Karst Caves & Hinterland Hazards: Translating the Travel Diaries of Xu Xiake
Karst Caves & Hinterland Hazards: Translating the Travel Diaries of Xu Xiake In-Person
Join us for a talk by Professor Allan H. Barr about his most recent research project, and to celebrate his upcoming retirement after 43 years of teaching at Pomona College!
Co-organized and co-sponsored by the Asian Languages and Literatures Department at Pomona College, and the Asian Library at The Claremont Colleges Library.
The event will feature Prof. Barr’s most recent research project on the celebrated travel writer in Ming dynasty China, Xu Xiake (徐霞客1587-1641). Xu kept a detailed diary during the 11 months that he spent exploring Guangxi province in 1637 and 1638. In this talk, Prof. Barr will introduce some highlights of this diary including excerpts he has recently translated into English for the first time.
In addition to hearing Prof. Barr speak for one of the last times as a Pomona College faculty member, there will be opportunities to interact with him before and after the talk to ask questions and congratulate him on his distinctive teaching and research career, as well as his contributions to the Chinese studies program at Pomona College and beyond!
This talk is free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be provided starting at 4 p.m.
About Allan H. Barr
Allan Barr is a Professor of Chinese at Pomona College. He has published extensively on literature of the Ming and Qing, and is the author of a study in Chinese of a 17th century literary inquisition, Jiangnan yi jie: Qing ren bixia de Zhuangshi shi’an (《江南一劫：清人筆下的莊氏史案》). He has also translated a number of books by contemporary Chinese authors, including Yu Hua 余華, Han Han 韓寒, Jin Renshun 金仁順 and Ai Weiwei 艾未未. His translations have appeared in The Guardian, Los Angeles Times, The New York Times and The New Yorker. After 43 years of service to Pomona College, Allan Barr is retiring at the end of Spring semester 2024.
Special Thanks to the Asian Library Innovation Fund and the Asian Studies Program at Pomona College for funding support.