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Zodiac, a Graphic Memoir review

MCLC Resource Center is pleased to announce publication of Sean Macdonald’s review of Zodiac, a Graphic Memoir, by Ai Weiwei, with Elettra Stamboulis, illustrated by Gianluca Constantini. The review appears below and at is online home: https://u.osu.edu/mclc/book-reviews/zodiac/.

Enjoy, Kirk Denton, MCLC

Zodiac, a Graphic Memoir

By Ai Weiwei
With Elettra Stamboulis, illustrated by Gianluca Costantini


Reviewed by Sean Macdonald
MCLC Resource Center Publication (Copyright March, 2024)


It is too often forgotten that some if not all symbols had a material and concrete existence before coming to symbolize anything . . . Another example is the zodiac, which represents the horizon of the herder set down in an immensity of pasture: a figure, then, of demarcation and orientation. Initially- and fundamentally- absolute space has a relative aspect. Relative spaces, for their part, secrete the absolute.[1]—Henri Lefebvre, The Production of Space

If so far in this book the word “dissident” has been used sparingly, it is because the vast majority of intellectuals who desired change and a shift towards a more democratic and open system did not perceive themselves as “dissident.” [2]—Gregory B. Lee, The Lost Decade

Figure 1: The cover. Zodiac, a Graphic Memoir (Ten Speed Graphic, 2024). 176pp. ISBN: 978-1-9848-6299-0.

Ai Weiwei 艾未未 is a true postmodern artist. When Ai started producing art in New York City in the 1980s, Andy Warhol was still alive. But Ai did not just pick up techniques from contemporary Western art, he entered into it headfirst through a kind of performance of personality. In traditional Chinese visual culture, personality is as important as individualism is in the avant-garde.[3] Ai Weiwei’s personality is an important component of his art. In some ways, this gives the impression that his role is analogous to that of a film director, organizing performances and happenings to remind the public he has not gone away.

For many scholars of contemporary Chinese culture, Ai Weiwei is a presence, even a cultural icon of dissident culture. As Xiaobing Tang noted almost a decade ago, Ai was “the darling of Western mainstream media and art establishments.”[4] And his influence has only grown with social media, of which Ai is a very savvy and capable user. For anyone who has followed Ai Weiwei’s work, the overarching narrative of Zodiac—his recently published graphic novel memoir—is familiar. It tells of his father Ai Qing’s life as a poet arrested and imprisoned in 1932 by the KMT for his revolutionary activities. Under the CCP, Ai Qing was arrested as a “rightist” and class enemy of the state in 1957 and subsequently exiled to Xinjiang. Ai Weiwei accompanied his father on his exile (12-14). Following his work on the Sichuan earthquake in August 2009, Ai was beaten by police. In 2010, he would be placed under house arrest. In April 2011, he was arrested at the Beijing airport and prosecuted for tax evasion, among other charges, and lost the ability to travel outside the country until 2015 when he was given a passport. Ai’s politics is very public, and he has become a global citizen, perhaps one of the most identifiable contemporary Chinese artists, or contemporary artists period. He is a celebrity avant-garde artist, who has already made a historical impact and has a globally-known personality. Continue reading

Classical Tale translation workshop

Chinese Classical Tale Summer Translation Workshop: Call for Applications

The Center for East Asian Studies at the University of Chicago invites applications for a Translation Workshop on the tale written in Classical Chinese (Literary Sinitic). The workshop, to be held July 15-19, 2024, is part of the NEH Translations and Scholarly Editions project for a new complete annotated English translation of Pu Songling’s 蒲松齡 Liaozhai zhiyi 聊齋誌異. It will be led by project co-PI’s Judith Zeitlin (University of Chicago) and Rania Huntington (University of Wisconsin, Madison), with additional faculty sessions conducted by Roland Altenburger (University of Würzburg), Suyoung Son (Cornell), and Jiayi Chen (Washington University, St Louis). Mornings will introduce methods and resources for English translation and annotation, including two sessions in the Regenstein Library and a session on Korean tales written in Literary Sinic; afternoon sessions will focus on workshopping translations in progress by individual student and faculty participants.

The workshop is open to graduate students, advanced undergraduates, faculty, and independent scholars and translators. Required qualifications: command of advanced Classical Chinese and professional fluency in English.

