We are very pleased to announce that the 1^st Lecture of the FAH Macao Humanities Forum (2024/2025) will be held on 13 September 2024. The forum aims to provide a platform for world-renowned scholars from diverse humanities fields to share their research with the FAH community and other UM scholars. All members of the UM community are cordially invited to this splendid event.

In this upcoming forum, we are honored to have Prof. Ge Zhaoguang as our guest speaker to deliver a lecture on the topic “Imagine A Great Empire? A Study of Forged Li Gonglin’s Wanfang Zhigongtu”. Prof. Ge is a Distinguished Professor and the Founding Director of National Institute for Advanced Humanistic Studies at Fudan University. A graduate from Peking University and formerly a Professor at Tsinghua University, Prof. Ge was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Humanities by the Hong Kong Education University, and recognised by Princeton University as the “Princeton Global Scholar” in 2009. Prof. Ge‘s accolades include: the winner of the “Asia-Pacific Award” in Japan and “Paju Book Award” in South Korea and Hong Kong Book Award, among others. His influential publications include: A History of Chinese Zen Buddhist Thought: From the 6th to 9th Century (Peking University Press, 1995), An Intellectual History of China (Volumes 1-2) (Fudan University Press, 1998, 2001), and Here in China: Reconstructing the Historical Narratives about “China” (Chung Hwa Book Company, 2011).

Details of the forum are as follows:

Speaker: Prof. Ge Zhaoguang葛兆光教授

Topic: Imagine A Great Empire? A Study of Forged Li Gonglin’s Wanfang Zhigongtu  想像天下帝國？從（偽）李公麟《萬方職貢圖》說起

Date: 13 Sept 2024 (Fri)

Time: 14:00 – 15:30*

Venue: On-Site (E21B-G016) / ZOOM

Language: Mandarin (Simultaneous interpretation into English will be provided on Zoom)

*Light refreshments will be provided on a first-come-first-served basis

Abstract:

“Zhigongtu” has a long-standing influence on Chinese artistic history and also presents a characteristic intellectual history in China. The pride and confidence of the empire were expressed through the contrast of the exotic features of foreign envoys who arrived in an imaginative great empire that was prominent to the surrounding tributaries. This tradition was handed down even to the Song dynasty at a time of territory decreasing and national assimilation. This talk presents a case study of forged Li Gonglin’s Wanfang zhigongtu，and examines the tribute exchanges between the Northern Song and its neighboring countries. It compares the artistic work and the historical facts，and aims to show that not a small part of this work originated from historical memories and the empire’s imagination even though the other parts might have been in keeping with the truth. The study proves that the Song dynasty still indulged itself in the dream of an overwhelming empire despite the fact it did not possess the thriving power of the Han and Tang dynasties. It points out in particular that this artistic tradition went on to the Qing dynasty with the imaginative empire consciousness，which reflects the lasting and profound influence of the traditional Chinese self-conception and worldview.

Please register for the forum by 11 Sept 2024 (Wed) via https://umac.au1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_07ArIzblwO31WWa