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China-related Courses at Harvard, Spring 2026 Semester
Harvard offers a wide range of courses on China and Chinese Studies from across the arts, humanities, social sciences, and professional schools. Check out our…
Mark Baker and Xiaolu Ma (Ph.D. ’17) awarded honors for new books
Two books published by the Harvard University Asia Center and cosponsored by the Fairbank Center for Chinese studies were recently recognized by the Urban History…
Videos
Faculty Spotlight
Ellen Widmer has been a Center Associate at the Fairbank Center since 1981 and a driving force behind the Center’s Gender Studies Workshop since 1999. This year’s workshop, ‘The Beauty and the Book: Women, Knowledge, Literature, and Book Culture in Late Imperial China and Beyond’—co-sponsored by the Chiang Ching-kuo Foundation for International Scholarly Exchange, Wellesley College, the Harvard University Asia Center, and the Fairbank Center—will take place on Friday, April 25. In June, Professor Widmer will retire from her position as Mayling Soong Professor of Chinese Studies & Professor of East Asian Studies at Wellesley College.
Blog
A Conversation on Yang Shuang-zi’s ‘Taiwan Travelogue: A Novel’—Food, History, and the “Good Life”
Following a recent talk co-presented by the Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies and the Chiang Ching-kuo Foundation, we asked two of its featured speakers—Yun Fu, Professor at the Harvard Graduate…
In Memoriam: Paul A. Cohen (1934-2025)
Paul A. Cohen, longtime Associate of the Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies and the Edith Stix Wasserman Professor of History and Asian Studies Emeritus at Wellesley College, died on September…
Whose Past Matters? Media Biases and the Politics of Discovery with Archaeologist Rowan Flad
Rowan Flad lectures at the conference “Sanxingdui in Bronze Age Eurasia: Retrospect and Prospects after 90 Years” at Sichuan University in Chengdu, Sichuan. December 2024. The work done by archaeologists…
Why China’s ‘Dancing Grannies’ are So Much More Than a Trend
If you’ve ever strolled through a public square in a Chinese city, chances are you’ve encountered the vibrant, music-filled gatherings of the so-called “dancing grannies” (广场舞大妈). But what lies behind…
Elections in Taiwan: What the Failed Recall Reveals About Taiwan’s Political Landscape
Fairbank Center experts weigh in: Ya-Wen Lei, Professor of Sociology, Harvard University; Rana Mitter, S.T. Lee Professor of U.S.-Asia Relations, Harvard University; Chia-hung Tsai, Research Fellow, Election Study Center and Professor, Graduate Institute…



















