stability in authoritarian regimes. In the PRC, the current version of ideological teachings emerged as a response to the Tian’anmen Square events in 1989; it is aimed at fostering pro-motherland sentiments among the younger generation and mitigating the influence of Western ideologies that could threaten the communist regime. The significance of these initiatives has been underscored by various policy frameworks, including the Outline for Implementing Patriotic Education in 1994, the Outline for Implementing Patriotic Education in the New Era in 2019, and the Patriotic Education Law in 2024.

Despite extensive literature on the subject, a significant gap remains in understanding the local implementation of patriotic education and its variance from national directives. To address this, the paper compares how three provinces — Guangdong, Heilongjiang and Jiangxi — interpret and enact central government guidelines on patriotic education. These provinces have been chosen based on their geographic, economic, historic, and cultural differences.

This comparative analysis focuses on the qualitative review of key policy documents issued by central and local authorities, as well as the quantitative assessment of memory sites designated as “patriotic education bases.” The author examined over 450 memory sites and conducted in-depth analyses in 20 of them during fieldwork in 2023. The content of these bases was categorized into six thematic areas: 1) external conflicts, 2) the history of the CCP until 1949, 3) socialist development and modernization, 4) national history excluding CCP events, 5) traditional cultural heritage, and 6) nature.

Findings highlight significant regional variations in the implementation of patriotic education. In Guangdong, the focus is on collectivism and socialist values, alongside an emphasis on Lingnan culture, influenced by, i.a., the province's proximity to Hong Kong and the need to strengthen national identity. In Jiangxi, there is a strong alignment with national directives, with local authorities leveraging the province's revolutionary history to promote "red tourism" as part of an economic development strategy. Heilongjiang's approach centers on themes of external conflict and socialist modernization, emphasizing national unity against external threats and integrating the region's development into broader national goals.

These findings underscore the complex relationship between central and local governments in China, showing how regional authorities adapt and reinterpret national patriotic education policies to suit regional contexts. Such adaptations not only modify the central government's vision of patriotism but also reveal potential areas of local resistance and innovation within the framework of ideological control. This study contributes to a deeper understanding of governance in authoritarian regimes, offering insights into how regional differences shape the implementation of national policies in China.

Adrian Brona
Jagiellonian University, Research and Teaching Assistant

Title:
The Prevalence of Tuanpai within Subnational Party Committees in China

Abstract:
This paper examines the political career progression within China, focusing on the representation of tuanpai, former members of the Communist Youth League (CYL), within the provincial-level party committees of the Chinese Communist Party. Using a comprehensive dataset of profiles from all 31 provincial-level units (provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities) selected during two seasons of provincial party congresses in 2016/2017 and 2021/2022 (n=6207), this study investigates the prevalence of former CYL members in these committees. Additionally, it explores the correlation between appointing former CYL members as provincial Party Secretaries and the broader representation of former CYL members within those provincial committees.
The analysis is conducted on three levels: 1) an overview of the population of all committees (“global approach”) 2) comparison of tuanpai prevalence across provincial-level committees (“provincial approach”) 3) examination of the provincial party standing committees, which include 10-14 most influential officials in each province (“core groups approach”).
This study aims to reveal changes in recruitment preferences for subnational political elites during Xi Jinping's administration and demonstrate the potential influence of CYL networks on power distribution at the provincial level after a decade of his leadership.

本中文论坛聚焦文学与文化在特定历史情境中的发展与传承。

Tsun-Chiu Lui
The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Ph.D Student

题目：
冷戰結構、情感政治與抒情傳統——論古蒼梧的言志詩學

摘要：
針對過去西方冷戰研究集中於美國與蘇聯為首的兩大陣營之間的政治、軍事鬥爭，近年學界轉向關注冷戰結構在亞洲的運作機制，以及在地行動者如何在其中發揮主體性，藉此重審冷戰在亞洲的意義與影響。香港的殖民歷史處境形塑了其獨特的冷戰經驗，英國殖民政府一方面容許不同意識形態陣營在港的宣傳與對抗，另一方面又對它們施予嚴密監察以維繫殖民管治，由此在香港構成以失語與政治壓抑為表徵的冷戰感覺結構。

參照學界近年研究成果，本文以情感為進路，探討香港重要詩人古蒼梧（古兆申，1945-2022）1960至1970年代的文學與政治活動。古蒼梧早年接受中國古典文學的訓練，1960年代期間曾在《中國學生周報》、《盤古》等多份香港文化刊物介紹古典文學理論。1970年，古蒼梧應邀參加美國愛荷華大學（The University of Iowa）國際寫作計劃（The International Writing Program），期間遭遇北美保衛釣魚台運動，此後政治與文學思想均轉向社會主義中國。本文首先考察古蒼梧如何以現代心理學重新闡發中國抒情傳統，建立自身的「言志」詩學，回應香港的冷戰處境；繼而追踪古蒼梧的政治思想與抒情詩學在1960至1970年代期間的流變，觀察過程中抒情與政治之間的辯證張力。通過古蒼梧的案例，本文希望發掘在冷戰結構之下，情感可能具有的超越潛能。

