Asian Studies Seminar Series: Weipin Tsai In brief Date - 25 February 2026Venue - Room LG.06, 40 George SquareSpeaker - Dr Weipin Tsai (Royal Holloway, University of London)Title - The Making of China’s Post Office: Sovereignty, Modernization, & the Connection of a Nation About the event'The Making of China’s Post Office' traces the origins and early development of the country’s modern postal system. Sweeping in perspective, it goes beyond the bounds of institutional history to explore the political manoeuvrings, economic imperatives, and societal pressures both inhibiting and driving forward postal development. Although its prime mover was Robert Hart, Inspector General of the Chinese Maritime Customs Service, the wider cast of characters includes foreign and native staff, Qing officials, local administrations, commercial interests, and foreign governments.Drawing extensively on archival material from the Second Historical Archives of China in Nanjing, the Tianjin Municipal Archives, and the Archive of Queen’s University Belfast, Weipin Tsai contextualises the making of the post office within the country’s long and contested path of modernisation, bringing Chinese voices to the fore.Tsai illustrates the extent to which local agency shaped the design and development of the service as it expanded from experimental coastal operation into China’s interior and on to its border periphery, the first nationwide modernisation project to directly impact people’s daily lives. Ultimately, the grand spatial reach of the Post Office carried significant symbolic meaning in relation to sovereignty for the Qing government and for later Republican administrations.About the speakerWeipin Tsai is a historian of modern China. Based at Royal Holloway, University of London, her principal interests are China’s and Taiwan’s engagement in globalization from the 19th century onwards, in particular knowledge exchange, trade networks, and print culture in the 19th and the first half of the 20th centuries. Her latest monograph is 'The Making of China’s Post Office: Sovereignty, Modernization, and the Connection of a Nation' (Harvard University Asia Center, 2024). She is currently working on the history of economic botany in East Asia in imperial contexts.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 Feb 25 2026 16.10 - 18.00 Asian Studies Seminar Series: Weipin Tsai An in-person seminar by Dr Weipin Tsai (Royal Holloway, University of London), titled 'The Making of China’s Post Office: Sovereignty, Modernization, & the Connection of a Nation'. Room LG.06 40 George Square University of Edinburgh EH8 9JX Find the venue: 40 George Square
Asian Studies Seminar Series: Weipin Tsai In brief Date - 25 February 2026Venue - Room LG.06, 40 George SquareSpeaker - Dr Weipin Tsai (Royal Holloway, University of London)Title - The Making of China’s Post Office: Sovereignty, Modernization, & the Connection of a Nation About the event'The Making of China’s Post Office' traces the origins and early development of the country’s modern postal system. Sweeping in perspective, it goes beyond the bounds of institutional history to explore the political manoeuvrings, economic imperatives, and societal pressures both inhibiting and driving forward postal development. Although its prime mover was Robert Hart, Inspector General of the Chinese Maritime Customs Service, the wider cast of characters includes foreign and native staff, Qing officials, local administrations, commercial interests, and foreign governments.Drawing extensively on archival material from the Second Historical Archives of China in Nanjing, the Tianjin Municipal Archives, and the Archive of Queen’s University Belfast, Weipin Tsai contextualises the making of the post office within the country’s long and contested path of modernisation, bringing Chinese voices to the fore.Tsai illustrates the extent to which local agency shaped the design and development of the service as it expanded from experimental coastal operation into China’s interior and on to its border periphery, the first nationwide modernisation project to directly impact people’s daily lives. Ultimately, the grand spatial reach of the Post Office carried significant symbolic meaning in relation to sovereignty for the Qing government and for later Republican administrations.About the speakerWeipin Tsai is a historian of modern China. Based at Royal Holloway, University of London, her principal interests are China’s and Taiwan’s engagement in globalization from the 19th century onwards, in particular knowledge exchange, trade networks, and print culture in the 19th and the first half of the 20th centuries. Her latest monograph is 'The Making of China’s Post Office: Sovereignty, Modernization, and the Connection of a Nation' (Harvard University Asia Center, 2024). She is currently working on the history of economic botany in East Asia in imperial contexts.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 Feb 25 2026 16.10 - 18.00 Asian Studies Seminar Series: Weipin Tsai An in-person seminar by Dr Weipin Tsai (Royal Holloway, University of London), titled 'The Making of China’s Post Office: Sovereignty, Modernization, & the Connection of a Nation'. Room LG.06 40 George Square University of Edinburgh EH8 9JX Find the venue: 40 George Square
Feb 25 2026 16.10 - 18.00 Asian Studies Seminar Series: Weipin Tsai An in-person seminar by Dr Weipin Tsai (Royal Holloway, University of London), titled 'The Making of China’s Post Office: Sovereignty, Modernization, & the Connection of a Nation'.
