Chinese Walls in Time and Space: A Multidisciplinary Perspective

Are walls remnants of ancient and medieval societies, destined to become anachronistic in modern and post-modern times? Or will they persist, shaping as well as adjusting to new conditions? Do walls necessarily constrain and even isolate those who live within them, or can they act as a medium of support and communication for people on both sides? This volume addresses these questions. Authors from six disciplines―history, art, law, medicine, communication, and film―provide multiple perspectives on various kinds of walls: material ones around and within states, cities, and towns, as well as virtual ones regulating the administration of justice, the flow of pathogens, and the transmission of information.

Roger Des Forges is Professor of History at the State University of New York at Buffalo.

Minglu Gao is a curator and scholar of contemporary Chinese art at University of Pittsburgh.

Liu Chiao-mei is in the Department of History at Taiwan University.

Haun Saussy is Bird White Housum Professor of Comparative Literature and East Asian Languages at Yale University.

Thomas W. Burkman is Director of Asian Studies at the State University of New York at Buffalo.