The Elling Eide Research Library and Preserve in Sarasota, Florida, is hosting several upcoming talks of potential interest. Links for registration can be found on our homepage at: https://ellingoeide.org/upcoming-events/. Please note that the events are free, but Eventbrite does charge a registration fee of $1.00. Titles, dates/times, and brief synopses of the events are listed below. All talks will be broadcast on Zoom.
Title: "Diviners, Doctors, and Artisans in Medieval China:
Imperial Traditions of Artisans and Technicians from the Histories of the Northern Dynasties"
Time: April 21, 2022 11:00am EDT (online or in person)
Speaker: Dr. Stephan Kory, University of Florida
Brief Synopsis: This lecture will discuss the biographical traditions devoted to diviners, doctors, and artisans found in the standard histories of the Northern Dynasties (385-589) and Sui (589-618) and the way in which these historical works reveal collective representations of their contributions to the imperium, imperial testing of their abilities, and the transmission of technical and artisanal knowledge.
Title: "The Reception of Zhuangzi in the West"
Time: May 5, 2022 11:00am EDT (online or in person)
Speaker: Dr. Richard John Lynn, University of Toronto
Brief Synopsis: This lecture will discuss the reception of Zhuangzi in the West, beginning with the European encounter with South and East Asian religions in the 17th and 18th centuries through the ambitious imperialist projects of the 19th century, describing how these monumental events shaped Western perceptions of important Daoist texts like the Zhuangzi.
Title: "Dress as a Political and Gendered Symbol in Accounts of Pre-Tang and Tang Women Rulers"
Time: June 2, 2022 11:00am EDT (online or in person)
Speaker: Dr. Rebecca Doran, University of Miami
Brief Synopsis: This lecture describes how clothing and other forms of personal ornamentation were important markers of identity in early China, focusing on several case studies of pre-Tang and Tang women political figures to demonstrate the development of historical and omenological traditions that used gendered accusations of inappropriate or ominous dress to symbolize or criticize rule by women.