Scholar of Chinese history to deliver Curti Lectures

A scholar whose field of inquiry spans the whole of Chinese history from the 17th century to the present will deliver the three 2003 Merle Curti Lectures at UW–Madison on Tuesday-Thursday, Sept. 30-Oct. 2.

The lectures are presented annually in honor of the late UW historian whose work helped redefine the discipline. Joining the faculty in 1942, Curti won a Pulitzer Prize for his book, “The Growth of American Thought,” which charted America’s intellectual evolution.

Jonathan Spence is the Sterling Professor of Chinese History at Yale University. At UW–Madison, his lecture series will explore the fall of the Ming Dynasty in 1644.

“The Ming was one of the strongest and most prosperous in Chinese history,” says Brett Sheehan, UW–Madison assistant professor of history specializing in China. He will introduce Spence’s first lecture and predicts that the Ming Dynasty will make a most compelling subject.

“During the early Ming, which began in 1368, the government sponsored voyages of exploration that made Columbus look like an amateur. In addition, China was an essential part of a trading system that supplied silk and ceramics, including the famed Ming vases, to the world.

“By the 17th century, however, things were not going well. The state had given up the idea of foreign exploration. There was a string of weak emperors, and the lower classes were restless. In addition, there was a rising power, the Manchus, north of the Great Wall. They built a strong military machine and made several raids into Ming territory. With the help of a turncoat Ming general, the Manchus were finally able to invade in 1644 after a peasant rebellion. The Manchus set up a new dynasty that ruled China until 1911,” Sheehan says.

He also has no doubt that Spence will be well able to provide fresh insights into the period and articulate them lucidly. “Spence is the most widely read historian of China in the United States,” he says. “He writes with both scholars and the general public in mind.”

Spence is the author of “Treason by the Book” (2001), “God’s Chinese Son: The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom of Hong Xiuquan” (1996), “The Memory Palace of Matteo Ricci” (1984), “The Gate of Heavenly Peace: The Chinese and their Revolution” (1981) and “The Death of Woman Wang” (1978). He has been awarded MacArthur and Guggenheim Fellowships, and the Companion of the Order of St. Michael and St. George by Queen Elizabeth. He also has been elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the British Academy.

All Curti lectures are free and open to the public. Each lecture on the three days – titled “Before,” “During” and “After” – will begin at 4 p.m. in the Pyle Center, 702 Langdon St. For more information, contact Nicole Hauge in the UW–Madison Department of History, (608) 263-1808 or nshauge@wisc.edu.