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An Overview of the International Conference “Overseas Portraiture of Chinese Lives: Life Writing and the Current Trend”

Abstract:  The International Conference “Overseas Portraiture of Modern Chinese Lives: Life Writing and Its Current Trends” demonstrated the variety and depth of biography of Chinese people around the world and the contemporary biographical trends from multiple dimensions. Examining issues of biography from the central and the peripheral, the specific and the general and the ideological and the arts, the attendees’ research covers unique and rich multi-cultural subjects, ranging from cultural identity, genealogy, the spirit of overseas Chinese, national heritage, minority ethnic groups, global vision and trans-cultural interpretation.


Key words: “Overseas Portraiture of Modern Chinese Lives: Life Writing and Its    Current Trends”, international conference, multi-cultural identity, overview


Quan Zhan (1956 - ), is Professor at the Institute of Literature and Communication, Jingchu University of Technology, Hubei, China. He graduated from the Department of Chinese language and Literature of Yangtze University and Huazhong Normal University. As a board member of the Biography Society of China, he serves as a judge for the Award for Best Chinese biographical literature. He published more than 170 articles in national and international journals, and has received various academic awards at home and abroad. He is the author of A Survey of Contemporary Chinese Biographical Literature (2004) and Biography: Interpretation and Criticism (2007).