Peach blossom springs

For centuries Chinese travelers have described Enshi, Hubei province, as a land of "peach blossom springs" (taohuayuan).

The expression comes from a fable by Tao Yuanming (c.365-427) that describes a utopian wilderness "out of time", where people live in harmony with nature, that captures characteristic ambiguities of a remote mountain region in central China. It includes representations of purity, simplicity and nostalgia on one hand; non-conformity, unruliness, and poverty on the other.

In this presentation, Hans Steinmuller, a specialist in the anthropology of China, traces these ambiguities through historical sources, the writings of social scientists and local peoples' descriptions of the region. His aim is to help people understand how remoteness feels in Enshi today.

Date: Dec 3

Venue: Room G50, Russell Square, School of Oriental and African Studies University of London

Website: www.soas.ac.uk/chinesestudies/events

(China Daily 11/16/2012 page31)