Speaker: Jingyu Liu, Assistant Professor, Department of Religion, Rollins College
Description: The Shuilu fahui (水陸法會), or Water-Land Dharma Assembly, stands as one of the most elaborate and enduring Buddhist salvation rituals to emerge from medieval China. Designed to liberate suffering beings across all realms of existence – from the depths of hells to the heavens, and crucially including the vast multitude of wandering ghosts and spirits – it became a cornerstone of Chinese Buddhist liturgical practice and popular religious life. Its influence, however, extended far beyond China. By the 15th and 16th centuries, the ritual and its complex manuals had been transmitted to the Korean peninsula and Japan, where they were adapted and performed, leaving a lasting imprint on East Asian Buddhist cultures.
This workshop invites participants on a journey into the textual core of this remarkable ritual, with a particular focus on its Korean version. While the fundamental structure and liturgical content of the Korean Shuilu manuals remain deeply rooted in their Chinese origins, they serve as a crucial point in the cross-cultural transmission and reception of the ritual.

About Cornell Classical Chinese Colloquium
The group meets monthly during the semester to explore a variety of classical Chinese texts and styles. Other premodern texts linked to classical Chinese in Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese have also been explored. Presentations include works from the earliest times to the 20th century. Workshop sessions are led by local, national, and international scholars. Participants with any level of classical Chinese experience are welcome to attend.
o At each session, a presenter guides the group in a reading of a classical Chinese text. Attendees discuss historical, literary, linguistic, and other aspects of the text, working together to resolve difficulties in comprehension and translation.
o No preparation is required; all texts will be distributed at the meeting.
o Refreshments will be served.

Speaker: Chang Xu, Assistant Professor, Department of Transnational Asian Studies, Rice University
Description: Against the backdrop of the 1785 Qing–Russian trade embargo, reports of rhubarb smuggling in southern Xinjiang in 1788 prompted the Qianlong Emperor to impose a swift, empire-wide ban on rhubarb exports. Regarded by the Qing as an essential good in high demand in Russia, rhubarb became a tool of diplomatic leverage, with control over its circulation used to press Russia into meeting Qing’s demands. Yet as a vital medicinal substance, the complete ban soon clashed with local welfare needs, forcing the court to navigate between diplomatic goals and people’s livelihood. This text-reading focuses on edicts and memorials documenting Qianlong’s changing assessments of rhubarb’s medical necessity in Taiwan, Ryukyu, Manchuria, and Xinjiang, tracing how the state’s view of rhubarb evolved in step with shifting imperial priorities. We will also examine how the Qing wove diverse borderland realities into a coherent foreign policy, while applying regionally differentiated regulations to manage rhubarb circulation.

About Cornell Classical Chinese Colloquium
The group meets monthly during the semester to explore a variety of classical Chinese texts and styles. Other premodern texts linked to classical Chinese in Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese have also been explored. Presentations include works from the earliest times to the 20th century. Workshop sessions are led by local, national, and international scholars. Participants with any level of classical Chinese experience are welcome to attend.
o At each session, a presenter guides the group in a reading of a classical Chinese text. Attendees discuss historical, literary, linguistic, and other aspects of the text, working together to resolve difficulties in comprehension and translation.
o No preparation is required; all texts will be distributed at the meeting.
o Refreshments will be served.

Localizing Surrealism: A Cross-Cultural Study of Modern Taiwanese Poetry

超現實主義的在地化：台灣現代詩的跨文化研究

Speaker:

Cheng-Chung Liu, Professor and Chair, Department of Chinese Literature

National Taiwan University

This lecture will be delivered in Mandarin.

Description:

臺灣日常語言展現出混融的性格，台灣文學創作也充滿跨文化視域。以超現實主義在臺灣詩壇的流衍而言，便有三種路徑可說：一是殖民地時期以日本詩壇為中介 ，通過日文去吸收與創作。相對於歐洲的革命精神與日本的知性思維，殖民地的超現實顯現出一種病弱、壓抑的特殊樣態。二是戰後初期由中國大陸移居臺灣的詩人，主要受到超現實繪畫的啟發，再參考少量的中譯文獻，將視覺經驗轉譯為漢語的創作方法。三是嘗試融貫西方非理性思維與包含禪宗在內的中國傳統詩學，追求純粹經驗，以及化矛盾為和諧的技術。上述三種路徑相互交錯，使得超現實主義以混成的形象再現。

This lecture is sponsored by a grant from the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in New York and co-organized by the East Asia Program and the Department of Asian Studies.

The Critical Language Scholarship (CLS) Program provides fully funded immersive summer programs for U.S. undergraduate and graduate students to learn languages of strategic importance to the United States’ national security, economic prosperity, and engagement with the world. Each summer, over 500 American students enrolled at colleges and universities across the United States spend approximately eight weeks studying one of a dozen languages either overseas or virtually. Participants gain the equivalent of one year of language study, as the CLS Program maximizes language and cultural instruction in an intensive environment.

Can't attend? Email programs@einaudi.cornell.edu for more information.

The Laidlaw Scholars Leadership and Research Program promotes ethical leadership and international research around the world—starting with the passionate leaders and learners found on campuses like Cornell. Open to first- and second-year students, the two-year Laidlaw program provides generous support to carry out internationally focused research, develop leadership skills, engage with community projects overseas, and become part of a global network of like-minded scholars from twenty universities worldwide. At this session, we'll share more information about the program, including Cornell's cohort-based intercultural community-engaged learning summer experience in Ecuador, and tips for writing a successful application.

Register here. Can’t attend? Contact programs@einaudi.cornell.edu.

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The Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies hosts info sessions for graduate and for undergraduate students to learn more about funding opportunities, international travel, research, and internships. View the full calendar of fall semester sessions.

The Laidlaw Scholars Leadership and Research Program promotes ethical leadership and international research around the world—starting with the passionate leaders and learners found on campuses like Cornell. Open to first- and second-year students, the two-year Laidlaw program provides generous support to carry out internationally focused research, develop leadership skills, engage with community projects overseas, and become part of a global network of like-minded scholars from twenty universities worldwide. At this session, we'll share more information about the program, including Cornell's cohort-based intercultural community-engaged learning summer experience in Ecuador, and tips for writing a successful application.

Can’t attend? Contact programs@einaudi.cornell.edu.

***

The Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies hosts info sessions for graduate and for undergraduate students to learn more about funding opportunities, international travel, research, and internships. View the full calendar of fall semester sessions.

Go global in summer 2026! Global Internships give you valuable international work experience in fields spanning global development, climate and sustainability, international relations, communication, business, governance, and more.

Applications will open in the fall.

Can’t attend? Contact programs@einaudi.cornell.edu.

***

The Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies hosts info sessions for graduate and for undergraduate students to learn more about funding opportunities, international travel, research, and internships. View the full calendar of fall semester sessions.

Go global in summer 2026! Global Internships give you valuable international work experience in fields spanning global development, climate and sustainability, international relations, communication, business, governance, and more.

Applications will open in the fall.

Can’t attend? Contact programs@einaudi.cornell.edu.

***

The Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies hosts info sessions for graduate and for undergraduate students to learn more about funding opportunities, international travel, research, and internships. View the full calendar of fall semester sessions.

Go global in summer 2026! Global Internships give you valuable international work experience in fields spanning global development, climate and sustainability, international relations, communication, business, governance, and more.

Applications will open in the fall.

Can’t attend? Contact programs@einaudi.cornell.edu.

***

The Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies hosts info sessions for graduate and for undergraduate students to learn more about funding opportunities, international travel, research, and internships. View the full calendar of fall semester sessions.