Hailey Mak Hiu Lam
Chinese Language and Literature, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Master of Philosophy in Chinese Language and Literature

题目：
自我民俗誌：論魯迅中晚期的記憶書寫與歷史革命

摘要：
自由與生命進化之複雜關係，是魯迅及研究者畢生思求的大哉問。本文認為，通過提取個體回憶中的民俗文化資源，魯迅對民族的文化記憶進行了一次歷史革命：個體回憶通過文學敘事轉化成被敘述的、世代生成的歷史記憶，新編了僵化的正史。魯迅在生命的中晚期，藉著視覺化的「虛構記憶創造」，將「民俗」文化轉化為聯繫「自我」與「民族」的媒介，讓讀者於「看與被看」的視覺互文中得以「夕拾」原初文化的「朝花」。自此，回憶書寫即變成實踐的過去：主動對民俗歷史進行敘事建構，從而將個人的生命記憶和生命哲學植根於民族生命價值進化的過程，賦予歷史以當下性。不但綿延了花果凋零的民俗文化，更在寫作中化合個體自由意志與民族進化意識，以文學重新把握——救贖歷史。本文將以新歷史主義文化詩學的眼光，析論《朝花夕拾》和《故事新編》中記憶與歷史的創造性轉換——從個人、民俗到民俗（族），從生命記憶到文化記憶，從記憶書寫到歷史革命；進而論證魯迅如何用文學實現「意志自由」與「民族進化」的有機連帶，創作出「自我民俗誌」的藍圖。要之，「自我民俗誌」不只是人類學定義的新興民族誌體式，更表徵著魯迅與民俗文化、民族歷史記憶相互作用所產生的文化政治。

Yanjun Liu
Wuhan University & City University of Hong Kong, Ph.D Student

题目：
经典生成的复杂性――以俞平伯新诗集《冬夜》、《西还》的迥异命运为例

摘要：
俞平伯是中國白話新詩創作的先驅者之一，他的首部新詩集《冬夜》於1922年3月由上海亞東圖書館印刷發行，一經問世便引起熱議，並多次再版，在現代新詩史（1917-1949）上確立了其經典地位。但與此形成鮮明對比的，則是他的另一部詩集《西還》。《西還》是俞平伯的第二部新詩集，於1924年4月首次出版，自其首次出版後，該詩集未曾再版或重印，在往後的學術討論中也未引發關注，在新詩史的敘述中，《西還》也處於邊緣化的地位。
但有趣的是，俞平伯本人對兩本詩集的評價，卻和詩集的經典化程度恰成反比。他認為《冬夜》這一本「小小的集子，充滿了平庸蕪雜的作品」，對於《冬夜》的再版他則表示受之有愧：「如《冬夜》這樣信筆拈來的作品，竟有再版底機緣；這不但令我感到不安寧的愧赧，更似有人語我，這種愧心於你也是僭妄的。」但與之相反的是，對於在新詩史上沒有留下多少迴響的《西還》，他卻表示「我倒特別的喜愛它呢」。《冬夜》受熱捧，俞平伯卻認為其「充滿了平庸蕪雜的作品」，而受到冷遇的《西還》，他卻反倒「特別的喜愛」。
為何「信筆拈來」的《冬夜》成為經典，作者本人喜愛的《西還》卻不為世所知？同一作者的作品經典化程度為何有如此大的差異？作品經典化的要素是甚麼？透過重審非經典文學作品，探究文學作品經典化軌跡和對作品經典化的構建歷程，有助於我們重思經典化標準，揭示文學經典構建過程的複雜性。

This panel explores the intersections of gender, sexuality, and societal change in China, examining the challenges and transformations of queer identities in a transnational context, the evolution of the "New Woman" through the writings of Wu Ruonan, and the complex interplay of public opinion, media, and judiciary in the 1935 Liu Jinggui case.

Yingying Jiang
Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Researcher on the European project 'Dealing with a Resurgent China (DWARC)' at the Center for East Asian Studies, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid.

Title:
Queer in China: challenges and transformations in a transnational context

Abstract:
The term queer has historically been stigmatized in the English-speaking world as an insult. However, following the HIV/AIDS crisis in the 1980s and 1990s, activists appropriated this insult to turn it into a critique of normativity. In this context, the queer movement not only includes gender and sexual dissidents who resist dominant heterosexual values and norms, but also critically examines identity politics and questions the binary between homosexuality and heterosexuality, as well as the exclusionary processes that arise both within and outside the gay and lesbian movement. It is important to note that queer theory is inseparable from its struggles, as it draws strength from the social movement and its political agenda. The term queer theory was first mentioned by Teresa de Lauretis in 1990, in her critique and resistance against the normative institutionalization of lesbian and gay studies. In this sense, Warner (1993) adds that queer refers to an anti-normative stance that questions the regimes of the normal that produce exclusion and inclusion, and therefore, it is both a theoretical stance and a political position that claims resistance to a broad and complex field of normativities, which manifest differently in each cultural and political context.

