Last Wednesday, I was chatting with a librarian about her project cataloguing what are supposed to be rare tune books, hoping that she might have found some from China. Of course, since archival boxes reveal things that aren't on their labels, as anyone who spends time in archives knows that such boxes are wont to…Read more Just another archival misdirection
research
“I too am afraid” 「我也怕」
Last night, a Taiwanese friend messaged me about the US presidential election. My succinct response: 「我也怕」 ("I too am afraid.") Maybe this goes without saying, but I didn't sleep much. I began the morning with a email from a distressed student, unable to attend class because of their emotional state after the results of the…Read more “I too am afraid” 「我也怕」
The glamor of graduate study
When taking my comprehensive exams years ago, at one of the many moments when I lost sight of the forest of Chinese literature for the trees of individual pieces of scholarship on it all, my advisor suggested I go back to the sources themselves. It was just what I needed, although I still managed to…Read more The glamor of graduate study
Far From Formosa 