Asian Studies Seminar Series: Heather Inwood In brief Date - 29 October 2025Venue - Project Room 1.06, 50 George SquareSpeaker - Professor Heather Inwood (University of Cambridge)Title - Worlds Without End? Chinese Web Novels, Global Fans, and Sprouts of Meaning About the eventChinese internet fiction is notorious for its scale, with over half a billion readers and over 40 million web novels in existence today. Just as voluminous is the fan content that surrounds it, which is increasingly produced outside of China in languages other than Chinese. What happens to the worlds of internet fiction when they get reimagined by international fans? And why do some novels inspire more fan content than others?This talk looks to Japanese pop culture and premodern Chinese philosophy to understand the age-old tendency of texts to branch out in unexpected directions, almost as though they have a life of their own.About the speakerHeather Inwood is Associate Professor of Modern Chinese Literature and Culture at the University of Cambridge and a Fellow in Asian and Middle Eastern Studies at Trinity Hall. She is the author of 'Verse Going Viral: China’s New Media Scenes' (University of Washington Press, 2014) and is currently completing a book on Chinese internet fiction, entitled 'Netfic: China’s Other Worlds'.She previously held positions at The Ohio State University and the University of Manchester and received her PhD from SOAS, the University of London, in 2008.How to attendThis event is free to attend and open to all. No registration is required, simply turn up on the day.Are you interested in studying with us?We are the only university in Scotland to offer full undergraduate and postgraduate degree programmes in both Chinese and Japanese, as well as postgraduate programmes in Korean Studies and East Asian Studies. Find out more about Asian Studies at Edinburgh Tags Asian Studies Oct 29 2025 16.15 - 18.00 Asian Studies Seminar Series: Heather Inwood An in-person seminar by Professor Heather Inwood (University of Cambridge), titled 'Worlds Without End? Chinese Web Novels, Global Fans, and Sprouts of Meaning'. Project Room 1.06 50 George Square University of Edinburgh EH8 9LH Find the venue: 50 George Square
Asian Studies Seminar Series: Heather Inwood In brief Date - 29 October 2025Venue - Project Room 1.06, 50 George SquareSpeaker - Professor Heather Inwood (University of Cambridge)Title - Worlds Without End? Chinese Web Novels, Global Fans, and Sprouts of Meaning About the eventChinese internet fiction is notorious for its scale, with over half a billion readers and over 40 million web novels in existence today. Just as voluminous is the fan content that surrounds it, which is increasingly produced outside of China in languages other than Chinese. What happens to the worlds of internet fiction when they get reimagined by international fans? And why do some novels inspire more fan content than others?This talk looks to Japanese pop culture and premodern Chinese philosophy to understand the age-old tendency of texts to branch out in unexpected directions, almost as though they have a life of their own.About the speakerHeather Inwood is Associate Professor of Modern Chinese Literature and Culture at the University of Cambridge and a Fellow in Asian and Middle Eastern Studies at Trinity Hall. She is the author of 'Verse Going Viral: China’s New Media Scenes' (University of Washington Press, 2014) and is currently completing a book on Chinese internet fiction, entitled 'Netfic: China’s Other Worlds'.She previously held positions at The Ohio State University and the University of Manchester and received her PhD from SOAS, the University of London, in 2008.How to attendThis event is free to attend and open to all. No registration is required, simply turn up on the day.Are you interested in studying with us?We are the only university in Scotland to offer full undergraduate and postgraduate degree programmes in both Chinese and Japanese, as well as postgraduate programmes in Korean Studies and East Asian Studies. Find out more about Asian Studies at Edinburgh Tags Asian Studies Oct 29 2025 16.15 - 18.00 Asian Studies Seminar Series: Heather Inwood An in-person seminar by Professor Heather Inwood (University of Cambridge), titled 'Worlds Without End? Chinese Web Novels, Global Fans, and Sprouts of Meaning'. Project Room 1.06 50 George Square University of Edinburgh EH8 9LH Find the venue: 50 George Square
Oct 29 2025 16.15 - 18.00 Asian Studies Seminar Series: Heather Inwood An in-person seminar by Professor Heather Inwood (University of Cambridge), titled 'Worlds Without End? Chinese Web Novels, Global Fans, and Sprouts of Meaning'.
