Ms. Xiaojing Miao’s recent Asia-related dissertation
Ms. Xiaojing Miao took her Ph.D. degree in Chinese literature, from the Dept. of Asian Languages and Civilizations, in May 2019. Her dissertation, titled "Beyond the Lyric: Expanding the Landscape of Early and High Tang Literature (618-766)," offers an alternative history of the first century and a half of Tang-dynasty literature, moving beyond the shi-style lyric verse for which the Tang is chiefly, and sometimes exclusively, known. Miao approaches the topic from the perspective of authorial self-representation, with critical attention to the problem of mirroring and/or masking. Each of the dissertation's four chapters focuses on a particular literary form that was both prevalent and important in the Tang period: the occasional preface, the self-recommendation letter, the fu or "rhapsody," and autobiographical verse in various genres (including encomium, entombed epitaph, and lyric shi-style poetry). The dissertation makes significant and innovative contributions to the fields of literary history and criticism, as well as to medieval studies in general. It also includes numerous original translations, with thorough annotation, of selected literary works that have not previously been rendered into English. A revised version of the first chapter will appear soon in the sinological journal Tang Studies. Dr. Miao will teach during AY 19-20 as a visiting assistant professor in the ALC department.