Gao Xingjian: Freedom, Fate, and Prognostication
October 24–27, 2011
→ Documentary (31min 05sec)
→ Photo Gallery
→ Press Coverage
“I have no way of knowing whether it was fate that has pushed me onto this dais, but as
various lucky coincidences have created this opportunity I may as well call it fate.”
(Nobel Prize Acceptance Speech), 2000
Fate and prognostication represent universal anthropological phenomena found in all cultures and civilizations, and play an exceptionally significant role in China. There is no other civilization in which fate and prognostication – two intrinsically connected concepts – have had such prominent status as in China. Strategies of coping with individual fate in Chinese modernity are closely intertwined with questions of freedom – a topic not only important in terms of fate and predestination but also in a political context.
The topos of freedom has always been of existential interest to Gao Xingjian, an extraordinary novelist, dramatist, stage-director, and painter as well as Nobel Laureate in Literature 2000. Finding freedom and dealing with fate present important and recurrent themes in his works. Gao himself often paints the picture of a "Wanderer" in the search for the self and the pursuit of freedom.
But what does the concept of freedom mean to Gao? How are questions of fate and freedom addressed in his prose and drama? Where do the quest for freedom and the self and the aspiration to reconnect with one's fate lead the protagonist? These are but a few questions to be focused on at this conference.
Additionally, three of his cinematic works (La silhouette sinon l’ombre, Après le deluge, and Snow in August) will be shown to further visualize and complement the results of the papers given at the conference.
Programme
| Monday, October 24, 2011 | |
|---|---|
| 9:30 a.m. | Welcome addresses Michael Lackner (Director, IKGF, University of Erlangen-Nuremberg) Representative of the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg Birgitt Aßmus (Mayor of Erlangen) |
| 10:00 a.m. | 自由與文學 ["Freedom and Literature"; Paper in Chinese] Gao Xingjian 高行健 (Nobel Laureate in Literature in 2000, Painter) |
| 10:45 a.m. | Literary and Art Techniques and the Quest for Aesthetic Fulfilment: On Gao Xingjian Mabel Lee 陈顺妍 (University of Sydney) |
| 11:30 a.m. | 高行健的自由原理 ["Gao Xingjian's Theory of Freedom"; Paper in Chinese] Liu Zaifu 刘再复 (City University of Hong Kong; University of Colorado at Boulder) |
| 12:15 p.m. | Lunch Break |
| 2:00 p.m. | 2000年前高行健走进國際視域的偶然性與必然性 ["Chance and Necessity: On Gao Xingjian's International Recognition Prior to 2000"; Paper in Chinese] Liu Chunying 刘春英 (Jinan University) |
| 2:45 p.m. | Ten Years On: Between Memory and Forgetting Wah Guan Lim 林華源 (Cornell University) |
| 3:30 p.m. | Coffee Break |
| 4:00 p.m. | The Aesthete as Revolutionary: Saving Art from Politics John McDonald (Art Critic for the Sydney Morning Herald) |
| 4:45 p.m. | 通往自由的美學 ["Aesthetics to Freedom"; Paper in Chinese] Lin Gang 林崗 (Sun Yatsen University) |
| 5:30 p.m. | Video Presentation: "Après le deluge" (30 min) |
| Tuesday, October 25, 2011 | |
|---|---|
| Panel: "The Topos of Freedom in Gao Xingjian's Novels" Chair: Natascha Gentz (University of Edinburgh) |
|
| 9:00 a.m. | Finding Freedom and Reshaping Fate: An Exile's Disentanglement from Obsession in Gao Xingjian's Novels Lily Li (Indiana University Bloomington) |
| 9:45 a.m. | What Does 'Being Free' Mean for the Protagonists in Gao Xingjian's Novels? Jessica Yeung (Hong Kong Baptist University) |
| 10:30 p.m. | Coffee Break |
| 10:45 a.m. | 高行健之逍遙 ["The Free and Easy Wandering of Gao Xingjian"; Paper in Chinese] Zhang Yinde 張寅德 (Sorbonne Nouvelle – Paris 3) |
| 11:30 a.m. | 高行健小說《一個人的聖經》中的"性,自 由,逃亡" ["'Sex,' 'Freedom,' and 'Escape' in Gao Xingjian's Novel One Man Bible"; Paper in Chinese] Noël Dutrait 杜特莱 (Université de Provence) |
| 12:15 p.m. | Lunch Break |
| 2:00 p.m. | On France and Freedom: The Five French Plays of Gao Xingjian Claire Conceison 康開麗 (Duke University) |
| 2:45 p.m. | The Concept of Freedom in Gao Xingjian's Autobiographical Novel One Man's Bible Wang Liying (IKGF, University of Erlangen-Nuremberg) |
| 3:30 p.m. | Coffee Break |
| 4:00 p.m. | Video Presentation: "Snow in August" (120 min) |
| Wednesday, October 26, 2011 | |
|---|---|
| Panel: "Fate, Nature, and the Self in Gao Xingjian's Works" Chair: Marián Gálik (Slovak Academy of Sciences) |
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| 9:00 a.m. | Gao Xingjian's Soul Mountain: In Search of the Lonely Voice Anurag Bhattacharyya (Dibrugarh University) |
| 9:45 a.m. | The Meanings of Nature in Soul Mountain, Wild Man, and The Story of the Classic of Mountains and Seas Thomas Moran (Middlebury College) |