Starting from the genealogy of the term queer, this paper analyzes its transformation in the context of the People's Republic of China, as well as queer Chinese activism from a transnational perspective, to demonstrate that queer subjectivities and politics are a field of constant negotiation, treated in peculiar ways between institutions such as the state, activist and academic sectors and individuals, and shaped also by local and transnational conditions.

The methodology of this research is based on fieldwork conducted in Madrid and other European cities between 2022 and 2024, using participant observation with the Chinese diaspora collective and Chinese queer and feminist activists. Direct participation in their political activities is also incorporated into the analysis. In addition to ethnographic work, the analysis of primary and secondary sources in English, Spanish, and Chinese concerning queer and feminist movements in China is applied.

Shuhui Yin
Macau University of Science and Technology, Assistant Professor

Title:
New Woman” as “Nüshi” and “Nora”: A Case Study of Wu Ruonan’s Woman Writing

Abstract:
Wu Ruonan, identifying herself as a “Nüshi”, actively voiced herself in Chinese vernacular publications since late nineteenth century, and engaged in political and cultural activities as one of the earliest female members of Tongmenghui of China. After the 1911 Revolution in China, she advocated for Chinese modern families of monogamy with her theories and practices. Among which, Wu directly involved with the translations of the “Ibsen Special Issue” of the journal La Jeunesse, contributing to the discourse of “Nora” in rethinking and reshaping women’s possible identities in the family, nation and society. “Nüshi”, originated from Chinese cultural traditions of intellectuals, together with the introducing ideas of “Nora”, constructed a new societal identity of “New Woman” in late nineteenth and early twentieth century China under Wu Ruonan’s woman writing. By analyzing texts, para-texts and intertextuality regarding to Wu Ruonan’s voices and practices, this research will decode the possibilities and also the “weakness” of her “New Woman”.

Yujie Zhu
Jilin University, Ph.D Student

Title:
"The Triple Entanglement and Response of the Public, Media, and Judiciary: A Reexamination of the Liu Jinggui Case of 1935

Abstract:
In 1935, China was colloquially referred to as the "Year of Women's Issues," marked by a surge in incidents involving women's suicides, homicides, and murders, such as the suicide of Ruan Lingyu, the shooting of Liu Jinggui, and the revenge of Shi Jianqiao. Among these, the case of Liu Jinggui shooting Teng Shuang falls into the category of crimes of passion, with its sensational nature and the involvement of female criminality appealing to the public's curiosity. Notably, the three principal figures—Liu Jinggui, Lu Ming, and Teng Shuang—belonged to the intellectual elite, with Lu Ming and Teng Shuang both recognized as outstanding national athletes. Their public identities as members of the intellectual and athletic classes drew significant societal attention to the case, making Liu Jinggui's crime of passion a nationwide sensation. This period coincided with the Nanjing National Government's vigorous promotion of the New Life Movement and judicial reforms, thus the evaluations of Liu Jinggui and the trial of his case became intertwined with the construction of "national discourse," serving as a crucial lens through which to examine the process of community formation during the Republican era.
Recent scholarly research on the Liu Jinggui case，these studies primarily focus on the discussions surrounding "emotion" or "chastity" in public opinion and the judiciary, while neglecting the interplay and dynamics among Liu Jinggui's personal narrative, media coverage, judicial proceedings, and government intervention under the dual discourses of "reform" and "reconstruction." Therefore, this paper aims to build upon previous research by examining the Liu Jinggui case from three perspectives: social opinion, governmental regulations, and judicial discretion. It seeks to clarify the representation of Liu Jinggui across different levels, analyze the gender perceptions and conflicts among various groups during this period, and explore their differing perceptions and practices regarding the New Life Movement and judicial reforms. Through this analysis, I intend to understand the relationship between media, society, and the judiciary in the 1930s, elucidating how the Republican government utilized, transformed, and controlled public opinion and the judiciary to unify public sentiment, legal adjudication, and political ideology, thereby advancing the process of "social community," disciplining individuals, shaping citizens, and consolidating the authority of the Kuomintang during the Nanjing National Government era.

This panel delves into Chinese literary and cultural studies, exploring the emotional dimensions of Mudan Ting through Luo Rufang’s thought, the representation of Ming imperial imagination, and the symbolic role of water in The Story of the Stone.

Jonah Katz
Harvard University, Ph.D Student

Title:
Learning with Feeling: A New Reading of Mudan Ting through the Thought of Luo Rufang

Abstract:
The playwright Tang Xianzu (1550-1616) was fortunate to have called himself a student of one of the most influential Confucian scholars of his era, Luo Rufang (1515-1588). Literary scholars have speculated that Luo's thought may have had an influence observable in Tang Xianzu's plays, an important piece of evidence for the broader claim that intellectual trends during the Ming dynasty had a significant influence on contemporary literature. Most scholars have made such speculations about Luo Rufang and his student's plays, however, primarily by relying on the brief summary of Luo's thought given in Huang Zongxi's (1610-1695) biographies of Ming scholars. Deeper engagement with Luo’s recorded discourses, in fact, reveals many more shared ideas between Luo and Tang than previously suggested. Tang Xianzu, like his teacher, was a scholar who could discourse on learning, and especially on the value of emotions, but was also able to do so using his
dramatic works as a vehicle for his thought. This presentation attempts a reading of Tang's masterwork, Mudanting (The Peony Pavilion) alongside a new critical analysis of concepts core to Luo Rufang's thought: 1. Feeling as a basis for Confucian learning and practice, 2. The "Scene" (guangjing), and 3. Heavenly Knowledge. By reading these texts side-by-side, one can make sense of some of Mudan ting's most idiosyncratic aspects and show both how Tang Xianzu absorbs and questions ideas from Luo Rufang, thus giving a fuller account of the play's philosophical significance.

