Event Details
WHAT: "Cityscapes in China, with Side Trips to Europe" โ an RASBJ in-person event with Prof. Martin Powers in the beautiful courtyard of Chongli Residence.
WHEN: 7-8PM (Beijing time), Tuesday November 25. A welcome drink and canapes will greet attendees arriving from 6.30PM
WHERE: Chongli Residence ๅด็คผไฝๅฎ on Dongsi 6 Alley, near Zhangzizhong Lu, DongCheng (ไปๅผ ่ชๅฟ ่ทฏๅฐ้็ซๅพๅ่ตฐ10ๅ้ๅฐฑๅฐ๏ผParticipants will receive detailed instructions on how to reach the venue in the run-up to the event.
ABOUT THE EVENT: Pictures of cities appear early on in works of art across Eurasia, but paintings that take the city as their primary subject appear late in history. Sometimes these pictures showcase local products, or thriving commerce more generally. With the emergence of tourism as a practice, cityscapes might advertise a city's attractions or the grandeur of its elite class reflected in architecture. More rarely cityscapes can stand in for society as a whole. This type of cityscape became the norm in China, but appears in Europe as well. This lecture will survey cityscapes from Song, Ming, and Qing China, with some engaging side trips to Europe.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER: Martin Powers is Professor in the School of Arts at Peking University and Professor Emeritus in History of Art at the University of Michigan. Recipient of numerous awards, including an NEH award and a fellowship at the Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts in D.C., in 2009 he was a Fellow in the School of Historical Studies at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton. His first two books, published by Yale University Press and Harvard University Press East Asian Series respectively, each won the Levenson Prize for Best Book in pre-1900 Chinese Studies (1993 and 2006). His most recent monograph, "China and England: the preindustrial struggle for justice in word and image", Routledge, 2019, has appeared in Chinese translation, and in two volumes of essays. Together with Dr. Katherine Tsiang, he co-edited "Looking at Asian Art" and the "Blackwell Companion to Chinese Art". His new manuscript is entitled "23 Lessons in Social Justice from East and West".
ABOUT THE VENUE: Chongli Residence is one of China's largest highest graded and preserved courtyards, at over 10,000m2. Built in the reign of Guangxu, it is a National Key Cultural Relic, open only to residents and their guests. Nancy Yang is our host for this event and will give an introduction to the history of the Chongli Residence.
ABOUT THE MODERATOR: Alan Babington-Smith, President of RASBJ, will introduce the speaker and moderate the event.
HOW MUCH: RMB 250 for members of RASBJ and RAS branches in London, Shanghai, and Hong Kong. RMB 250 for Yale Center Beijing members. RMB 350 for non-members. This price includes a welcome drink and canapes. You may find payment by Alipay easier than by Wechat; you can also pay by credit card. Kindly note that RASBJ does not issue fapiao.
Interested in becoming an RASBJ member? Please sign up at https://rasbj.glueup.cn/org/rasbeijing/memberships/
HOW TO JOIN THE EVENT: Please click "Register" or "I will attend" before noon on Nov 24 and follow the instructions. After successful registration you'll receive a confirmation email. If you seem not to have received it, please check your spam folder. If an event's maximum capacity has been reached, those attempting to register will be asked if they wish to join a waitlist; those who join the waitlist will be notified automatically if/when a space becomes available. YCB members are asked to use their Yale email address to facilitate verification of their membership. Regrets that RASBJ cannot accommodate everyone wishing to attend its events; recent events have sold out quickly; please register ASAP to lessen your chances of being disappointed.
MEMBERS OF PARTNER RAS BRANCHES: Please register 48 hours in advance to allow time for membership verification. You'll receive three emails from us: the first confirming receipt of your registration request, the second requesting payment, and the third confirming receipt of payment. Any registrations which have not been paid for by noon on Nov 24 will be de-activated.
REFUND POLICY: If RASBJ cancels the event, registrants will be refunded in full.