Subsidies for travel and lodging will be provided for a limited number of out of town participants. Preference for subsidies will be given to graduate students and recent PhDs or MFAs (degree granted after 2017), but scholars of all ranks are welcome to apply to the workshop. Participants should prepare two texts for translation to bring with them: one an already completed draft, and one to be completed over the course of the workshop. Texts may be from the tale or anecdotal tradition in Classical Chinese from any period or geographical region. Applicants should submit a current cv and brief statements describing your interest in the workshop, your Classical Chinese training, prior translation experience, and the translation projects you plan to share at the workshop.

Application materials are due by May 1, 2024

Please apply here:  NEH Summer Classical Tale Translation Workshop (wufoo.com)

For questions, please contact Professor Judith Zeitlin <jzeitlin@uchicago.edu>

Contact Information:

Hyeonjin Schubert
Center Administrator Center for East Asian Studies
Contact Email hschubert@uchicago.edu
URL https://ceas.uchicago.edu

U of Milan fellowship

12-MONTH RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP ON CONTEMPORARY SINOPHONE LITERATURES
DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS: March 29, 2024

The Department of Languages, Literatures, Cultures, and Mediation of the University of Milan is announcing a 12-month research fellowship on contemporary Sinophone literature, titled “Reading Europe through contemporary Sinophone literature”.

What is this about?

The fellowship is part of the funded interdisciplinary research project “Re-Visualizing ‘the West’: geo-literary images of Europe in contemporary Sinophone writings”, led by Prof. Simona Gallo and funded by the Italian Ministry of University and Research (MUR) and the European Union (“Next Generation EU”). The research project aims to critically investigate and interpret Europe as represented in contemporary Sinophone literature. It intends to examine the composite nature of European cultures offered by authors who have engaged with this continent, as well as to delve into the peculiarities of the symbolism of space, according to different degrees of proximity.

The research fellow will actively take part in research activities such as compilation of bibliographies, analysis of the relevant literature, and the dissemination of results through publications, conferences, and outreach activities.

What are the basic requirements?

The research fellow is required to possess a good knowledge of the modern and contemporary Chinese-language literary landscapes, awareness of the theoretical frameworks of Sinophone Studies, and familiarity with literary analysis and criticism. Furthermore, the research fellow is expected to be fluent in Chinese and English. Remote work can be arranged, so being on-site is not a requirement. However, residence in Europe is highly preferred. Continue reading

RMMLA lit and film panel–cfp extension

RMMLA 2024 Panel Deadline Extension

The deadline for abstract proposals to the 2024 Rocky Mountain MLA panel on “Marginalized Writers and Filmmakers,” previously posted on the MCLC Blog, has been extended to March 21:

https://u.osu.edu/mclc/2024/02/10/chinese-lit-and-film-after-1900-rmmla-cfp/

Please direct any inquiries to:

Charles Laughlin (cal5m@virginia.edu)
Andrew Kauffman (andrew.kauffman@unlv.edu)
Yiming Ma (yimingma@umail.ucsb.edu)

JCLC 10.2

The new issue of the Journal of Chinese Literature and Culture 10.2 is now available in print and online. All articles are ready to be downloaded via Duke University Press Journals Online (subscription needed)

Journal of Chinese Literature and Culture 
Volume 10 Issue 2   November 2023
Editors Yuan Xingpei and Zong-qi Cai

Table of Contents

The Philosophical Proposition “A Piercing Glance Elevates the Mind” and the Buddhist Thought in Zong Bing’s “A Preface to the Painting of Landscape”
By ZONG-QI CAI and STEPHEN RODDY

Horse Language and Improvised Memorials: Gong Kai’s Equine Paintings and Song Loyalism
By NAJUNG KIM

Unquiet Qing: The Course of Lovesickness in the Modernization of Chinese Literature
By LIU ZIYUN and YUEFAN WANG

Demon-Immortal Monkey: Categories of Being in the Cosmos of Journey to the West
By KEITH MCMAHON

How Should the Dragon King Memorialize the Jade Emperor? Margins of Political Thought in Late Ming China
By SHOUFU YIN

Emperor Qianlong’s Literary Aggrandizement in the Eighteenth Century
By YAN ZINAN

Review Essay

On Translating Mountains & Seas: A Review Essay
By NEWELL ANN VAN AUKEN Continue reading

Mo Yan against the martyrs

Source: China Media Project (3/11/24)
Mo Yan Against the Martyrs
A spat about the red credentials of one of China’s most celebrated writers has been blown out of proportion on the Chinese internet, thanks to harsher nationalist laws and an increasingly rabid cancel culture.
By Alex Colville

Mo Yan.