Tsz Wing Giovanna WU (胡梓穎）
The Education University of Hong Kong, Assistant Professor

Title:
The Inner Palace Edition of Feng Tianming Sanbao Xia Xiyang and the Imagination of Great Ming in the Court Drama of the Ming Dynasty

Abstract:
The Inner Palace edition of Feng Tianming Sanbao Xia Xiyang (or Eunuch Sanbao Sailing to the West Seas under Heaven’s Mandate) is the only Ming court drama preserved today that narrates the history of the Ming dynasty. Previous studies were conducted either to determine whether the drama describes the official history from a historiographical perspective or compare it with the plots of the novels of the Ming and Qing dynasties, such as Luo Maodeng’s Sanbao Taijian Xiyang Ji Tongsu Yanyi (or the Romance of the Eunuch Sanbao Sailing to the West Seas) and Peng Heling’s Sanbao Taijian Xia Xiyang (or Eunuch Saobao Sailing to the West Seas). However, it has neither been analyzed in the context of court drama of the Ming Dynasty nor positioned in the history of Ming drama. As a court drama compiled by the anonymous playwright(s) of the Inner Palace, the ideology and aesthetics of the Ming court inevitably constrained the plots and performing methods of Sailing to the West Seas. All these constraints not only show the Ming court’s attitudes toward the “distinction between Hua and Yi” after the overthrow of the Mongolian rule of the Yuan Dynasty but also reflect their impression and even imaginings of the prosperous era of the Great Ming. For this reason, I will investigate the extent to which the court drama shows the ideological form of the rule of the Ming Dynasty. I will also analyze the aesthetics of the royal family of the Ming Dynasty from the court drama from the perspective of material culture.

Peng Liu
Rutgers University, Assistant Teaching Professor

Title:
Water in The Story of the Stone

Abstract:
This paper examines how water serves as a philosophical, religious, and aesthetic foundation within The Story of the Stone (aka. Dream of the Red Chamber). The novel indisputably bears Buddhist undertones, due to numerous Buddhist ideas, temples, and professionals in the story. In addition to teaching the achievement of enlightenment through passion, how does the novel represent Buddhist ideas about space and material reality? Conversely, how do Buddhist perspectives on space and material reality influence the novel’s fictional space? To answer these questions, this paper draws attention to the relationship between the novel and the concept of “Water Meditation” from the Surangama Sutra. I argue that the novel’s Grand View Garden is modeled upon Buddhist meditative practice. In particular, through storytelling, the novel transforms meditative space into physical space. During the time the novel was conceived, the Surangama Sutra enjoyed popularity among intellectuals. The sutra features “Water Meditation,” a meditative practice aimed at altering perceptions of reality. Practitioners are encouraged to view the material world as consisting of nothing but water. Water embodies purity of the mind, whereas stone represents a danger obstructing the achievement of mental tranquility. The Buddhist opposition of water and stone not only contributes to configuring the novel’s fictional space but also foretells the destinies of its major characters. The male protagonist Jia Baoyu is a reincarnation of a precious jade; his female companions in the garden embody the essence of water. As a stone in the Buddhist way, Baoyu must disappear from the garden and the narrative.

This panel examines the intersections of land, culture, and identity in China, exploring clan-based governance in Shenzhen's shareholding cooperatives, the interplay of fengshui and tourism in modern China, and the spatial dynamics of identity and boundaries in Beijing’s military compounds.

Jing Cheng
University of Erfurt, Ph.D Candidate

Title:
Land property, Clan and Shareholding Cooperative Company Governance: A case study in Shenzhen, China

