Xiangjun (Sean) Feng

I am a literary and cultural historian of China and the Sinophone world. My research explores the dynamics between literary culture, media infrastructures, and epistemic changes across the premodern-modern divide as well as various national and linguistic boundaries. My book manuscript, Secret Scroll: Occult Knowledge in China’s Age of Print, untangles what I call “the paradox of secrecy in the age of print” by studying a wide range of “secret scrolls”—books claiming the revelation of occult knowledge—that were produced in China’s early modern and modern periods. Some of the ideas and materials also appear in my novel John Fryer’s Secret Scroll. If you read Chinese and like mystery, please check it out—it’s in the public domain. I am also interested in sound studies and have published articles on such topics as rhythm, noise, and Chinese sounds in Southeast Asia. With supports from SSHRC, ACLS, and Luce Foundation, I am launching a new project about radio in modern China. Please check out the website Sinophone Radio Studies for more details.