Thursday, March 30, 2023 at 4:45pm to 6:15pm ET Join Virtually via Zoom

Michael Nylan (History, UC Berkeley)
gives this year’s Annual Hu Shih Distinguished Lecture on “Majority
Rule and Consortial Policymaking: The Evidence from Early China.”

Inspired by Hu Shih’s many contributions to the study of Chinese
history — among them, his careful outline of “the logical method in
ancient China” and his many writings on “freedom” — this talk intends to
challenge a popular narrative equating “Asian values” or, more
narrowly, “Chinese tradition,” with “one-man, top-down rule.” The talk
will instead show first, that a range of theoretical writings in
classical Chinese advocate consortial rule and wide consultation, for
cogent reasons, and second, that not only the Han histories but also the
built environment in the Western Han capital of Chang’an attest to the
importance the court placed on facilitating frequent exchanges between
members of the governing elites and those they governed, via
well-established institutions, networks, and communication corridors.
The newly excavated materials support this revisionist picture for all
administrative levels during the early empires in China, suggesting that
Hu Shih’s optimistic vision of a brighter Chinese future was not
entirely utopian.

After you register,
by clicking on the registration button at the top of this page, you
will receive a confirmation e-mail with a link to join the presentation
on March 27. 

Michale Nylan bio:

Michael Nylan æˆ´æ¢…å¯generally writes in three disciplines: the early
empires in China, philosophy, and art and archaeology.  Her current
projects include a reconstruction of a Han-era Documents classic
(submitted to press; under review); a general-interest study of the
“Four Fathers of History” (Herodotus, Thucydides, Sima Qian, and Ban
Gu), which is nearly done, and a study of the politics of the common
good in early China tentatively entitled The Air We Breathe.  Recent published books include Chang’an 26 BCE: an Augustan age in China, with substantive comparisons to Rome and the Roman empire; The Chinese Pleasure Book; and two translations, of Yang Xiong’s Fayan and The Art of War.

Research Interests

Early China and its modern reception: Seven centuries of
Warring States through Eastern Han (475 BC–AD 220), with an emphasis on
sociopolitical context; aesthetic theories and material culture; and
cosmological belief; gender history and the history of such emotions as
“daring” and “salutary fear” (aka prudential caution).

New Research

Her new research is on the Four Fathers of History (Herodotus,
Thucydides, Sima Qian, and Ban Gu); on the distinctive sociopolitical
and culture conditions for classical learning in the two Han dynasties;
and on “the politics of the common good” in early China.

Two book-length translations for the University of Washington Press
(“Classics of Chinese Thought”) series: (1) The Documents (Shu ching),
in collaboration with He Ruyue, Shaanxi Shifan daxue; and (2) Wang
Ch’ung’s Lun heng.

Education

PhD, Princeton University, 1976-81. East Asian Studies.

MA, State University of New York at Buffalo, 1970-73. History.

BA, University of California at Berkeley, 1968-70. History.

Additional Training:

Cambridge University (Oriental Studies) and the Institute of Archaeology (Beijing)

Sponsoring Departments:

Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies,
Asian Studies,
History,
Government,
East Asia Program,
China and Asia-Pacific Studies,
Cornell China Center