Abstract:
This study explores the complex dynamics of clans and Shareholding Cooperative Companies (SCCs) within urban villages in the context of land property changes in Shenzhen, China. Through two large-scale land acquisitions and transformations, Shenzhen achieved comprehensive urbanization in 2004, converting former rural collective economic organizations into SCCs, with villagers becoming shareholders. SCCs utilize collective land for a range of commercial activities such as industrial factory construction, property management, leasing operations as well as the sale of land development quotas. The economic benefits generated from these businesses are subsequently distributed among the shareholders according to the principle of equity distribution, forming a capital appreciation and income-sharing model based on land resources. Driven by the siphoning effect associated with Shenzhen’s high population density and the sustained wealth growth from housing demolition compensation under urban renewal initiatives, SCCs and their underlying clans have accumulated substantial wealth. Data indicates that the collective assets of Shenzhen’s SCCs amount to 3 trillion yuan, with the eleven most influential clans, distributed across nearly 400 urban villages, collectively holding assets valued over 1 trillion yuan. However, this rapid wealth accumulation and identity transformation have imparted characteristics to SCCs that distinguish them from fully marketized private enterprises. Clan remains deeply entrenched, with significant overlap between clan elites and board members. This phenomenon has profound implications for corporate governance and performance, worthy of further exploration.
This study examines a specific case of SCC controlled by a clan in Shenzhen’s Bao’an District. Through a comprehensive methodology that includes ten months of participant observation, indepth interviews, focus group discussions, and subsequent two-year longitudinal data collection from 2022, the study analyzes how the clan influence the SCC’s governance and business performance.
The preliminary results show the dual impact of the clan on the governance of SCCs. On one hand, clan networks cultivate and enhance social capital, thereby enabling SCCs to assert their influence in negotiations with state authorities. Conversely, the pervasive presence of the clan in governance structure, human resource management, and market expansion results in a contraction of the radius of trust, the adoption of conservative market exploration strategies, and a preference for maintaining clan interests and stability. These factors collectively impact the development of the company, presenting challenges in adapting to the competitive dynamics of a market economy.

Xuyan Pan
Lingnan University, Masters of Philosophy Student

Title:
The Wheel of Fortune Turns: Fengshui and Tourism in Modern China, 1890-1937

Abstract:
This study examines the interplay of fengshui principles and tourism in modern China through a close study of Mokanshan, one of the Four Great Summer Resorts during the Republican era (民國四大避暑勝地). Historically nameless and was considered free from fengshui influences, Mokanshan attracted foreign settlers in the late Qing dynasty, prompting locals to reinterpret the area’s geomantic significance. Through three developmental phases (1890-1937), this research explores how traditional Chinese beliefs were challenged and reinterpreted in response to foreign influence and the demands of modern tourism and contributed to Mokanshan’s transformation into a modern tourist destination. The study argues that the evolving narrative surrounding Mokanshan reflects the ideological shifts in early tourism development and environmental understanding, with fengshui consistently adapting and maintaining its influence throughout these transformations. Utilizing primary sources from Chinese and foreign archives, personal diaries, and contemporary newspapers, the research offers a nuanced understanding of how touristic activities intersected with local fengshui beliefs. It also examines the broader implications for local communities as they navigated the complexities of modernization and national tourism policies.

Nan Xu
Stanford University, Graduate Student

Title:
Permeable Borders: Walls, Identity, and Space in Beijing’s Military Compounds

Abstract:
How do the physical boundaries established contest municipal authority while simultaneously shaping and blurring the identities of those within? This paper examines this question within the context of Beijing’s military compounds (budui dayuan 部队大院) from their inception during the Chinese Communist Party’s entry into Beiping through the transformations of the post-socialist era. The culture of Beijing compounds (dayuan 大院) has played a pivotal role in shaping contemporary China, particularly through the spatial and social constructs they introduced. When the Chinese Communist Party entered Beiping (now Beijing) with the aim of forging a new nation, they demarcated these compounds by constructing walls. These walls were not mere physical barriers; they served as mediums that communicated authority, identity, and the boundaries of a socialist nation. Through the materiality of the walls—inscriptions, language, and the very act of enclosure—the walls shaped the lived experiences and perceptions of the residents.
However, these borders were never absolute. The interaction between the compounds and the surrounding city reveals instances of blurred boundaries, challenging the rigid demarcation envisioned by the state. In the post-socialist era, the wall’s transformation signifies a process of deterritorialization, reflecting the gradual erosion of enclosed space under the pressures of globalization and commodification. Yet, the persistence of multiple boundaries within and around these compounds suggests that deterritorialization is incomplete, fostering a sense of nostalgia and raising questions about the ongoing negotiation of identity and space in contemporary China. By focusing on the walls that enclose these compounds, this study explores the dual role they play: as mediums that construct and communicate the boundaries of a socialist nation, and as porous membranes through which the tides of globalization and commodification flow.

本中文论坛聚焦中国经典文本的研究与阐释，探讨其在不同文化与理论视角下的解读。

Yue Cheng (程跃）
Anhui University of Science and Technology, PhD Assistant Professor

题目：
20世纪后半叶以来北美学者对《淮南子》的英译与阐释

摘要：
第二次世界大战之后，西方汉学的研究中心由欧洲转向北美，美国和加拿大学者成为英语世界《淮南子》翻译与研究活动的主力。在半个多世纪的时间内，共产生《淮南子》英文选译本6部，全译本1部。北美学者的《淮南子》英译活动以20世纪末为界，分为两个阶段，呈现出不同的阶段性特征。整个20世纪后半叶，北美学者的《淮南子》英译主要服务于汉学研究。在“中国中心观”的影响下，译者倾向于深入到中国古代历史文化语境之中，围绕原典展开全方面的研究。译文作为分析的基础而存在，与注释、评述等部分共同构成对原典思想的深度阐释。20世纪末以来，受西方后现代主义思潮的影响，北美学者在对《淮南子》的解读与诠释中融入了西方的、现代的学术视角与文化资源，形成了有别于传统研究的新路径，展现出中西方文化的整合与重构。译文成为译者对原典理解新观点的体现。纵观整个历程，北美学者的《淮南子》英译活动，由强调真实性与准确性的认知活动，发展为具有创造性与实践性的哲学建构。既是在西方哲学语境中对中国哲学的重构，同时也是对西方哲学的重新认识，促进《淮南子》成为推动中西方思想交流与互鉴的重要资源。

