Location: Philippines Conference Room, Encina Hall, 3rd Floor Contact: 723-3363 romanoff@stanford.edu Eileen Cheng, Dept. of Asian Languages and Literatures, Pomona CollegeThis talk examines images of decomposition and disintegration in Lu Xun’s Wild Grass.  Reminders of the ephemeral nature of life, these images also reflect the violence of language and the limits of representation—that is, the inadequacy of texts to fully or accurately capture the past and a present in the midst of disappearing. Yet, Lu Xun’s prose-poems also contain an urgent plea:  Of the necessity for commemoration. In spite of his doubts, Lu Xun harbored a “radical hope”:  that his texts, like epitaph inscriptions, might allow the spirit of the past and the once living to flicker alive, as sources of illumination for the present. Sponsor: Center for East Asian Studies Audience: Telepathic Corpses, Snow Buddhas, and Flames Encased in Ice: Radical Hope in Lu Xun's Wild GrassFacebookTwitterEmailPrintAdd to CalendarEileen Cheng, Dept. of Asian Languages and Literatures, Pomona CollegeThis talk examines images of decomposition and disintegration in Lu Xun’s Wild Grass.  Reminders of the ephemeral nature of life, these images also reflect the violence of language and the limits of representation—that is, the inadequacy of texts to fully or accurately capture the past and a present in the midst of disappearing. Yet, Lu Xun’s prose-poems also contain an urgent plea:  Of the necessity for commemoration. In spite of his doubts, Lu Xun harbored a “radical hope”:  that his texts, like epitaph inscriptions, might allow the spirit of the past and the once living to flicker alive, as sources of illumination for the present. When:Wednesday, February 27, 2013. 12:00 PM. Approximate duration of 1.25 hour(s). Where:Philippines Conference Room, Encina Hall, 3rd Floor (Map) Sponsor:Center for East Asian Studies Contact:723-3363 romanoff@stanford.edu Admission:Free and Open to the PublicRSVP Required at http://ceas.stanford.edu/events/event_detail.php?id=3149Audience:General Public, Faculty/Staff, Students, Alumni/Friends, MembersTags:lecture, international, humanitiesPermalink:http://events.stanford.edu/events/353/35331 Last modified January 18, 2013. Free and Open to the Public