Dr. Sen Kim Soon: Nanyang as a Mode of Imagination — On Local Consciousness in Mahua Classical Poetry (1881–1941)

A recent lecture by our guest speaker examined the development of Mahua classical poetry as an extension of traditional Chinese verse in Malaysia, tracing its origins to writings by Ming officials and later Qing diplomats and itinerant literati in the nineteenth century.

As poets entered the distinct milieu of Nanyang, their works often projected Chinese experiences rather than engaging local realities. Although some depicted regional landscapes, “Nanyang” was frequently reduced to a symbolic or empty signifier—a tendency that persisted into the mid-twentieth century under the influence of traditional poetics and ideological frameworks. Consequently, it was constructed as a largely rhetorical, Sinocentric space, serving more as an emotional extension of the homeland than as a reflection of lived experience, revealing a gap between poetic expression and local realities.

Against this backdrop, the lecture examined the transformation of Mahua classical poetry after the formation of Malaysia, asking whether poets, now citizens with a clearer national identity, began to reflect local experiences and reconfigure “Nanyang” beyond earlier migrant imaginaries. It concluded by calling for a re-evaluation of Mahua classical poetry through the lenses of locality, identity, and shifting cultural frameworks, offering fresh perspectives on Chinese literary traditions in Southeast Asia.

12th ISSCO International Conference 2025 Convened at Universiti Malaya

The 12th ISSCO International Conference 2025 was held from 4 to 6 November 2025 at Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur. Organized by the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences in collaboration with the International Society for the Study of the Chinese Overseas (ISSCO), it brought together scholars worldwide to exchange ideas on Chinese overseas studies.

Founded in 1992 under the leadership of Wang Gungwu and Wang Ling-chi, ISSCO is an international, non-political, non-profit society dedicated to advancing research on Chinese overseas communities through scholarly exchange, publications, and conferences. Its international conference series is a key platform for interdisciplinary engagement.

The 2025 conference, themed “Chinese Overseas in a Changing World: Global Networks, Local Realities,” examined evolving diasporic experiences, including shifts from migration to citizenship, patterns of remigration, and the impact of China’s rise and new migration flows. It also highlighted how localization in diverse socio-political and cultural contexts has produced varied developmental trajectories.

Panel sessions explored the interplay between global networks and local realities across themes such as migration, identity, globalization and deglobalization, politics, culture, language and literature, religion, business networks, and urban development. The conference provided a vital platform for interdisciplinary dialogue and contributed to the ongoing development of Chinese overseas studies in a rapidly changing global context.

More reading:

https://umevent.um.edu.my/12thISSCO

https://www.umchinesestudies.org.my/2025/11/13/%e7%ac%ac%e5%8d%81%e4%ba%8c%e5%b1%8a%e5%85%a8%e7%90%83%e6%b5%b7%e5%a4%96%e5%8d%8e%e4%ba%ba%e5%9b%bd%e9%99%85%e5%ad%a6%e6%9c%af%e7%a0%94%e8%ae%a8%e4%bc%9a%e5%9c%86%e6%bb%a1%e8%90%bd%e5%b9%95-%e4%b8%ad/

AN ETHICAL LITERARY CRITICISM OF HAN SUYIN’S AUTOBIOGRAPHY: BRAVING IRRATIONALITY

Dr. Florence Kuek, Senior Lecturer at the Department of Chinese Studies, University of Malaya, published her monograph An Ethical Literary Criticism of Han Suyin’s Autobiography: Braving Irrationality. The book was launched on 2 July 2025 at the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, University of Malaya, providing a platform for scholarly exchange.

Han Suyin (1916/1917–2012), best known for Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing (later adapted into a 1956 Hollywood film), has recently regained academic attention, particularly in Singapore and Malaysia.

The monograph examines her autobiographical series The Crippled Tree, focusing on its dual narrative structure within the context of twentieth-century China. Moving beyond approaches such as postcolonialism, feminism, and New Historicism, it adopts Ethical Literary Criticism as its primary framework.

By analysing “ethical lines” and “ethical knots,” the study highlights the complex moral dimensions of Han Suyin’s writing, tracing her personal trajectory alongside broader historical transformations. It offers a nuanced reading of China’s modernization and contributes a fresh methodological perspective to autobiographical studies and contemporary Han Suyin scholarship.