Wisconsin China Resource

4:30 pm, Memorial Library, Room 126

The stories of early Badgers who attended UW-Madison in the early 1900s and pioneered cross-cultural understanding between the U.S. and China. This is an annual student workshop that in 2026 will situate profiles of early Badgers within the context of a 19th century debate between two Chinese officials over the value of student exchanges.

4 pm, Ingraham Hall, Room 206

The Hidden History of Tibetan Rugs – This presentation will unveil a trove of Tibetan rugs from as early as the 15th century, showcasing new designs and connections to religious traditions, along with evaluating the challenges of dating rugs using scientific methods.

3:30 pm, Elvehjem Building, L160

Space, State, and Daily Life in a Manchurian City – Historian Nianshen Song of Tsinghua University in Beijing, China, will be on campus to decipher the unexpected significance of Xita, a half-square-mile quarter in Northeast China’s city of Shenyang.
Over nearly four centuries, Xita has been shaped and reshaped by empire, war, migration, and urban transformation. The history of this small area mirrors large-scale changes, including and especially China’s metamorphosis from a multi-ethnic Eurasian empire to a postindustrial society. By studying how global and local forces play out in everyday spaces, the talk reveals a perspective for understanding China’s past—not from the top down, but through the streets and people who lived it.

4 pm, Ingraham Hall, Room 206

Dating Ming Nostalgia in East Asia – Zhaoshen Wang, a historian of early modern Chinese and East Asian history, offered a talk based on his recently completed UW-Madison doctoral dissertation investigating how historical memories of China’s Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) have continuously shaped elite thought and popular culture, exerting a profound influence on significant historical events in China over four centuries.

5:30 PM, Van Hise Room 399

4 PM, Ingraham Hall Room 335

3 PM, Institutes for Discovery