Event Details

WHAT: "The Song Dynasty (960-1276): Was China Modern Before Europe?", an online RASBJ talk by Prof.. Valerie Hansen, moderated by Dr. Jeremiah Jenne



WHEN: 8-9 PM Beijing Time, Wednesday 17th September (online on Zoom)



ABOUT THE EVENT: Ever since the publication of Kenneth Pomeranz's The Great Divergence in 2000, Chinese and European historians have been analysing the different trajectories of the two societies after 1750. This talk shifts the focus from the end of the early modern era to the beginning. Why do Western historians of China follow the lead of Naitล Konan ๅ†…่—คๆน–ๅ— (1866-1934), a Japanese historian of China, and see the Song period (960-1276) as early modern, while Western European historians believe the early modern era started around 1450 or 1500? It is true that, while the Song period saw the development of large-scale enterprises fueled by coal and human and animal power, neither industrialisation nor capitalism resulted. Still, the key indicators of early modernityโ€”dramatic growth of markets, a publishing boom and the ensuing spread of information, and maritime explorationโ€”all occurred during the Song. China's experience differed from Europe's in an important respect: modernity did not follow immediately upon the early modern period. Certain features of the early modern appeared and then slipped away before the onset of modernity.



ABOUT THE SPEAKER: Valerie Hansen teaches premodern Chinese and world history at Yale, where she is the Stanley Woodward Professor of History. Her most recent book, "The Year 1000: When Explorers Connected the Worldโ€”and Globalization Began" (Scribner, 2020) has been translated into fifteen languages so far. The modernity of the Song dynasty is one of her current book projects; she discussed the otherโ€”"The Asian Age of Exploration"โ€”with Jeremiah Jenne for RASBJ in 2024.



ABOUT THE MODERATOR: Jeremiah Jenne is a writer and historian who was based in Beijing for over two decades. He taught Late Imperial and Modern Chinese History in Beijing for 17 years. Now in Geneva, Switzerland, he is the lead columnist for The Archive Picks section at the "China Books Review" and hosts the podcast "Barbarians at the Gate".



HOW MUCH: Free for members of RASBJ; 50 RMB for members of RAS branches in London, Shanghai, Hong Kong and members of the Yale community. 100 RMB for non-members. Alipay may be an easier payment method than WeChat. You can also pay by credit card. Interested in becoming an RASBJ member? Please sign up at https://rasbj.org/membership​



HOW TO JOIN THE EVENT: Those who want to attendshould click "Register" or "I will attend" and follow the instructions. After successful registration you'll receive a confirmation email with a link to join the event online. If you seem not to have received it, please check your spam folder. Members of partner RAS Branches: Please register 72 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 your payment, with a link to join the event online. Please check your spam folder to ensure you see all RASBJ emails.



REFUND POLICY: If the event is cancelled by RASBJ, registrants will be refunded in full.

Speakers

  • Valerie Hansen (Speaker)

    Valerie Hansen

    Speaker

    Prof. Valerie Hansen teaches premodern Chinese and world history at Yale, since 2017 as Stanley Woodward Professor of History. After receiving her doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania in 1987, she joined Yale University in 1988 as an assistant professor. Hansen spent a year in Shanghai on a Fulbright grant, taught at Yale's joint undergraduate program with Peking University and at Yale-NUS college in Singapore. Hansen published "Changing Gods in Medieval China, 1127-1279" in 1990. "Negotiating Daily Life in Traditional China, 600-1400", came out in 1995. In 2000, she published "The Open Empire", arguing that contrary to the widespread view that no outsiders influenced traditional China, Indian Buddhists and northern nomads shaped traditional China throughout its long history. In 2012, Hansen published "The Silk Road: A New History", in which she argued that Silk Road trade was small-scale and usually involved local goods. Her most recent book, "The Year 1000: When Explorers Connected the World—and Globalization Began" (Scribner, 2020) has been translated into fifteen languages so far.

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  • Jeremiah Jenne (Moderator)

    Jeremiah Jenne

    Moderator

    Website

    Dr. Jeremiah Jenne is a writer and historian who was based in Beijing for over two decades. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of California, Davis, and taught Late Imperial and Modern Chinese History for 17 years. Now in Geneva, Switzerland, he is the lead columnist for The Archive Picks section at the "China Books Review" and hosts the podcast "Barbarians at the Gate". You can follow him and his new project, which looks at historical travel and historical travelers on Substack at"By Their Own Compass".

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