Mapping the Evolution of Arabic Literary Representations of China: 1880-1940

Abstract: This presentation explores how Arab intellectuals during the Nahda—the so-called Arab cultural renaissance—engaged with Chinese culture, its anti-colonial struggle, constitutional revolution, and women’s rights. 

Bio: Peiyu Yang is a term assistant professor of Arabic at George Mason University. Her monograph Triangular Translation: Gender, Politics, and the Making of the Postcolonial World between China, Europe, and the Middle East, 1880-1940 (2023, Legenda Press) investigates how intellectuals during the Nahda (the period known as the Arab cultural renaissance) turned their attention to Chinese culture and its own anti-colonial struggle, constitutional revolution, and women’s rights