Delta on the Move Lecture Series

Chaozhou, Canton, and Hong Kong: The Rise and Fall of Chaozhou Pewter Workshops in Qing China

2021-11-25 21:00:002021-11-25 22:00:00Asia/Hong_KongChaozhou, Canton, and Hong Kong: The Rise and Fall of Chaozhou Pewter Workshops in Qing China

Delta on the Move Lecture Series
Chaozhou, Canton, and Hong Kong: The Rise and Fall of Chaozhou Pewter Workshops in Qing China

Dr. Yijun Wang
(New York University)

Date/Time: November 25, 2021 (9:00 pm HKT / 8:00 am EST)
Language: English
Venue: Conducted via Zoom
Enquiry: (Email) ihss@hku.hk

    2021-11-25 21:00:002021-11-25 22:00:00Asia/Hong_KongChaozhou, Canton, and Hong Kong: The Rise and Fall of Chaozhou Pewter Workshops in Qing China

    Delta on the Move Lecture Series
    Chaozhou, Canton, and Hong Kong: The Rise and Fall of Chaozhou Pewter Workshops in Qing China

    Dr. Yijun Wang
    (New York University)

    Date/Time: November 25, 2021 (9:00 pm HKT / 8:00 am EST)
    Language: English
    Venue: Conducted via Zoom
    Enquiry: (Email) ihss@hku.hk

      Title:

      Chaozhou, Canton, and Hong Kong: The Rise and Fall of Chaozhou Pewter Workshops in Qing China

      Speaker:

      Dr. Yijun Wang (New York University)

      Date/Time:

      November 25, 2021 (9:00 pm HKT / 8:00 am EST)

      Language:

      English

      Enquiry:

      (Email) ihss@hku.hk

      Title:

      Chaozhou, Canton, and Hong Kong: The Rise and Fall of Chaozhou Pewter Workshops in Qing China

      Speaker:

      Dr. Yijun Wang (New York University)

      Date/Time:

      November 25, 2021 (9:00 pm HKT / 8:00 am EST)

      Language:

      English

      Enquiry:

      (Email) ihss@hku.hk

      Abstract

      In the Qing dynasty, pewter was widely used to produce articles of everyday use. Pewter artisans in Chaozhou achieved great success in both domestic and international markets. Their products reached the Forbidden City and the Southeast Asian market. In the nineteenth century, they expanded their shops to Canton, Swatow, and Hong Kong. This lecture will discuss the success of Chaozhou pewter workshops by contextualizing them in the networks of global trade, migration, and the local ecology of craft. It argues that the flourishing global trade and migration connections provided Chaozhou artisans new materials, stylistic inspirations, and possibilities to expand their market. In addition, the local craft community in hinterland areas formed the supply chain for pewter production. The flows of materials, people, and skills within and beyond the Pearl River Delta formed an ecology that contributed to the dynamic craft center in South China.

      About the Speaker

      Yijun Wang is Assistant Professor of History at New York University. Her research interest includes material culture, history of technology, and gender in early modern China. Yijun is interested in the connections between knowledge, technology, and power. Her current book project examines the transmissions of technology and changes in the culture of statecraft in China from 1700 to 1850s. By tracing the itinerary of tin, she explores how imperial expansion and global trade affected knowledge production and transmission, gradually changing the culture of statecraft from Confucian didacticism to technocratic statecraft. 

      Organizer

      This is an event organized by the “Delta on the Move: The Becoming of the Greater Bay Region, 1700 – 2000” Research Cluster.

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