EACS-2016. Book of Abstracts

Cross-sectional 21st Biennial Conference of the European Association for Chinese Studies 230 survival of most traditional East Asian poetic genres — including the long popular Japanese ‘tanka‘ and ‘haiku‘ — after the fall of modernism and the exhaustion of global westernization. Even more so sinolo- gists who more often than not uncritically comply with the division of their own field into “classical” and “modern” studies. However, the vital function of writing in wenyan-style for maintaining literary creativ- ity in the rural labor camps during the Cultural Revolution and the more recent revival of wenyan in the Chinese internet provide us with some interesting sources of literary dynamics merging cosmopolitan and vernacular strata of the Chinese mindscape. The paper will first elaborate on some of Tian’s discussions, namely of poems by Nie Gannu ( 聂绀弩 ; 1903–1986) and the internet-poet Lizilizilizi ( 李子梨子栗子 , 1964–), a resident of Beijing with roots in Hunan. The focus will be mainly on implications interactions between vernacular and cosmopolitan may have on the forcefulness of poetic language. Some other texts from less well known contemporary wenyan-poets scattered around the globe will be added to enlarge the scope. Kuo Pio (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign) When Muslim Chinese Meet Han Chinese: Diet and Health in Yuan–Ming China Key words: recipe, Muslim, Chinese food, Song China, Yuan China This paper traces how the dietary and health practices of Muslim Chinese interacted with those of Han Chinese in Yuan–Ming China. Yuan China (1206–1368), despite its short duration in Chinese history, cre- ated a substantial heritage of territorial expansion and Muslim culture. Interestingly, this culture’s dietary and health practices have attracted little attention from researchers. In the current study, I compare the practices of Han Chinese with those of Muslim Chinese regarding prohibited foods, dietary therapy, and food consumption. My objective is to determine how the two sets of practices conflicted, negotiated, and ultimately co-existed with each other inYuan–Ming China. To accomplish this objective, I use twoYuan-era primary sources by Muslim Chinese authors and two Ming-era primary sources by Han Chinese authors: the two Yuan-era sources are the cookbook Principles of Correct Diet (Yinshan zhenyao) by Hui Sihui and the encyclopedia Collected Essays on Family Business Affairs in Daily Life (Jujia biyong sjilei quanji ) by an anonymous author; the two Ming-era primary sources are Eight Essays on the Art of Living (Zunshen Baqian ) by Gao Lian and Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao ganmu) by Lee Sizhen. Kwan Uganda Sze Pui (Nanyang Technological University) The Manchu Craze in the Sino-British Interpreters: Thomas Taylor Meadows and Qingwen Xulue 清文敘略 Key words: First Manchu-English textbook, diplomatic Interpreter, Thomas Taylor Meadows, View of China 19th Century, Sino-British Relations Despite that John King Fairbank already called for a fuller study of the life and work of Thomas Taylor Meadows in his paper “Meadows on China: A Centennial Review” in 1955, hitherto scant attention has been paid to him. In the last few decades, there were some analyses of his two influential books, Desultory Notes on the Government and People of China and on the Chinese Language (1847) and The Chinese and their Rebellions viewed in connection with their National Philosophy, Ethics, Legislation and Admin- istration (1856), which focus on his anti-imperialist demeanour. But other than his sympathetic views towards the Chinese people plagued by wars, poverty and tyrannical governance, what else do we know about T. T. Meadows? T. T. Meadows came to China as a diplomatic interpreter in early 1840s. Though no verbal record of his translingual communication survives, he did leave one unique textbook, which offers the world an unexceptional gateway to comprehend the Qing China. This book, called Qingwen Xulue 清 文敘略 (Translations from the Manchu with the Original Texts, Prefaced by an Essay on the Language , 1849), was aimed to teach the British interpreters the Manchu language. T. T. Meadows was certainly not the first British interpreters who could speak Manchu. What, then, were the historical, political and social circumstances in which the idea to write such a textbook grew upon him? This paper will put Meadows’