BEGIN:VCALENDAR
VERSION:2.0
PRODID:-//Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies - ECPv6.17.1//NONSGML v1.0//EN
CALSCALE:GREGORIAN
METHOD:PUBLISH
X-ORIGINAL-URL:https://fairbank.fas.harvard.edu
X-WR-CALDESC:Events for Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies
REFRESH-INTERVAL;VALUE=DURATION:PT1H
X-Robots-Tag:noindex
X-PUBLISHED-TTL:PT1H
BEGIN:VTIMEZONE
TZID:America/New_York
BEGIN:DAYLIGHT
TZOFFSETFROM:-0500
TZOFFSETTO:-0400
TZNAME:EDT
DTSTART:20250309T070000
END:DAYLIGHT
BEGIN:STANDARD
TZOFFSETFROM:-0400
TZOFFSETTO:-0500
TZNAME:EST
DTSTART:20251102T060000
END:STANDARD
BEGIN:DAYLIGHT
TZOFFSETFROM:-0500
TZOFFSETTO:-0400
TZNAME:EDT
DTSTART:20260308T070000
END:DAYLIGHT
BEGIN:STANDARD
TZOFFSETFROM:-0400
TZOFFSETTO:-0500
TZNAME:EST
DTSTART:20261101T060000
END:STANDARD
BEGIN:DAYLIGHT
TZOFFSETFROM:-0500
TZOFFSETTO:-0400
TZNAME:EDT
DTSTART:20270314T070000
END:DAYLIGHT
BEGIN:STANDARD
TZOFFSETFROM:-0400
TZOFFSETTO:-0500
TZNAME:EST
DTSTART:20271107T060000
END:STANDARD
BEGIN:DAYLIGHT
TZOFFSETFROM:-0500
TZOFFSETTO:-0400
TZNAME:EDT
DTSTART:20280312T070000
END:DAYLIGHT
BEGIN:STANDARD
TZOFFSETFROM:-0400
TZOFFSETTO:-0500
TZNAME:EST
DTSTART:20281105T060000
END:STANDARD
END:VTIMEZONE
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20261117T203000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20261117T220000
DTSTAMP:20260929T172007Z
CREATED:20260810T162827Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260929T172007Z
UID:45333-1794947400-1794952800@fairbank.fas.harvard.edu
SUMMARY:Urban China Lecture Series featuring Susan Whiting — Illiberal Law and Development: Property Rights and Conflict over Land in China
DESCRIPTION:zoom meeting link\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSpeaker:Susan Whiting\, University of Washington \n\n\n\nIn Illiberal Law and Development\, Susan H. Whiting advances institutional economic theory with original survey and fieldwork data\, addressing two puzzles in Chinese political economy: how economic development has occurred despite insecure property rights and weak rule of law and how the Chinese state has maintained political control amid unrest. Whiting answers these questions by focusing on the role of illiberal law in reassigning property rights and redirecting grievances. The book reveals that\, in the context of technological change\, a legal system that facilitates reassignment of land rights to higher-value uses plays an important and under-theorized role in promoting economic development. This system simultaneously represses conflict and asserts legitimacy. Comparing China to post-Glorious Revolution England and contemporary India\, Whiting presents a critical new argument that brings the Chinese case more directly into debates in comparative politics about the role of the state in specifying property rights and maintaining authoritarian rule.  \n\n\n\nSusan H. Whiting (Ph.D. University of Michigan\, B.A. Yale University) is Professor of Political Science at the University of Washington. She is the author two books\, Illiberal Law and Development and Power and Wealth in Rural China\, both published by Cambridge University Press. She specializes in Chinese and comparative politics\, with an emphasis on the political economy of development. Her research has been published in journals such as Comparative Political Studies\, Studies in Comparative International Development\, China Quarterly\, Journal of Asian Studies\, and Voluntas\, as well as in edited volumes such as Holding China Together and Trust and Governance. \n\n\n\nZoom meeting link: https://mit.zoom.us/j/94120080608 \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nVenue
URL:https://fairbank.fas.harvard.edu/events/urban-china-lecture-series-featuring-susan-whiting-illiberal-law-and-development-property-rights-and-conflict-over-land-in-china/
LOCATION:Presented via Zoom
CATEGORIES:Urban China Series
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://fairbank.fas.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/whiting.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20261119T120000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20261119T131500
DTSTAMP:20261014T190040Z
CREATED:20261014T190037Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20261014T190040Z
UID:46056-1795089600-1795094100@fairbank.fas.harvard.edu
SUMMARY:Critical Issues Confronting China Series featuring Lynette Ong — Outsourcing Surveillance: Online Opinion Management in China
