The First Emperor and His Legacy Conference

The First Emperor (259 – 210 BCE), or Shi Huangdi, unified China and established the imperial system that continued until the early 20th century. He remains an intriguing historical personality in part due to the life-size terracotta army that has been associated with him. Emperors of the following Han dynasty could not avoid his example, whether in matters of the state or in the art of death. This one-day conference in English, featuring an international panel of academics and archaeologists, will provide deeper insight into the culture, funerary art, and traditions of the Qin and Han dynasties. It is held in conjunction with the current special exhibition, Terracotta Warriors: The First Emperor and His Legacy.




Terracotta Warriors: The First Emperor and His Legacy Conference
Programme Sunday, 21 August 2011 Ngee Ann Auditorium, Asian Civilisations Museum, Singapore

8.45AM – 9.00AM
Registration
9.00AM – 9.10AM
Opening remarks
Dr Alan Chong (Director, Asian Civilisations Museum)
SESSION ONE
9.10 – 10.00 AM
History’s greatest villain: examining the myth of the First Emperor
Dr Frances Wood (Head of the Chinese Section, The British Library)
10.00 – 10.50 AM
Tracking the footprints of Emperor Qin Shihuang’s ancestor: Archaeological evidence
Prof Sun Zhouyong (Associate Professor, Shaanxi Provincial Institute of Archaeology)
10.50 – 11.10 AM
Morning Tea
11.10 AM – 12.00 PM
The First Emperor’s tomb and its Eastern Zhou models: A comparative perspective
Mr Shi Jie (Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Art History, University of Chicago)
12.00 – 12.50 PM
Religion and empire in early China
Prof Lai Guolong (Assistant Professor of Chinese Art and Archaeology, University of Florida)
12.50 – 1.20 PM
Discussion / Q&A
1.20 PM – 2.30 PM
Lunch