One of China’s most celebrated modern authors is in the firing line, and the ammunition is a hardline 2018 law on the protection of heroes and martyrs. The Nobel Prize-winning writer Mo Yan (莫言) has irked extreme nationalist bloggers on the internet, one of whom, writing under the account name “Mao Xinghuo Who Speaks the Truth” (说真话的毛星火), filed a court order late last month to remove Mo Yan’s books from circulation and force him to pay 1.5 billion RMB in damages to the Chinese people and “stop infringing on heroes and martyrs” in his fiction.

The blogger’s four-page indictment, submitted to the Beijing Procuratorate, meticulously lists Mo Yan’s supposed offenses, including portraying members of the Eighth Route Army during the Second Sino-Japanese War as sexually abusive, “beautifying” Japanese soldiers, insulting Mao Zedong, and saying that the Chinese people have “no truth and no common sense.”

A Weibo post from “Mao Xinghuo Who Speaks the Truth” details the bloggers accusations against writer Mo Yan.

“Such words and deeds have greatly hurt the feelings of the Chinese people,” Mao Xinghuo solemnly claims. “As an upright and patriotic young man, I feel very angry. How does the country allow such behavior to exist?” The blogger has been trying to bring a case against Mo Yan for months, and has asked publishers not to work with him. Fellow nationalist bloggers rallied to the cause, pointing to the more sexually explicit parts of his oeuvre as pornographic.

The incident shows how the active efforts of China’s leadership in recent years to enforce nationalist sentiment around the sanitized history of the Party can backfire and turn on cultural figures who are seen as a source of national pride. Continue reading

From China to Latin America exhibit

Source: University of Kansas Libraries (3/7/24)
International Collections highlights, extends upcoming collaborative conference
By Abdullah Al-Awhad

Books on display in a case.

A new exhibit in International Collections on the fifth floor of Watson Library [University of Kansas] highlights the history and relationships between Latin America and China – combining materials from two of KU Libraries’ regional collection strengths and supplementing an upcoming collaborative conference. The exhibit, “From China to Latin America,” is on display now through the end of March.

Librarians Cecilia Zhang and Milton Machuca-Gálvez curated items for the exhibit, including books that present the historical connection between Latin America and China and offer a glimpse of their cross-cultural influence. The exhibit is presented in partnership with the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies (CLACS), the Center for Global and International Studies, and the Center of East Asian Studies (CEAS). All three centers are co-hosts of a hybrid conference, titled “When Global East Meets Global South: East Asia and Latin America” set for March 29 with open registration.

“While this conference is taking place, these books will be on display to speak to specific cases,” said Machuca-Gálvez, librarian for Spanish, Portuguese, Latin America, & Caribbean Studies. “There are books on China-El Salvador, Mexico, Peru, a large quantity of books from Panama, and large volumes from Cuba.” Continue reading

William and Mary visiting position

Visiting Assistant Professor in Chinese History and Lit/Film at William & Mary

The Harrison Ruffin Tyler Department of History and the Department of Modern Languages & Literatures at the College of William & Mary invite applications for a one-year, non-tenure-track instructional position in modern Chinese history, literature, and film (field open) to begin August 10, 2024. The successful applicant is expected to be an effective teacher and will have a 3-3 teaching load.

Each semester two courses will be in History and one course will be in Chinese Studies for Modern Languages & Literatures. They include: for fall 2024, ‘East Asian Civilization since 1600’ and a freshman writing seminar in History, and ‘Introduction to Chinese Cinema’ in Chinese Studies; and for spring 2025, ’Modern Chinese History’ and a freshman writing seminar in History, and ‘Twentieth-Century Chinese Literature in English’ in Chinese Studies.

Applicants must apply online at https://jobs.wm.edu. Submit a curriculum vitae, a cover letter, and a statement of teaching interests that describes how your scholarly work informs your approach to teaching and mentoring. A diversity statement is not required. Candidates are encouraged to reflect on their past experiences or future plans to foster an inclusive and welcoming climate for learners/scholars in [enter discipline] in any of the aforementioned required documents. You will be prompted to submit online the names and email addresses of three references who will be contacted by the system with instructions for how to submit a letter of reference. For full consideration, submit application materials by the initial review date, April 12, 2024. Applications received after the initial review date will be considered if needed.

See the full job posting here: https://jobs.wm.edu/postings/58730

Posted by: Emily Wilcox eewilcox@wm.edu

Drama Box and the Social Theatre of Singpore event

Dear colleagues,

It gives me great pleasure to invite you to the panel discussion commemorating the launch of my book, Drama Box and the Social Theatre of Singapore: Cultural Intervention and Artistic Autonomy 1990-2006.

