Pembrokians Take Part in 2023 Association for Asian Studies Annual Conference

Congratulations to our Stanley Ho Junior Research Fellow in Chinese Studies, Dr Xiaojing Miao, for organising and taking part in a successful panel at the 2023 Association for Asian Studies Annual Conference, the largest gathering in the world for scholars of Asian Studies.

The panel, titled Ritual Sincerities in Chinese Literature: from Early China to the Twentieth Century, was attended by over fifty scholars. It explored questions such as the meaning of ‘sincerity’ to people down the ages and how much it mattered in different contexts.

Pembroke’s DPhil candidate, Ying Tong, was among the panellists. Ying discussed sincerity as a critical device in the rise of Nationalism and war mobilization during the early stages of the War of Resistance against Japan in 1937–1945.

Similarly, Dr Miao discussed the ritual of sincerity in the Tang self-recommendation letters using examples of letters written by Luo Binwang 駱賓王 (c. 640-648).

Other panellists included Prof Matthias L. Richter, Associate Professor of Chinese at the University of Colorado Boulder, and Pembroke alumna Dr Elizabeth Smithrosser (DPhil Oriental Studies, 2016) who is now a Lecturer at the University of Leiden in the Netherlands. Michael J. Puett, Professor of Chinese History at Harvard, also joined the panel as the discussant. 

Dr Miao shares: “Organizing a panel that included a diverse range of scholars and showcased a strong Pembroke presence was a delightful experience. I was thrilled to see the considerable turnout of scholars at our early Sunday morning panel, and really enjoyed engaging with everyone; we even continued our conversations long after the official conference ended.”

Ying also shares: “Attending the annual conference of Asian Studies for the first time as a DPhil student was a truly unforgettable experience. I was deeply impressed by the vibrancy of this research community and the immense value of effective communication. My participation as a panellist provided me with invaluable insights into how to effectively present and share my individual research with a broader scholarly community, marking a significant milestone in my academic journey.”