DESCRIPTION:Speaker: Lynette Ong\, Distinguished Professor of Chinese Politics\, University of Toronto; Director\, China Governance Lab\, Munk School of Global Affairs and Public PolicyDigital technology facilitates information sharing among activists; however\, it also affords autocrats new vectors of control\, allowing them to surveil and subjugate dissenters. Yet\, in China—the world’s most powerful autocratic state where most of the dissent takes place online before it spillovers to the street—we argue the state’s prowess in digital surveillance stems from the co-optation of market forces. In this book\, we examine how the Chinese state manages\, moderates\, and represses online opinion. Drawing on public procurement documents\, we study how the Chinese Party-state at national and subnational levels have intended to manage online expression of public opinion. Private corporations\, along with for-profit arms of state-owned enterprises and public sector organizations\, are extensively involved in surveillance of public opinion. This opens up a Pandora’s box of state‒business dynamics in China. \n\n\n\nLynette Ong is Distinguished Professor of Chinese Politics at the University of Toronto\, and Director of the China Governance Lab at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy. She holds a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Chinese and Asian Politics. Her latest books\, Outsourcing Surveillance: Online Opinion Management in China (Cambridge University Press\, 2026) and Outsourcing Repression: Everyday State Power in Contemporary China (Oxford University Press\, 2022)\, examine the Chinese party-state’s capacity to mobilize nonstate actors to extend its reach into society. Her research has received multiple awards from APSA\, ASA\, ISA\, CPSA\, and SSHRC. Her academic publications have appeared in Perspectives on Politics\, Comparative Politics\, Journal of Democracy\, China Quarterly\,  among others. Her opinion pieces and research have been featured in The Economist\,  The New York Times (Editorial Opinion)\, The New Yorker\, Foreign Affairs\, and The Washington Post. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nVenue
URL:https://fairbank.fas.harvard.edu/events/critical-issues-confronting-china-series-featuring-lynette-ong-outsourcing-surveillance-online-opinion-management-in-china/
LOCATION:CGIS South S020\, Belfer Case Study Room\, 1730 Cambridge St.\, Cambridge\, MA\, 02138\, United States
CATEGORIES:Critical Issues Confronting China,Critical Issues Confronting China Series
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://fairbank.fas.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/lynette-ong.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20261120T113000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20261120T130000
DTSTAMP:20260923T183941Z
CREATED:20260923T183936Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260923T183941Z
UID:45822-1795174200-1795179600@fairbank.fas.harvard.edu
SUMMARY:Sea Charts in the Eastern Half of Asia
DESCRIPTION:Speaker: Yannan DING\, Associate Professor\, Historical Geography\, Fudan University; HYI Visiting Scholar\, 2026-27Chair/Discussant: Peter K. Bol\, Charles H. Carswell Professor of East Asian Languages and Civilizations\, Harvard University \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nVenue
URL:https://fairbank.fas.harvard.edu/events/sea-charts-in-the-eastern-half-of-asia/
LOCATION:Common Room\, 2 Divinity Ave.\, 2 Divinity Ave.\, Cambridge\, Massachusetts\, 02138\, United States
CATEGORIES:Events of Interest
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://fairbank.fas.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/ding.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20261124T203000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20261124T220000
DTSTAMP:20260828T160905Z
CREATED:20260828T160903Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260828T160905Z
UID:45550-1795552200-1795557600@fairbank.fas.harvard.edu
SUMMARY:Urban China Lecture Series featuring Zhao Miaoxi
DESCRIPTION:zoom meeting link\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSpeaker: Zhao Miaoxi\, South China University of Technology \n\n\n\nMore information coming soon! \n\n\n\nZoom meeting link: https://mit.zoom.us/j/94120080608 \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nVenue
URL:https://fairbank.fas.harvard.edu/events/urban-china-lecture-series-featuring-zhao-miaoxi/
LOCATION:Presented via Zoom
CATEGORIES:Urban China Series
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://fairbank.fas.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/zhao-miaoxi.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20261130T160000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20261130T180000
DTSTAMP:20261019T143835Z
CREATED:20260924T183650Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20261019T143835Z
UID:45855-1796054400-1796061600@fairbank.fas.harvard.edu
SUMMARY:China Humanities Seminar featuring Kerstin Storm — Old Age and Aging in Medieval Chinese Poetry
