April 19, 2024

Early China Seminar Lecture Series

Title: “Remembrance in Clay and Stone: Early Memorial and Funerary Art of Southwest China”
Speaker: Hajni Elias, University of Cambridge
Time: April 19, 2024 (4:30-6:30 PM EST)
Venue: Faculty House
*Please check the announcement board in the first floor lobby for room information.

This talk, based on my manuscript of the same title, examines the artistic tradition of Southwest China in the Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 C.E.), with a focus on the geographical area of present-day Sichuan province. The ‘ancient art of Sichuan’ exhibits notable differences from the artistic traditions in other parts of the Han Empire. Pictorial brick tiles, decorated stone sarcophagi and memorial stelae are introduced in the talk to highlight some of the socio-economic, political and cultural influences that illustrate how the Southwest, which, far from being a ‘barbarian’ uncivilized border region as early historiography largely suggests, had a distinct, vibrant and sophisticated regional heritage visibly reflected in its art.