Empresses of China: History Seminar on Modern China Visits Exhibition in Salem
A fabulous new exhibition at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem was the destination for a fieldtrip of the History 487 Seminar “The Making of Modern China” (instructor Prof. Eugenio Menegon) on October 16, 2018, supported by a generous grant of the CAS Academic Enhancement Fund.
“Empresses of China’s Forbidden City” features portraits, calligraphies, precious objects, embroidered robes, jewels and paintings about the life of empresses of the last Chinese imperial dynasty, the Manchu Qing (1644-1912). Timed to mark the 40th anniversary of the establishment of U.S.-China diplomatic relations, the exhibition is organized by the Peabody Essex Museum, the Smithsonian’s Freer-Sackler Galleries in Washington, D.C., and the Palace Museum in Beijing.
The seminar’s visit was guided by the exhibition co-organizer in person, Dr. Daisy Wang, the Museum’s Chinese Collections Curator, who mesmerized the students with riveting stories of palace intrigue and female empowerment. The famous Yin Yu Tang Chinese merchant house (early 19th century) was also part of the visit. Afterwards, the seminar gathered in the Museum Café to discuss the experience in light of pre-assigned readings on gender relations in late imperial times.
