Books by Ban Wang

Ban Wang traces the shifting concept of the Chinese state from the late nineteenth century to the present, showing how the Confucian notion of tianxia-"all under heaven"-influences China's dedication to contributing to and exchanging with a common world.

Through a comparative analysis of diverse texts and contexts, this book offers a cultural history of the interplay between the aesthetic and the political in the formation of personal and collective identity that crystallizes into the Chinese aesthetic of the sublime.

This book offers a cultural history of modern China by looking at the tension between memory and history, examining how Chinese intellectuals and artists experienced trauma, social upheavals, and transformations.