Zurich Lectures in East Asian Art History: Prof. Dr. Doreen Müller & Prof. Dr. Fan Lin

Prof. Dr. Doreen Müller (Leiden University)

Thursday, October 30, 2025, 18:15–20:00
University of Zurich, Rämistrasse 59, 8001 Zürich
Room RAA-G-01
Flyer (PDF, 177 KB)

Abstract: This talk explores how urban dwellers imagined whales in nineteenth-century Japan. Although people living in the capital city of Edo had no direct contact with whales, they became an increasingly popular feature of the urban imagination. Urban dwellers imagined whales as entertaining spectacles of enormous size and possessing uncannily human features such as eyes with eyelashes. At the same time, they were also aware of the existence of different modes of engaging with nature. For coastal communities in southern Japan, obtaining and processing whales was a serious and lengthy process that required careful collaboration and strenuous physical efforts. By contrast, urban dwellers incorporated nature into their leisure pursuits as they sought swift gratification from consuming prints and entertainments such as misemono shows. At first glance, there appears to be an utter disconnect between the fast-paced and commercial urban “leisure mode“ and the slower local “physical mode“ that was focused on production. However, a closer examination of printed guidebooks, stories based on misemono shows, and ukiyo-e prints referencing information from guidebooks shows that both modes were deeply connected in the urban imagination. In alluding to different modes of engaging with nature, some images even provided opportunities for critical reflection upon the state of urban society. Considering images of whales thus gives an insight into the nature of the developing consumer society in early modern Japan.

The lecture will be held in English and is open to the public. No registration is necessary. For questions, please contact us via email at kgoa@khist.uzh.ch

Prof. Dr. Fan Lin (Leiden University)

Thursday, October 30, 2025, 18:15–20:00
University of Zurich, Rämistrasse 59, 8001 Zürich
Room RAA-G-01
Flyer (PDF, 176 KB)

Abstract: Elephants are the largest land animals alive today. While they were once native to early China, they had been pushed to the southwestern margins of the country by the tenth century due to climate change and human expansion. From the eleventh century onward, elephants were brought back to the imperial capitals from Southeast Asia as tribute animals. Their ceremonial processions quickly became a popular urban spectacle. Through Buddhist associations, the washing of these elephants came to symbolize the purification of the restless mind. However, the living realities and emotions of both the elephants and their keepers were largely ignored in contemporary scholarship. This talk examines three facets of the cultural history of elephant keeping: first, the political agenda behind the elephant processions; second, their parade as an urban spectacle and its Buddhist implications in visual imagery; and third, the lived reality of elephants and elephant keepers.

The lecture will be held in English and is open to the public. No registration is necessary. For questions, please contact us via email at kgoa@khist.uzh.ch