YingYing Tsai
Department of Chinese Language and Literature, University of Taipei, Assistant Professor

题目：
論《左傳》中文字與非文字的記憶

摘要：
本文嘗試運用「文化記憶」的相關概念，並以《左傳》為對象，考察其中「文字」與「非文字」的記憶媒介，透過個案之舉證，析論文化記憶理論的重要觀念如儀式一致性、文本一致性、文體作為記憶場等，並嘗試思考早期中國歷史敘事的記憶與詮釋論題。
第一節先略述「文化記憶」的定義與研究價值，指出其對「文字」與「非文字」的分析與討論，實有助於我們釐清記憶的功能與文化意義，並介紹相關重要學說與概念。第二節討論地點、器物、儀式三種「非文字」的記憶特質。第三節則以「文字」記憶出發，而著重討論文字帶來的多元詮釋與記憶之關聯。結語則透過前述「文字」與「非文字」的討論，反思民國以來對「口傳」歷史的看法，指出從「文化記憶」的角度觀之，口傳與文字並非進化式的發展，也未必有取代關係，而宜著重在不同媒介的特質及其對過去之態度與詮釋的轉變。

Ming-Shu Lee (李明書)
School of Philosophy, Zhejiang University, Professor

题目：
从关怀伦理学视角论孔子的道德教育如何可能

摘要：
本文以比较哲学的进路，藉由关怀伦理学的观点，证明孔子的道德教育之所以可能，在于人人皆有的关怀他人之情。孔子思想以“仁”为本，目标在于使人成为有德者。有德者的基础在于具备“仁”的真情实感，进而培养各种德性与立身处世的能力。关怀伦理学重视人与人之间自然情感的关怀，在关怀的基础上培养理性的道德能力与工作技能，在道德教育的基础上，和孔子思想有相似之处。关怀伦理学认为人皆有自然关怀他人的能力，因此道德教育之所以可能，在于可将人人皆有的关怀之情发挥而出，而非诉诸理性的道德原则或抽象的德性概念。“仁”的情感意义接近于关怀伦理学所说的“关怀”（care），均指父母与子女之间的真情实感，是故孔子道德教育亦应从“仁”的情感入手，才具有普遍性与可能性。

This panel investigates the intersections of education, morality, and media in shaping societal and historical narratives.

Anna Ivanova
Washington State Unviersity, Ph.D Candidate, Independent Instructor

Title:
Exploring the Influence of Academia Sinica’s Epistemic Community on Taiwan’s Education Policy

Abstract:
This research aims to explore the influence of Academia Sinica on the formation and implementation of education policy in Taiwan. Building on the epistemic community framework, the study examines the engagement of a network of Academia Sinica’s experts united by shared values, causal beliefs, and notions of validity in the policymaking process. Through a mixed-method approach, including interviews with key stakeholders and content analysis of relevant documents, this research identifies the reasons for Academia Sinica’s effective influence on education policy in Taiwan. The findings reveal key factors, including active engagement, institutional prestige, autonomy, and historical context, to impact education policy.

Chen Xin
Jilin University, Ph.D Student

Title:
Active Morality versus Passive Morality: The Differential Emergence of Moral Imperatives

Abstract:
As a social ideology and a code of conduct and norms for people to live together, morality has shifted its exploration paradigm from the ultimate question of "how individuals should lead to a happy life" to the social law of "what kind of moral rules a person should obey". It is worth noting that there is a tension between Kant's moral judgments and the moral reasoning of Chinese style ethics. When we attempt to examine moral principles, we must recognize the fundamental shift that intersubjectivity may cause in the evaluation perspective, and avoid consequentialist simplifications. At the same time, we must value the significant role of moral principles in practical applications, recognize the difference between active morality and passive morality, and use an intersubjective moral principle to reconstruct and reflect on moral principles.

Yihe Zhang
The Chinese University of Hong Kong, second year M.Phil. Student

Title:
A Story of Hyponotism: (Pseudo)scientific Media Technology and Global Diplomatic History in Flower in a Sea of Retribution

Abstract:
This paper presents a case study situated at the confluence of media studies, diplomatic history and Late Qing fiction. Employing a diplomatic journey portrayed in the historical novel, Flower in a Sea of Retribution (Niehai Hua 孽海花), the study sheds light on China’s responses to scientific innovations and global political landscape at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries through the lens of hypnotism.