May be an image of text

Founded in 1990, Drama Box is a socially-engaged theatre company known for creating works that inspire dialogue, reflection and change. Published thirteen years ago in Chinese, Drama Box and the Social Theatre of Singapore: Cultural Intervention and Artistic Autonomy 1990-2006 received critical acclaim for its “comprehensive insight” into cultural policies and “excellent analysis” of the company’s theatre practice which “amplifies the voices of marginalised communities.” Now available in English, it has been updated and edited for a wider readership. To commemorate its publication, you are invited to join us for the live streaming of the book launch and panel discussion as speakers working in theatre, education and academia explore the nexus between theatre and crisis.

Online event:
Title of Panel Discussion: THEATRE AND CRISIS
Date: 9 March 2024 (Saturday)
Time: 0800 to 0930 (UK time)
Language: English Continue reading

How China came to dominate solar

Source: NYT (3/7/24)
How China Came to Dominate the World in Solar Energy
Beijing is set to further increase its manufacturing and installation of solar panels as it seeks to master global markets and wean itself from imports.
By 

An aerial view of solar panels blanketing a large area, with roads winding through the solar farm.

A solar farm owned by the Huaneng Group in Shilin, China. Credit…Gilles Sabrié for The New York Times

China unleashed the full might of its solar energy industry last year. It installed more solar panels than the United States has in its history. It cut the wholesale price of panels it sells by nearly half. And its exports of fully assembled solar panels climbed 38 percent while its exports of key components almost doubled.

Get ready for an even bigger display of China’s solar energy dominance.

While the United States and Europe are trying to revive renewable energy production and help companies fend off bankruptcy, China is racing far ahead.

At the annual session of China’s legislature this week, Premier Li Qiang, the country’s second-highest official after Xi Jinping, announced that the country would accelerate the construction of solar panel farms as well as wind and hydroelectric projects.

With China’s economy stumbling, the ramped-up spending on renewable energy, mainly solar, is a cornerstone of a big bet on emerging technologies. China’s leaders say that a “new trio” of industries — solar panels, electric cars and lithium batteries — has replaced an “old trio” of clothing, furniture and appliances.

The goal is to help offset a steep slump in China’s housing construction sector. China hopes to harness emerging industries like solar power, which Mr. Xi likes to describe as “new productive forces,” to re-energize an economy that has slowed for more than a decade. Continue reading

Premier’s news conference

Source: NYT (3/6/24)
A Window Into Chinese Government Has Now Slammed Shut
阅读简体中文版 | 閱讀繁體中文版
Once a year, the premier held a news conference, explaining the economy and giving Chinese a taste of political participation. That has come to an end.
By Li Yuan

Rows of government officials sit on a wide stage decorated in red and gold with an audience that includes media, standing with cameras recording the event.

Premier Li Qiang spoke from a dais during the opening session of the National People’s Congress at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Tuesday. The annual news conference used to close the congress. Credit…Andy Wong/Associated Press

For more than 30 years, the Chinese premier’s annual news conference was the only time that a top leader took questions from journalists about the state of the country. It was the only occasion for members of the public to size up for themselves China’s No. 2 official. It was the only moment when some Chinese might feel a faint sense of political participation in a country without elections.

On Monday, China announced that the premier’s news conference, marking the end of the country’s annual rubber-stamp legislature, will no longer be held. With that move, an important institution of China’s reform era was no more.

“Welcome to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea,” a commenter wrote on the social media platform Weibo, reflecting the sentiment that China increasingly resembles its dictatorial, hermitic neighbor. The search term “news conference” was censored on Weibo, and very few comments remained by Monday evening Beijing time.

Although increasingly scripted, the premier’s news conference at the National People’s Congress was watched by the Chinese public and the world’s political and business elite for signs of economic policy shifts and, occasionally, high-level power plays taking place beneath the surface.

“As stage-managed as it was, it was a window to see how official China works and how official China explains itself to the Chinese people and to the wider world,” said Charles Hutzler, a former colleague of mine who attended 24 premier pressers since 1988 as a journalist for the Voice of America, The Associated Press and The Wall Street Journal. Continue reading

Center for Taiwan Studies (UCSB) position

POSITION: Academic Coordinator for the Center for Taiwan Studies at UCSB (Job #JPF02678)
East Asian Languages and Cultural Studies / College of Letters & Science – Humanities and Fine Arts / UC Santa Barbara

POSITION OVERVIEW
Salary range: See Table 36 and Table 36N for the salary range for this position. A reasonable estimate for this position is an annual salary of $59,727 at full-time annualized rate.
Percent time: 50.0%

APPLICATION WINDOW
Open date: January 19, 2024

Most recent review date: Friday, Feb 2, 2024 at 11:59pm (Pacific Time)
Applications received after this date will be reviewed by the search committee if the position has not yet been filled.

