In the decade after the fall of the Ming dynasty, Wu Weiye 吳偉業 (1609–1672) drew inspiration from marginal personae such as entertainers, courtesans, gardeners and storytellers. Among his writings from this period are two poems that focus on such figures: ‘Yu nanxiang yuansou ganfu bashi yun’ 遇南廂園叟感賦八十韻 (1653) and ‘Ting nü daoshi Bian Yujing tanqin ge’ 聽女道士卞玉京彈琴歌 (1651). Both poems explore the fate of ‘lesser people’ and share remembrances of the past in early-Qing Nanjing.
The Classical and Literary Chinese Reading Group runs each Friday, between 3.00pm and 5.00pm. It brings together those with an interest in the textual cultures of the pre-modern period. It centres on the collective reading, translation, and discussion of a pre-circulated text. Texts are chosen by participants for their chronological, thematic, generic, and linguistic variety. The Group’s emphasis is on close reading and depth of philological understanding: the final aim is to produce a high-quality translation of the text at hand, and to acquire as precise a sense as possible of its linguistic structures and intellectual import. As part of this aim, the Group has played an instrumental role in several research publications.
For more information, please write to: mark.strange[at]anu.edu.au