Classical Chinese Poetry and the Mid-Autumn Festival

The lecture will span one hour and will be divided into two parts. The initial segment will offer a concise overview of the history and major genres of classical Chinese poetry. The second part will delve into an in-depth discussion of the portrayal of the Mid-Autumn festival in classical Chinese shi and ci poetry. Following the lecture, there will be a ten-minute question-and-answer session to facilitate further discussion and exploration of the topics covered.

Lecturer Dr Zhao Xiaohuan

Dr Xiaohuan Zhao is an Associate Professor of Chinese Literary and Theatre Studies at the University of Sydney and a Fellow of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland. He is a Sinologist specialising in classical Chinese literature and theatre, focusing on their dynamic relationship with ritual and religion. He is the author of the prize-winning books Classical Chinese Supernatural Fiction: A Morphological History and Chinese Theatre: An Illustrated History in two volumes. Among his most recent publications is Chindian Myth of Mulian Rescuing His Mother: On Indic Origins of the Yulanpen Sūtra – Debate and Discussion, a book-length study of the scriptural source of the Hungry Ghost Festival in the Sinosphere.