UC Berkeley Institute of East Asian Studies

10/23/2026

October 29 at 4pm | 370 Dwinelle Hall, UC Berkeley
Performing Enlightenment: Buddhism and Theater in Early Modern China
Lecture by Mengxiao Wang

In late Ming and early Qing China, a major revival of Buddhism coincided with a growing fascination with theater. In Performing Enlightenment, Mengxiao Wang examines how Chinese Buddhist monastics and laypeople actively engaged with and transformed the dramatic arts.

Learn more about the speaker and the lecture at https://tinyurl.com/45kcnfzt.

10/23/2026

Call for Papers from the 21st Century China Center at UC San Diego School of Global Policy and Strategy

The center is now accepting submissions for the Policy Inflection in China: A Cross-Disciplinary Conference, to be held at UC San Diego in La Jolla, CA on April 8-9, 2027. They are inviting senior and junior scholars from multiple disciplines with the hope of fostering exchange among scholars who approach the questions regarding China's shift toward political control and state steerage from different—and potentially contrasting—perspectives.

Submission Details:
· Paper proposal due: Nov. 30, 2026
· Notification of Acceptance: Dec. 20, 2026
· Completed Paper Submission Deadline: February 28, 2027
· Call for Papers details are at

Academic Conferences

10/21/2026

Jonathan Cheng talks about "North Korea’s Messianic Cause" on
Oct 27 at 12:30pm in 554 Social Sciences Building.

What if North Korea was understood less as a nuclear-armed nation state and more as a religious society, one built around worship of the Kim family? It’s not as far-fetched as you think.

Learn more about Cheng, a Wall Street Journal bureau chief, and his talk at https://tinyurl.com/52sbr9tn.

10/19/2026

Berkeley Book Chat with CSEAS Chair Lisandro Claudio on Wed, Oct 21 at noon.

In The Profligate Colonial (Cornell, 2025) Claudio (South & Southeast Asian Studies) reveals how austerity, long before it became a buzzword of modern technocracy, was a tool of US empire.

The book chat will take place in the Geballe Room in 220 Stephens Hall. Please RSVP at https://tinyurl.com/2vfk4sdc.

10/19/2026

In Memoriam: Albert E. Dien (1927–2026), UC Berkeley Alumnus and Pioneer of Silk Road Studies

Albert E. Dien, a distinguished scholar of early medieval Chinese history, archaeology, and Silk Road trade networks, passed away on October 9, 2026, at the age of 99. A UC Berkeley alumnus who earned his A.B., M.A., and Ph.D. under Peter A. Boodberg, Professor Dien spent over seven decades expanding Sinology through his seminal research on the Six Dynasties period and the material culture connecting East and Central Asia. Beyond his legacy as an influential mentor, researcher, and traveler along ancient trade routes, he was also a founding leader of the Sino-Judaic Institute and a devoted patron of the arts.

Full Obituary can be found on IEAS’s website, https://tinyurl.com/3at95rxb.

Photo below of Professor Emeritus Albert Dien with wife, Dora Shu-fang Dien. Photo credited to the Stanford Program on International and Cross-Cultural Education blog.

10/16/2026

Expanded English edition of Joseon classic 'The Chingbirok' unveiled in Korea

IEAS launched its new book ”Reprimands and Admonitions” in Korea this Friday. The book offered a deeper, more human lens into Imjin War.

As reported in the Korean Times, the event was hosted by Ryu Jin, chairman of Poongsan Group, chairman of the Federation of Korean Industries and a 13th-generation direct descendant of Ryu Seong-ryong (1542–1607), the Joseon-era prime minister who authored "The Chingbirok." The newest book is an expanded version of ”The Chingbirok.”

Read the entire article at
https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/lifestyle/books/20261016/expanded-english-edition-of-joseon-classic-the-chingbirok-unveiled.

Leading international scholars and cultural historians gathered in Seoul on Friday for a high-profile publication ceremony and book talk celebratin...

10/16/2026

October 23, 2026 at 4pm in 370 Dwilnelle Hall, UC Berkeley.
Lecture by Li Chen (University of Toronto) on "Indispensable but Invisible: Legal Expertise and Juridical Capital in the Governance of Late Imperial China"

During the Qing period (1644–1912), late imperial China was in theory governed by approximately two thousand local administrators who were appointed for their mastery of the Confucian classics rather than for their administrative or legal expertise. How did these scholar-officials actually carry out the daily tasks of local governance, including judicial administration?

Learn more about the speaker and his talk at https://tinyurl.com/2wrkm9zm.

10/15/2026

Job Opening for
Assistant or Associate Professor in East Asian Buddhism
for the Department of East Asian Languages & Cultures

Learn more about the position and how to apply at https://aprecruit.berkeley.edu/JPF05539.

University of California, Berkeley is hiring. Apply now!