Challenging the prevailing notion that hypnotism, as a category of paranormal phenomena, arises from novelistic exaggeration, this paper offer a material and historical guide to re-evaluate hypnotism. To be specific, it showcases the dialogue between surrealist hypnotic narratives and modern optics within the cross-cultural knowledge flow, demonstrating that hypnotism serves as an analogical framework for comprehending and imagining new visual media and technology. Furthermore, inspired by this cognitive framework, Flower in a Sea of Retribution contextualizes hypnotism in Sino-Western diplomatic history. The novel, therefore, elucidates how Late Qing China identified, reflected upon, and ultimately mastered the strategies and principles of diplomacy within the realm of global (geo)politics.

In conclusion, this paper uncovers overlooked aspects of media and diplomatic history, highlighting the crises faced by China and its creative responses. Rather than focusing on the analysis of novel characters and their historical counterparts, this research adopts a material studies approach to showcase how hypnotism facilitates a more comprehensive and nuanced exploration and commentary on the intricate scientific and political history conveyed through Late Qing fiction.

This panel explores the intersection of poetry, art, and aesthetics in contemporary Chinese culture, focusing on poet-artists in modern China, the influence of classical Chinese poetry on Feng Zi Kai’s comic creations, and the role of inscription in shaping modern aesthetic expressions in stone and script.

Paul Manfredi
Department of Chinese Studies, Pacific Lutheran University, Professor of Chinese

Title:
Contemporary Literati: Poet-artists in China Today

Abstract:
This presentation will explore the work of a group of poet-artists who are sometimes collectively named the “shipai” 诗派 (“poet’s group”), and who have been regularly exhibiting their visual art works in group shows since around the year 2010. More specifically, I am examining the relationship between this group and some of their classical precedents in the literati tradition. Broadly speaking, the literati tradition continues to find new expression in contemporary China, and the work of these poet-artists is a good case in point. As China grows more culturally influential in the global context going forward, understanding how ancient traditions are reformed and elaborated into more recent aesthetic trends is important. Beyond this, examining this particular group of artists who work in poetic and visual realms helps us to better understand some essential dynamics of Chinese cultural production of the past three decades, specifically in terms of the impact of market capitalism on creative work. Artists featured in this discussion include Yan Li 严力, Mang Ke 芒克, Lv De'an 吕德安, Luo Qing 罗青, Yu Xiang 宇向, Chu Yu 楚雨, and others.

Lok Yan Emily Tang
School of Professional and Continuing Education, University of Hong Kong (HKUSPACE), College Lecturer

题目：
畫中有詩：中國古典詩詞對豐子愷漫畫創作的啟發與影響
Poetry in Painting: The Inspiration and Influence of Classical Chinese Poetry on Feng Zi Kai’s Comics Creation

摘要：
豐子愷（1898-1975）是近代中國漫畫的奠基者，學界普遍認同他的漫畫創作深受日本畫家竹久夢二的影響，「漫畫」一詞亦從日本引入；然而，豐子愷也有傳統中國文人的一面，他上承中國文人畫的減筆畫脈絡，截取古典詩詞句子入畫，創作出大量趣味盎然、充滿詩情畫意的漫畫。本文分析豐子愷的畫作、創作理念及過程，探討中國古典詩詞對豐子愷漫畫創作的影響，以見出他在選取學習日本繪畫的藝術風格時，背後所植根的中國古典詩詞美學。

Alina Scotti
Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations, Harvard University, PhD Candidate

Title:
Aestheticizing Stone and Script: Inscription in Three Modern Guises

Abstract:
This paper examines three, visual and/or textual representations of script by scholar-artists in late Qing and Republican China, all of which encircle a central, human figure into stone materials that further contain
carved inscriptions. First, it will consider an 1866 self-portrait by iterant artist Xuan Ding 宣鼎 (1832-1880); second, Ren Bonian's 任伯年 (1840-1896) 1886 portrait of the painter-epigrapher Wu Changshuo 吳昌碩 (1844-1927); and third, Lu Xun's (1881-1936) 1925 prose-poem Epitaph 墓碣文. The paper interrogates how and why intellectual and artistic subjectivity extend into and is absorbed by inanimate material (stone) and form (script). It will argue that an entanglement of human potential and stony script demonstrates a locating of modern identities beyond both metaphysical and material knowns. The two portraits embed the image of the scholar-artist into stone (an inkstone or a stone rubbing-like background). Antiquarian visual convention creates a contrast of black-and-white negative space that is broken only by accompanying painterly renderings of carved-in script, akin to stelae inscriptions and epigraphic calligraphy. Stone in Lu Xun’s Epitaph becomes a haunting yet stabilizing presence amidst the splitting of the literary form into something that is both prose and poem, speaking and inscribing, and this stabilizing ability forces the stone into a central narrative position. Each of these works raise questions of the simultaneous location of creative subjectivity in human form and in inanimate materiality, interconnected by script, thereby adding new dimension to the role of both script and of material in modern Chinese cultural history.

This panel examines the intersection of medicine, religion, and society in China from the Ming to the early Republican period.