Final date: Friday, Mar 29, 2024 at 11:59pm (Pacific Time)
Applications will continue to be accepted until this date, but those received after the review date will only be considered if the position has not yet been filled.

POSITION DESCRIPTION
The Center for Taiwan Studies (CTS) at the University of California, Santa Barbara, invites applications for a half-time Academic Coordinator I position. This is a 12-month fiscal year appointment(non-tenure track). The Academic Coordinator (AC) assists the Center for Taiwan Studies Director in developing and implementing programming consistent with the mission of the Center, including yearly international conferences of scholars whose work relates to Taiwan, and two to three quarterly events, such as movie showings, lectures, cultural events, graduate student forums, etc. The AC also assists, as needed, with events in the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultural Studies that include Taiwan in full or as a component. The goal of the programming at CTS is to promote Taiwan Studies and to educate students, scholars, and community members about the culture, literature, history, society, and politics of Taiwan. Candidates must be legally authorized to work in the United States without the need for employer sponsorship. Continue reading

RMMLA 2024 deadline extensions

The deadline for paper submissions to the following Rocky Mountain MLA panels, previously posted on the MCLC Blog, has been extended to March 15:

Intersecting Ecologies: Navigating Crises, Traumas, and Movements in Asian Comparative Literature and Film

Bridging Worlds: Unpacking Asian-German Interconnections in Comparative Asian Literature and Film 

Posted by: Jasmine Li <yul282@ucsd.edu>

Museum of Chinese Australian History talk

Dear all,

The ‘Global Diasporic Chinese Museums Network Initiative Public Talk Series’ will host the 6th talk on Wednesday 8 March 2024. Our speaker is Mark Wang, CEO, Museum of Chinese Australian History. He will give a talk on Connecting Culture, History and Heritage: Museum of Chinese Australian History 连接文化,历史和遗产:澳华历史博物馆. The talk will be given in English. Simultaneous translation into Mandarin Chinese will be provided.

Date: Friday 8 March 2024
Time: 11:00 am to 12:30 pm (GMT)
Venue: Online
Zoom ID: 829 1750 5030
Password: 12345
Meeting link:

Abstract

This talk will discuss how the Museum has broadened its activities over the last five years to create a socially connected community that places all Chinese Australians and their descendants in the context of their diverse diasporic journeys over the past two centuries to the present day. Our inclusive focus strengthens our identity as individuals and as a community in a contemporary Australian multicultural society.

The talk will include:

  • Background of the Museum of Chinese Australian History
  • History of Chinese in Australia
  • Standing on 3 pillars of understanding – Culture, History and Heritage
  • The Museum’s operations, its collection, current research and public programs
  • The Museum’s future plan for growth

Continue reading

The Nomadic Artist in the Chinese Diasporas

“The Nomadic Artist in the Chinese Diasporas” Virtual Conference
April 18, 2024, 2-5pm EST
April 25, 2024, 5-8pm EST

Information and Registration

Recent interdisciplinary scholarship has increasingly demonstrated the need to highlight the social heterogeneity of multiple Chinese diasporas instead of a singular Chinese diaspora. Established and emerging scholars from Australia, China, the United Kingdom, and the United States will discuss the artworks of Xiao Lu, Song Ling, Li Yuan-Chia, Richard Show-Yu Lin, Kim Lim, Cai Guo-Qiang, Hong Xian, Huang Yao, Hung Liu, Tehching Hsieh and others. The presentations are intended to contribute to an examination of such critical but contested concepts as migration and transmigration, displacement, exile, homeland, mobility, transnationalism, nationality, coloniality, citizenship, and cosmopolitanism in cultural and art historical studies.

Co-organized by

Department of Art History and Archaeology, University of Maryland
The Judith Neilson Chair of Contemporary Art, University of New South Wales, Sydney

Co-sponsored by

Center for East Asian Studies & Center for Global Migration Studies, University of Maryland
The Endowment of the Judith Neilson Chair of Contemporary Art, University of New South Wales, Sydney

Speakers

Paul Gladston, Eleanor Stoltzfus, Lydia Ohl, Nan Zhong, Wenny Teo, Tiffany Wai-Ying Beres, Dorothy Moss, Yu-chieh Li