Dorothy Ko, Professor, Chinese History, Barnard College
Wen-hsin Yeh, Professor, History, UC Berkeley
| DATE: | Friday, September 30, 2005 |
|---|---|
| TIME: | 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM |
| PLACE: | IEAS Conference Room, 2223 Fulton Street, 6th Floor |
| FORMAT: | Colloquium |
| SPONSORS: | Center for Chinese Studies |
Previous studies of China's modernization have focused on the modern half of the story--the development of factory production and urban culture. My current research project seeks to illuminate the "traditional" half of the story, with an emphasis on the resilience of female labor in the domestic economy and artistic innovations in the handicraft industries from the seventeenth to the early twentieth centuries.
This talk focuses on the global presentations and domestic reception of Shen Shou (1874-1921), one of the most innovative embroiderers from Suzhou, the center of the silk industry in China. In particular, I focus on her visit to Japan in 1904-05 and participation in world expos in the subsequent decade to explore the entanglements between Chinese modernity and changing definitions of femininity, skill, and visual realism.
Left: Sewing machine, 1892; Right: Woman weaver from the Bai national minority village of Zhoucheng, Dali, Yunnan province.
Free and open to the public.