| 10:30 p.m. | Coffee Break |
| 10:45 a.m. | The Silence of Buddha: Triangulating Gao Xingjian, Brecht, and Beckett Antony Tatlow (University of Dublin) |
| 11:30 a.m. | Waiting for Modernity Carlos Rojas (Duke University) |
| 12:15 p.m. | Lunch Break |
| 2:00 p.m. | Wild Man and the Idea of Freedom Gilbert C.F. Fong 方梓勋 (Hang Seng Management College) |
| 2:45 p.m. | 傳統和自由：試談《冥城》及其戲劇版首演 ["Tradition and Freedom in the Play Hades and its Premiere Stage in Seoul"; Paper in Chinese] Soo Kyung Oh 吴秀卿 (Hanyang University) |
| 3:30 p.m. | Coffee Break |
| 4:00 p.m. | Video Presentation: "La Silhouette sinon l'ombre" (90 min) |
| Thursday, October 27, 2011 | |
|---|---|
| Panel: "Fate and the Self in Gao Xingjian's Plays" Chair: Jessica Yeung (Hong Kong Baptist University) |
|
| 9:00 a.m. | The Twist of Fate: Political Absurdity and the Self in Gao Xingjian's Works Tam Kwok-kan 譚國根 (Open University of Hong Kong) |
| 9:45 a.m. | Tracing the Unknown Fate in the Unknown Age – Gao Xingjian from Theatre to Cinema Fiona Sze-Lorrain (Poet and Literary Translator) |
| 10:30 p.m. | Coffee Break |
| 11:00 a.m. | Trap Revisited: The Man Who Questions Death and the Tragedy of Modern Man Shelby K. Y. Chan (Hang Seng Management College) |
| 11:45 a.m. | 多聲部角色的多元生命觀展演：《叩問死亡》與《夜間行歌》 ["Performing Pluralistic Views on Life through Polyphonic Characters: On Inquiring Death and Ballade Nocturne"; Paper in Chinese] Quah Sy Ren 柯思仁 (Nanyang Technological University) |
| 12:30 p.m. | Closing Discussion |
| 1:30 p.m. | End |
→ Please download our Conference Flyer for more information.
Events
| Art Exhibition | Kunstausstellung |
|---|---|
| October 27, – November 24, 2011 | 27. Oktober – 24. November 2011 |
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An exhibition of Gao Xingjian's ink on rice paper paintings will be opened in the Museum Tucherschloss on October 27, 2011 at 7 p.m. The contemporary paintings will be integrated as a second narrative into the existing permanent exhibition and presented as a fascinating contrast to the renaissance art works of the museum. The exhibition will take place from October 27 to November 24, 2011. Opening Hours: Monday 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. / Thursday 1 p.m. – 5 p.m. / Sunday 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. |
Unter dem Titel „Gao Xingjian – Nobelpreisträger für Literatur. Malerei in Chinatusche auf Reispapier“ wird ab 27. Oktober im Museum Tucherschloss eine Ausstellung des chinesischen Künstlers Gao Xingjian zu sehen sein. Bei den ausgestellten Werken handelt es sich um Malereien mit traditioneller chinesischer Tusche auf Reispapier. Die zeitgenössischen Gemälde werden als eine zweite Erzählebene in die vorhandene Dauerausstellung des Tucherschlosses integriert und kontrastiv zu den Renaissancekunstwerken in Szene gesetzt. Öffnungszeiten: Mo 10-15 Uhr / Do 13-17 Uhr / So 10-17 Uhr Die Kunstausstellung wird am Donnerstag, 27. Oktober 2011 um 19 Uhr mit einer Vernissage offiziell im Museum Tucherschloss eröffnet. |
| Museum Tucherschloss, Hirschelgasse 9-11, 90403 Nuremberg | |
| Reading at the City Library of Nuremberg / Lesung des Literaturnobelpreisträgers Gao Xingjian im Zeitungscafé der Stadtbibliothek Nürnberg |
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| October 28, 2011, 7 p.m. (Event will take place in German!) |
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Am 28. Oktober um 19 Uhr laden das Internationale Kolleg für Geisteswissenschaftliche Forschung der Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg und die Stadtbibliothek Nürnberg zu einer Lesung Gao Xingjians im Zeitungs-Café der Stadtbibliothek ein. Gao, der seit 1987 im französischen Exil lebt, erhielt im Jahr 2000 als erster chinesischsprachiger Schriftsteller den Nobelpreis für Literatur und setzt sich in seinem literarischen Schaffen mit Fragen der Freiheit und Identität auseinander. Die Lesung wird einen kleinen Einblick in das Leben und Werk Gaos geben. Im Mittelpunkt wird sein Roman „Berg der Seele“ stehen. Zeitungs-Café Hermann Kesten in der Stadtbibliothek Nürnberg, Eingang neben der Katharinenruine, Zugang über die Peter-Vischer-Straße, 90403 Nuremberg |
Conference Location
Kulturzentrum E-Werk: Großer Saal
Fuchsenwiese 1, 91054 Erlangen
Contact
For further information please contact Ms. Nikola Markewitsch.
For questions regarding administrative issues please contact Mrs. Petra Hahm.
Downloads
Conference Flyer including detailed schedule (PDF) (993 KB)
Event Flyer (PDF) (238 KB)
Poster (PDF) (303 KB)
Event Documentation
Documentary (31min 05sec)
Photo Gallery
Press Coverage