Xun Liu
Department of History, Rugters University/Central China Normal University, Associate Professor

Title:
The Sage of Medicine Shrine: Reconstructing Authenticity and Authority of National Medicine in Early Republican China
Abstract:
As the anti-Chinese medicine discourse and activities escalated into a major controversy across the media and even in debates at the national assembly, the Sage of Medicine Shrine (Yisheng ci醫聖祠) in Nanyang 南陽 of Henan province that celebrate the memory of Zhang Zhongjing (張仲景), arguably the most central authority and demigod of Chinese medicine also faced major challenges and underwent a drastic revival due the collective efforts by a group of physicians and herbal merchants at the time. This preliminary study reconstructs the history of the shrine’s revival by examining the efforts led by Huang Weihan (黃維翰, also, Qian謙, h. Zhuzhai竹斋, 1886-1960), a Republican official and a renowned physician and educator of Chinese medicine from Xi’an and a group of local doctors of Chines medicine and herbal merchants in Nanyang to revive and re-consecrate Zhang Zhongjing as the unassailable sage and authority of Chinese medicine by renovating and maintaining the Sage of Medicine Shrine, by republishing and canonizing medical texts and herbal formula attributed to Zhang, and by forming a national association dedicated to the preservation and promulgation of Chinese medicine as the new National Medicine (guoyi國醫) in Nanyang and beyond. Alongside their efforts to renovate the shrine in honor of Zhang Zhongjing, Huang and his cohorts were also engaged in efforts to modernize and standardize the Chinese medical education and training programs throughout China by legislative activism within the National Committee of Chinese Medicine (Quanguo zhongyi weiyuanhui全國中醫委員會)) under the aegis of the Republican government’s Agency of Public Health (weishengshu衛生署). These legislative efforts succeeded in enlisting support from many Republican government officials and politicians in the central Republican government and the Henan provincial regime.
(Refer to the author's personal profile for full abstract)

Lu Cheng
Hubei Academy of Social Sciences, Assistant Researcher

Title:
From Dispelling Diseases to Blessing Pharmaceutical Merchant Groups: Temples of Medicine King and Their Social Functions in Hubei Region During the Ming-Qing China
Abstract:
This paper argues that the prosperity of temples of Medicine King reflected the dual construction of folk beliefs and social space by local social groups in Ming-Qing China. The emergence of temples of Medicine King is closely related to the reform of national ideology in the Ming dynasty. In the situation of the decline of the Three Emperors' worship, the folk reshaped the temple of Medicine King, which enshrines famous ancient doctors and embodies the desire of health. In the regional social environment, temples of Medicine King in Hubei during the Ming and Qing dynasties expanded its diverse social functions. Such as being as a barn, a charity school, a military fortress, and the image of the medicine king worship is also more diverse. Since the 17 century, the pharmaceutical industry in Hankou, the central city of Hubei, has been increasingly prosperous. The Henan merchants, Jiangxi merchants, and other pharmaceutical merchant groups who came to Hankou build up the enshrinement of the Medicine King as a space to maintain their own pharmaceutical trade. At this time, the meaning of the temple of Medicine King has expanded from dispelling diseases to blessing pharmaceutical merchant groups, and its social function has also changed from a common temple to a business hall. The emergence of the “Guild type Temple” in Hankou not only reflects the emerging pharmaceutical merchant group's ability to shape social space, but also showcases the specialized and large-scale landscape of the medicinal herb trading market in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River in Qing China.

Yurong Feng
Central China Normal University, Professor

Title:
"The Medicine King Migrated Westward": Beliefs, Medicine, and Market Space of the Temple of Medicine King in Tengchong, Yunnan from the Ming and Qing Dynasties to the Republic of China
Abstract:
During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, most of the Temples of Medicine King (Yaowang药王) were located in northwest and north China, but there was a Yaowang Palace in Tengchong(腾冲), Yunan(云南) province located in the southwest border. Although Yaowang Palace was built by doctors from Jiangxi who migrated west with the army in 1626, based on the Taoist Qingwei Palace(清微宫), it gradually integrated original medical and local resources. The influence of central cultural dynamics was vivid by the expansion of the Five Emperors Tower after the Qing conquest in 1725. Then it was rebuilt by the famous local doctor Ming Yulang(明于朗) rebuilt it in 1887, which was part of a local charity. During the Republic of China period, Yaowang Palace became a gathering place for the Medical Association and pharmaceutical merchants. The election of the Medical Association and the evaluation of the qualifications of Chinese medicine doctors were held here. As the infrastructure expanded, so did its network encompassing beliefs, medicinal economy, and the trade in medicinal materials, consolidating as a hub that symbolized local culture "Teng medicine". This convergence attracted doctors, pharmacists, local officials, and the gentry, reflecting how outsiders integrated into the local area. At the same time, local officials also utilized diverse resources to bolster regional identity. Therefore, the Temple of Medicine King evolved into a space where external influences fused with local elements, enhancing the commercial and social significance of the area.

Xiaomeng Liu
Fudan University, Assistant Professor

Title:
Regional Network and Cult Assemblage: The Temple of Medicine King in Qizhou and the Construction of Popular Belief in North China during the Ming-Qing Period
Abstract: