Dream of the Red Chamber: Dialogue between Liu Zaifu and Pai Hsien-yung 對話《紅樓夢》

* The event will be conducted in Putonghua

Speakers' biography

LIU Zaifu

LIU Zaifu is a renowned poet and contemporary Chinese literary critic scholar. He received his degree in Chinese literature from Xiamen University in 1963, and immediately joined the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing where he later served as the director of the Institute of Literature. He was Visiting Professor at the University of Chicago, the University of Stockholm and the University of Colorado. He also served as editor in chief of Wenxue Pinglun (Literary Review) and the co-author of Tradition and Chinese, Farewell Revolution, and Understanding Life Together. He is currently a Fellow at University of Colorado Boulder and Honorary Professor at City University of Hong Kong.

Liu Zaifu has published more than 100 books, including scholarly works and collections of essays, some of his publications include A Biography of Lu Xun, Lu Xun and Natural Science, Lu Xun’s Aesthetics, The Theory of Character Organization, Farewell Gods, Twenty-Five Kinds of Men, and a five-volume series entitled Records of Exile.

PAI Hsien-yung

Born in 1937, PAI Hsien-yung migrated to Taiwan with his family after 1949 and eventually settled in the United States. His famous works include Crystal Boys, the first contemporary Chinese novel with an explicit gay theme, and various early short stories, essays as well as film scripts. In 2012, he also published a biography of his father, Pai Ch’ung-hsi (1893 – 1966), a famous general of the Anti-Japanese Resistance War.

Pai Hsien-yung’s another widely acclaimed as a classic of contemporary fiction in Chinese, Taipei People, has been frequently compared to James Joyce’s Dubliners. Patrick Hanan praises the volume as “the highest achievement in the contemporary Chinese story.” Henry Miller considers Pai Hsien-yung “a master of portraiture.” His writings have been translated into French, German, Italian, Dutch, Hebrew, Japanese and Korean.

About the Program

The Chinese Creative Writing Program was first launched in 2013 at the HKUST Jockey Club Institute for Advanced Study. Chaired by Prof Liu Zaifu, a world-acclaimed literary theorist and critic, the program invites 3-4 Chinese contemporary writers, novelists, journalists or scholars to visit the HKUST every year. The Program supports humanities education at HKUST and provides a dialogue platform connecting audience with great contributors to Chinese literature. Through this creative experience, the Program highlights the glamour in Chinese literature and fosters creativity.

For more information, please refer to the program website at http://ias.ust.hk/events/cwp.