DESCRIPTION:Speaker: Kerstin Storm\, University of Münster***Please note the different location for this talk in the series.***Perceptions of old age and aging in so-called traditional China are often reduced to two extremes: on the one hand\, respect for the elderly\, commonly associated with the Confucian cardinal virtue of filial piety\, and on the other the Daoist ideal of longevity. Yet relatively little attention has been paid to the cultural and aesthetic conceptualization of the stages of life\, and of old age in particular\, in Chinese literary works. Poetry offers a remarkably diverse range of representations of the aging process. These include\, but are not limited to\, impassionate laments of both physical and mental decline as well as portrayals of perceived tranquility\, wisdom\, serenity\, or joy in later stages of life. This talk examines representations of old age in early medieval Chinese poetry. Moving beyond familiar stereotypes\, it explores the aesthetic variability of poetic responses to aging. By tracing literary traditions\, detecting intertextual connections\, and situating individual representations within their respective literary and historical contexts\, it seeks to illuminate a range of conceptions of\, and attitudes towards\, the later stages of life in early medieval and medieval China. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nVenue
URL:https://fairbank.fas.harvard.edu/events/china-humanities-seminar-featuring-kerstin-storm-old-age-and-aging-in-medieval-chinese-poetry/
LOCATION:CGIS South Room S354\, 1730 Cambridge St\, Cambridge\, MA\, 02138\, United States
CATEGORIES:China Humanities Seminar
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://fairbank.fas.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/chs1130.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20261202T163000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20261202T180000
DTSTAMP:20261021T145110Z
CREATED:20261021T145107Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20261021T145110Z
UID:46102-1796229000-1796234400@fairbank.fas.harvard.edu
SUMMARY:Traversing the Belt and Road: The World According to China and China According to the World
DESCRIPTION:Register now\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSpeakers:Min Ye\, Professor of International Relations\, Pardee School of Global Studies\, Boston UniversityJorge Heine\, Core Faculty in Diplomacy & Governance\, Rising Powers Initiative\, Pardee Center for the Study of the Longer-Range Future; Research Professor\, Pardee School of Global Studies\, Boston UniversityGrant Rhode\, Research Fellow\, Center for the Study of Asia\, Boston University Andrew Wilson\, John A. van Beuren Chair of Asia-Pacific Studies and Professor of Strategy & Policy\, United States Naval War College \n\n\n\nIs China’s signature global strategy a boon to world development or a channel for control? Traversing the Belt and Road brings together leading voices from China and across the globe to examine the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) a decade after its launch. Spanning Asia\, Europe\, Latin America\, and Africa\, these essays highlight the diverse patterns and evolving dynamics across both the land-based and maritime Silk Roads. The volume’s findings—that while the BRI has facilitated development convergence in many regions\, it has also intensified geopolitical competition and posed new governance challenges—are both encouraging and sobering. \n\n\n\nEngaging with key debates in world development and great-power rivalry\, this book unpacks the BRI’s adaptive nature and highlights its shift toward green and digital globalization. The wide range of methods employed—including comparative case studies\, historical inquiry\, statistical modeling\, and field-based research—show how local agency\, institutional variation\, and global dynamics have shaped outcomes on the ground. An indispensable resource for scholars\, students\, and policy analysts\, Traversing the Belt and Road offers a timely and empirically grounded perspective on China’s global ambitions—and the roadblocks in its path. \n\n\n\nBook talk registrants can purchase the book at a 30% discount for a limited time at https://www.hup.harvard.edu/. Please use code ASI30 at checkout to receive the discount—the offer is valid through mid-December 2026. \n\n\n\nOrganized by the Harvard University Asia Center; Co-sponsored by the Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies\, Harvard University.  \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nVenue
URL:https://fairbank.fas.harvard.edu/events/traversing-the-belt-and-road-the-world-according-to-china-and-china-according-to-the-world/
