Harvard University Professor Xiaofei Tian’s Sinology Lecture Held at UM

Harvard University Professor Xiaofei Tian’s Sinology Lecture Held at UM

The Department of Chinese Language and Literature at the University of Macau held a guest lecture entitled “Recent Development of Sinology Studies on Six Dynasties Literature” at 8:30 p.m. on October 27, 2020. Professor Xiaofei Tian from the Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations at Harvard University gave a guest lecture in the format of an academic conversation with Associate Professor Yue Zhang from the Department of Chinese Language and Literature at UM. Professor Jie Xu, interim Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Humanities and Chair of the Department of Chinese Language and Literature at UM, along with Professor Shoutong Zhu and Associate Professor Sihao Wang, attended the lecture. Graduate students from the Faculty of Arts and Humanities of the University of Macau participated in the conversation.

In the lecture, Professor Tian Xiaofei shared her choice of academic interests, and discussed the pertinent issues about the current situation, research methods, and future development of Sinology studies on Six Dynasties literature. She focused on elaborating the research of Tao Yuanming, manuscript culture, reception studies, and the use of memory theory. Professor Tian discussed the background of her study of Tao Yuanming from the manuscript culture perspective, pointing out that the new growth point of the Tao Yuanming research lies in the writings of Tao’s contemporaries. The best way to restore history is to reconstruct a historical context and explore specific life history and cultural history. In addition, Professor Tian also shared the writing background of her recent monograph, The Halberd of Red Cliff: Jian’an and the Three Kingdoms. Finally, the students asked questions actively and benefited tremendously from the talk.