Course activities

🔎【Free Participation in In-Person Courses × Online Live Stream Announcement】Qian Mu's Former Residence Su Shu Lou Lecture Hall – History and Life Series: "A New Emperor, A New Court: Biographies of Wei Qi and Wu An Hou, Part 1", by Teacher Jiang Yitai, November 15, 2015
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🚪Registration website (welcome to register/on-site and online simultaneously):
https://www.beclass.com/rid=305012868ce245b4d91a
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On a spring night in Chang'an, the banquet at the residence of Marquis Wei Qi had just ended. As Dou Ying slowly drifted off to sleep, still slightly tipsy, he could not have imagined that the court official who had knelt and served him wine at the banquet would become his irreconcilable political enemy.
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Marquis Dou Ying of Weiqi, once favored by Empress Xiaowen, gradually lost power during Emperor Jing's reign; Marquis Tian Fen of Wu'an, before gaining power, treated Dou Ying like a son, but after Empress Dowager Wang rose to power, he wielded immense influence. Guan Fu, renowned for his martial prowess and chivalry, refused to retire after losing power, his fate intertwined with that of the other two. However, the entanglements of these three men lack much heroic spirit, instead revealing the ugliness and tragedy of human nature amidst a struggle for power.
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However, as historian Lu Yaodong stated, Sima Qian wrote this biography not to record the tedious power struggles and infighting in the game of power, but rather "to narrate, through the grudges and conflicts between Tian Fen and Dou Ying, the political struggles that occurred at the center of the power structure during the transition from the old to the new ruling system." During this special period from the reign of Emperor Jing to the early years of Emperor Wu, the military meritocracy, the power of the empress's relatives, and the emperor's power were facing a reorganization of the power structure. "A new emperor, a new court"—this dilemma of human nature and system behind the power reshuffling continues to this day. When individual character flaws meet systemic changes of the times, it often leads to a tragic struggle with no winners. In the not-too-distant future of the Western Han Dynasty, the drama of empress's relatives taking turns would continue, only this time the protagonists would be Wei Qing and Huo Qubing.
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In the latest lecture series at Qian Mu's Former Residence, Professor Jiang Yitai will guide us through a close reading of this classic work, reminiscent of the "Officialdom Unmasked" of the Western Han Dynasty. Through the intertwined fates of Dou Ying, Tian Fen, and Guan Fu, we will revisit one of the eternal themes explored by Sima Qian from a perspective that is no longer passionate and impassioned but rather more starkly realistic: how individual character and circumstances propel us toward our respective destinies in the endless dialectic between the times, power, and human nature.
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📆Event Time: November 15th, 2015 (Saturday), 14:10 – 16:00
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🏡Event location:
Room C508, 5F, Qinpu Building, Boai Campus, Taipei City University (No. 1, Aiguo West Road, Zhongzheng District, Taipei City)
"Qian Mu's Former Residence - Open Course Channel"
https://www.youtube.com/@chienmu.house.classroom
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👨‍🏫Activity Speaker: Teacher Jiang Yitai
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🔔Activity fee: free
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🚀Online course information:
After the course starts, the live broadcast URL will be announced on the "Qian Mu Former Residence YouTube Channel" and the "Qian Mu Former Residence FB Fan Page". Everyone is welcome to leave comments and discuss!
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# Records of the Grand Historian # Biography of Wei Qi and Wu An Hou
# Dou Ying # Tian Fen # Guan Fu
Emperor Wu of Han # The Politics of Empress Dowager's Relatives
# Power Transition # Rise and Fall in Officialdom
# Sima Qian # Historian's Writing Style
# Western Han Dynasty Politics # Chang'an Nobles
# Jiang Yitai # Su Shulou Lecture Hall
# Free Lecture # Chinese History
# Former Residence of Qian Mu # Online Course
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