Our Undergraduate Research Grant Recipients Reflect on a Summer of Discovery in China and Beyond
Every summer, the Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies supports undergraduate students as they set off to pursue research interests across the world. The Fairbank Center’s Summer Research Grants help undergraduate students pursue projects that often become central to their senior…
“Madame Fairbank’s Living Room”: How John and Wilma Fairbank Forged Lasting Ties with China’s Intellectuals During WWII
Professor John King Fairbank and Wilma Cannon Fairbank lived in Beijing during the 1930s, as John pursued his dissertation research and Wilma painted and researched ancient temples. During that time, they became best of friends with a dynamic, cosmopolitan Chinese…
An Oxbow in the River of Time? “River Elegy” and China’s Quest for Modern Greatness
An Oxbow in the River of Time? “River Elegy” and China’s Quest for Modern Greatness by Andrew S. Erickson, Visiting Scholar at the Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies; Professor of Strategy, China Maritime Studies Institute, U.S. Naval War College Please Note: The views…
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 School of Design, and Dr. Wendy Wang, Hou Family Postdoctoral…
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 15, 2025. He was 91 years old. Professor Cohen was…
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 reveals truths and raises more questions about the vast unexplored…
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 the synchronized steps and upbeat music? In her new book, Dancing…
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 of East Asian Studies, National Chengchi University; Shane Hsuan-Yu Lin, Assistant…
The Great Unity Debate 大一統之辯
“Great Unity” (da yitong 大一統) is an ancient concept defining a unified China of Han and other ethnic peoples under tianxia (天下), or “All Under Heaven.” But it is very much still on the minds of the Communist Party’s propaganda…
Sentimental Republic: Why Feeling Matters in Contemporary China
A Conversation between Hang Tu (National University of Singapore) and David Der-wei Wang (Harvard University). Hang Tu (Ph.D. ’21), Assistant Professor of Chinese Studies at the National University of Singapore, recently joined the Harvard Asia Center Author Talk Series to discuss his…