LOCATION:CGIS South S020\, Belfer Case Study Room\, 1730 Cambridge St.\, Cambridge\, MA\, 02138\, United States
CATEGORIES:Co-Sponsored Lectures
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://fairbank.fas.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/belt-road.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20261207T160000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20261207T180000
DTSTAMP:20260924T182125Z
CREATED:20260924T182123Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260924T182125Z
UID:45846-1796659200-1796666400@fairbank.fas.harvard.edu
SUMMARY:China Humanities Seminar featuring Wendy Swartz — Literary Creativity and “The Use of the Mind” in Early Medieval China
DESCRIPTION:Speaker: Wendy Swartz\, Rutgers University \n\n\n\nThis lecture will examine accounts of wen (writing\, literary creation) by two of China’s earliest and most innovative literary theorists: “Rhapsody on Writing” by Lu Ji and The Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons by Liu Xie. Writing on creativity and implicitly advocating for human creation was an act more audacious and ambitious than the modern reader might think. By the period of early medieval China\, there was already a long-established proscription against making claims of “creation” (zuo)\, considered to be the prerogative of ancient sages. This proscription can be traced to Confucius’ famous pronouncement recorded in the Analects\, in which he expressed his reverence for antiquity\, and perhaps also for a perceived mystery\, even sacredness\, inherent in creation: “I transmit and do not create.” Both Lu Ji and Liu Xie deftly circumvented the traditional aversion to claiming creation. Each also limned the writing process in varying degrees of detail\, while exposing its challenges and exalting the role of the mind (xin) in this process. This lecture will cast light on how investigating this process involved reflecting on matters of considerable importance not only in literary history\, but also in human history\, such as tradition\, culture\, invention\, originality\, conception\, expression\, identity\, work\, and ownership. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nVenue
URL:https://fairbank.fas.harvard.edu/events/china-humanities-seminar-featuring-wendy-swartz-literary-creativity-and-the-use-of-the-mind-in-early-medieval-china/
LOCATION:Common Room\, 2 Divinity Ave.\, 2 Divinity Ave.\, Cambridge\, Massachusetts\, 02138\, United States
CATEGORIES:China Humanities Seminar
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://fairbank.fas.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/wendy-swartz.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20261207T193000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20261207T204500
DTSTAMP:20261021T145809Z
CREATED:20261021T145752Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20261021T145809Z
UID:46105-1796671800-1796676300@fairbank.fas.harvard.edu
SUMMARY: The Presence of Peach Spring: Daoism\, Ritual\, and Locality
DESCRIPTION:zoom registration\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSpeaker: Mark R. E. Meulenbeld\, Associate Professor\, School of Chinese\, The University of Hong Kong \n\n\n\nThe Presence of Peach Spring radically breaks with conventional interpretations of medieval luminary Tao Qian’s famous “Record of Peach Blossom Spring” by connecting the tale to its stated geographical location in northern Hunan Province (PRC) and focusing on the Daoist lore that surrounds it. Drawing on more than two decades of fieldwork\, Mark R. E. Meulenbeld uncovers the presence of Peach Spring as a site with a history of more than fifteen hundred years\, locally embedded within a complex network of ritual referents that define the landscape as inherently sacred. Rather than a primarily textual analysis\, Meulenbeld offers a more historically grounded and environmentally situated interpretation that engages with the religious manifestations of Peach Spring: on domestic altars\, through spirit-mediums\, at Daoist institutions\, and\, ultimately\, as a source of transcendence. Meulenbeld shows that the category of the sacred offers a crucial framework for understanding traditional texts\, even if they do not immediately seem to belong to any religious sphere. When read in the context of its native region\, the tale of Peach Spring affords readers access to a sacred site\, sacred objects\, and the enduring traditions of Daoist ritual that continue to maintain its presence within a sacred ecology. \n\n\n\nOrganized by the Harvard University Asia Center; Co-sponsored by the Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies\, Harvard UniversityTo join the webinar\, register here.  \n\n\n\nBook talk registrants can purchase the book at a 30% discount for a limited time at https://www.hup.harvard.edu/. Please use code ASI30 at checkout to receive the discount—the offer is valid through mid-December 2026. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nVenue
