Fan Writing: The Cultural Transactions between North and South in Early Medieval China

The discussion examines two influential writers of the Jin court during the end of the 3rd Century.

Speaker: Xiaofei Tian, East Asian Languages and Cultures, Harvard University

Sponsor: Center for Chinese Studies (CCS)

Many scholars have demonstrated that Lu Ji (261-303) and Lu Yun (262-303), scions of a prominent southern noble family who went north and served the Western Jin court at Luoyang, reveal an intense “southern consciousness” in their writings. In this paper I call attention to the Lu brothers’ enthrallment with the north, with a special focus on Lu Ji’s poetic inscription of his nuanced fascination with the northern culture. The paper argues that the Lu brothers were fans of northern culture, with Lu Ji’s poetry in particular demonstrating many characteristics of modern fan writings, and discusses how Lu Ji’s refashioning of the north in turn influences the creation of the cultural south during the period of disunion known as the Northern and Southern Dynasties (317-589).

Event Contact: ccs@berkeley.edu, 510-643-6321