Yesterday afternoon, history came alive before a group of about 20 faculty and students as Eugenia Lean discussed a controversial murder case that took place in China during the 1930s.
Lean, assistant history professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, spoke in College Hall about the topic of her dissertation,"The Case of Shi Jianqiao: Gender Passion and Law." In her research, Lean considered the influence that filial piety -- loyalty to one's father -- and Confucianism asserted over judicial proceedings in 1930s China.
The specific court case Lean studied and spoke about involved a young woman, Shi Jianqiao, who was accused of murdering a Chinese military leader who had killed her father a few years before. The defendant publicized her crime as a justifiable act of revenge, attracting great public scrutiny while her case ultimately moved to the supreme court of China in 1936.
The courtroom melodrama became a media frenzy, not only because the public was interested in reading about a female murderer, but also because the defense's argument referred to Confucianism and filial piety, aspects that had not been integral parts of Chinese culture for decades.
The Chinese court agreed with the defense's notion of
"righteous anger" and granted leniency.
"It was an attempt to promote the authority of the law by displaying an act of judicial compassion," Lean said.
Women's Studies visiting scholar Taeyoon Ahn said she enjoyed Lean's talk.
The event "was interesting because my work is about this period of women's history. I came here to compare women from different cultures in modern times," she said.
College of General Studies student Cheri Love helped coordinate the seminar and was pleased that students and faculty alike were able to learn about East Asian culture.
"An interesting thing about collaborations is that we attract faculty from different fields... and it's great to get an East Asian History background," she said.
Lean, who is fluent in Chinese, said that she chose to investigate the Jinqiao case because it dealt with issues of gender and culture in China.
"I've always been very interested in women's history, especially pop culture and mass culture in modern China. So as I looked through old newspapers, I came across this trial and thought it was a rare case," she said.
In researching her dissertation, Lean spent about two years in China reading press accounts of the trial, as well as the published verdicts. She plans to release a book soon.
History Professor Matthew Sommer, who attended the University of California with Lean, raved about his colleague. "She is a brilliant up-and-coming star in this field and we will be seeing more of her... this is just a sneak preview."
The East Asian Humanities Colloquium, the Center for East Asian Studies and the History Department all contributed to bringing Lean to Penn.