URL:https://fairbank.fas.harvard.edu/events/the-presence-of-peach-spring-daoism-ritual-and-locality/
LOCATION:Presented via Zoom
CATEGORIES:Co-Sponsored Lectures
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://fairbank.fas.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/muelenbeld.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20261208T113000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20261208T130000
DTSTAMP:20261014T161149Z
CREATED:20261014T161146Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20261014T161149Z
UID:46045-1796729400-1796734800@fairbank.fas.harvard.edu
SUMMARY:Rethinking the Golden Age of Journalism and Liberal Media in China
DESCRIPTION:Speaker: Fang Kecheng\, Associate Professor\, School of Journalism and Communication\, Chinese University of Hong Kong; HYI Visiting Scholar\, 2026-27 \n\n\n\nChair/Discussant: Jie Li\, Ford Foundation Professor of East Asian Studies; Director of Graduate Studies\, Harvard University \n\n\n\nChina’s liberal media are often remembered through a familiar narrative: commercialization opened space for critical journalism\, outspoken newspapers challenged political authority\, and tightening state control brought their golden age to an end. This talk revisits that account\, asking what it reveals and what it leaves unexplained. Where did China’s liberal journalistic traditions come from? How did liberal media relate to the state’s reform agenda? And what\, beyond political repression\, helps explain their decline? Drawing on historical examples and research on Chinese newspapers\, the talk explores the tensions between professional ideals\, political commitments\, and the material conditions of journalism. It concludes by considering what survives the golden age and what its legacies and limitations might tell us about the future of journalism in China. \n\n\n\nhttps://www.harvard-yenching.org/events/rethinking-the-golden-age-of-journalism-and-liberal-media-in-china/ \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nVenue
URL:https://fairbank.fas.harvard.edu/events/rethinking-the-golden-age-of-journalism-and-liberal-media-in-china/
LOCATION:Common Room\, 2 Divinity Ave.\, 2 Divinity Ave.\, Cambridge\, Massachusetts\, 02138\, United States
CATEGORIES:Events of Interest
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://fairbank.fas.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/FANG-Kecheng.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20261210T113000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20261210T130000
DTSTAMP:20261014T161402Z
CREATED:20261014T161357Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20261014T161402Z
UID:46048-1796902200-1796907600@fairbank.fas.harvard.edu
SUMMARY:Economic Historiography in Early PRC: An Intellectual Portrait
DESCRIPTION:Speaker: Li Chenxiao\, Research Fellow\, Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences; HYI Visiting Scholar\, 2026-27Chair/Discussant: Arunabh Ghosh\, Professor of History\, Harvard University \n\n\n\n\nEconomic Historiography in early PRC: An Intellectual Portrait\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nVenue
URL:https://fairbank.fas.harvard.edu/events/economic-historiography-in-early-prc-an-intellectual-portrait/
LOCATION:Common Room\, 2 Divinity Ave.\, 2 Divinity Ave.\, Cambridge\, Massachusetts\, 02138\, United States
CATEGORIES:Events of Interest
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://fairbank.fas.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/LI-Chenxiao.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20270331T180000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20270331T191500
DTSTAMP:20260910T161550Z
CREATED:20260910T161547Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260910T161550Z
UID:45685-1806516000-1806520500@fairbank.fas.harvard.edu
SUMMARY:Ilse and Leo Mildenberg Memorial Lecture: The Art and Design of Chinese Money
DESCRIPTION:Speaker: Helen Wang\, Adjunct Researcher\, School of Art and Archaeology\, Zhejiang University \n\n\n\nMore info coming soon. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nVenue
URL:https://fairbank.fas.harvard.edu/events/ilse-and-leo-mildenberg-memorial-lecture-the-art-and-design-of-chinese-money/
LOCATION:Harvard Art Museum\, Menschel Hall\, Lower Level\, 32 Quincy St\, cambridge\, MA\, 02138\, United States
CATEGORIES:Events of Interest
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://fairbank.fas.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/helen-wang.jpg
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR