Topic: Understanding Chaoben culture 1850–1950
Speaker: Professor Ronald Suleski, Department of Humanities; Director of Rosenberg Institute, Suffolk University
Date and time: June 12, 15:00–16:30
Venue: Room 302, the University Library
Host: Wang Luman
Abstract:
Printed books were widespread in China by 1850, and yet many people liked to use a brush and ink to copy out printed books. The copies they made were about fortune-telling, local customs on how to arrange a marriage, about religious rituals and the deities honored by them, summaries of legal cases in case a dispute with a neighbor arose, the best phrases for a matching couplet (duilian) used for many holidays and celebrations. In other words, the people copied books and information that was useful to them in their everyday lives. My research analyses the types of material copied out, the people who made the copies, and how they were used between 1850 and 1950.
Biography:
Professor Ronald Suleski is a history professor and director of the Rosenberg Institute for East Asian Studiesat Suffolk University, Boston. From 1997 to 2009, he served as the Assistant Director of the Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies. Prof. Suleski did his undergraduate work at the University of Pittsburgh and received his MA in Chinese Studies and his PhD in Modern Chinese History from the University of Michigan. He had also taught at the University of Texas at Arlington and Sophia University in Tokyo. He served as Provost of the Tokyo Campus of Huron University and was elected President of the Asiatic Society of Japan, a venerable organization established in 1872. He held that post for eight years, the longest single tenure in the Society’s history.