To stimulate the research development of our Department, our teachers actively apply for the research funding to support their research projects. In the past 10 years, a number of research projects have successfully acquired funding from the Research Grants Council, the Quality Education Fund and other external funding bodies. The research specializations of our teachers include Chinese linguistics and phonology, ancient Chinese texts, classical Chinese literature, and modern Chinese literature. Under the strong research atmosphere of our Department, we anticipate to have more valued research and bring new thoughts to the academia in the future.
Funded by the Research Grants Council
Ritual, Imperial Power and the Aesthetics of Excess: Re-envisioning \ (2017/18)
Project Title
Ritual, Imperial Power and the Aesthetics of Excess: Re-envisioning \
Funding Year
2017/18
Principle Investigator
Prof. Hua, Wei
Granted Amount
HK$428,600
Funding Organization
RGC General Research Fund
Description

In eighteenth-century China, during the Qianlong reign (1736-1795), the emperor dictated the construction of three three-tiered stages and the composition of five "grand plays". Each play includes a total of 240 scenes set on earth, in Heaven or Hell and divided into 10 long books and took 10 days to perform. Based on popular drama Mulian Rescues His Mother, and fiction Journey to the West, The Romance of the Three Kingdoms, The Water Margin, and The Meritorious Book of the Gods, these refashioned grand plays were characterized by what I call "the aesthetics of excess", which notably deviates from the principle of "zhonghe" or decorum honoured in ancient Han-Chinese tradition. In the last book of the grand play based on The Water Margin for example, Song Jiang is shown suffering from severe punishment in Hell not just once but four times with excessive and realistic detail. In another grand play based on The Three Kingdoms, nine scenes from Scene 216 onwards are unnecessary from classical aesthetic perspective. What meanings did such "excess" have? Did the court's dramatic aesthetics result from the carefully designed representation of imperial power? How closely were the "grand plays" related to the Qianlong Emperor's idea of rule and doctrine of loyalty and obedience? In the numerous newly-added episodes of military combats in these plays, can we detect Emperor Qianlong's insistence on Manchu identity and self-image building? These are some of the issues that scholars of Qing court drama have not yet fully or systematically explored; hence the focal points of my research.

By examining the ritual beginnings and endings, the refashioning of the source materials, the repetition and digression in plot, the supernatural elements in battle scenes, the employment of mannequins and mechanisms for physical torture, as well as the recurring theme of retribution in all of the five "grand plays", I expect to shed new light on court drama and the politics of culture in the Qianlong era. My findings will in turn deepen our understanding of Qing literature as well as Qianlong's awareness of political instability and historical change.

— Year —