Congratulations to our junior fellow, Dr. Jinhui Wu, for successfully acquiring a position at Reed College! She is now a visiting assistant professor of Chinese and Humanities in the Chinese Department.
Dr. Jinhui Wu graduated from the University of Arizona with a doctorate in East Asian Studies in 2021. She received her M.A. degree in Asian Languages and Civilizations from the University of Colorado, Boulder in 2016. She studies early modern Chinese religious literature and its intersection with other socio-cultural spheres, from the perspectives of historiography, vernacular literature, ritual practices, and print culture. Her other research interests include translation studies, digital humanities, and Chinese language and culture pedagogy. Prior to joining Reed College, she has taught courses on Chinese language, religion, and literature at Lafayette College (as a Fulbright fellow), the University of Colorado Boulder, and the University of Arizona.
Her doctoral dissertation is titled "The Transformation of Buddhist Cosmology of Early Modern China: A Study of the Fajie Anli tu 法界安立圖." The dissertation probes the development, transformation, and representation of Buddhist cosmology in Chinese history, with a detailed analysis of a Buddhist cosmological treatise from seventeenth century China titled the Fajie anli tu (法界安立圖, Establishment of the Dharma-Field with Illustrations) as its focal point. By critically interpreting and understanding Buddhist cosmology through textual sources, visual representations, and religious practices during the late Ming dynasty, this dissertation examines the Buddhist ways of perceiving the world during early modern era and surveys the social-historical upbringing of Buddhist cosmological formations and expressions during that particular era.