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Renowned art and archaeology scholar Professor Dame Jessica Rawson appointed CUHK’s Distinguished Visiting Professor
Three public lectures explore how the Loess Plateau nurtured Chinese civilisation
With the generous support of the Bei Shan Tang Foundation, the Department of Fine Arts and the Institute of Chinese Studies at The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) invited internationally renowned authority on Chinese art and archaeology Professor Dame Jessica Rawson to serve as this year’s Distinguished Visiting Professor. From 25 January to 7 February 2026, she visited CUHK and delivered three public lectures for the “Chinese Art History Lecture Series 2026”, an important part of the University’s Chinese Art Visiting Scholar Programme. During her stay, she also met with postgraduate students and staff members from the Department of Fine Arts, and visited the Art Museum.
Having devoted her career to the study of Chinese art and culture, Professor Rawson specialises in bronzes, jades, ornamental systems and burial practices. She worked for more than two decades at the British Museum, later becoming Pro-Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford and Warden of Merton College. She has curated numerous major exhibitions and earned multiple international honours. She is currently an Honorary Research Associate in the School of Archaeology at the University of Oxford.
Cultural exchange and the development of civilisation on the Loess Plateau
This year’s lecture series centred on the theme “Loess and Civilisation”. Professor Rawson’s lectures, in January and February, included “China’s Unique Architecture: A New View from Recent Archaeological Discoveries”, “Jade and Gold: Chinese and Eurasian Cultures Compared” and “The Dancing Horses of the Tang Dynasty (618-906) and their Predecessors”. The vast Loess Plateau – with its thick, wind-deposited soils – has profoundly shaped China’s history of cultural and material exchange for thousands of years. Loess provided the foundation for monumental architecture, supported agricultural development, influenced burial customs and artistic traditions, and facilitated the spread of jade, gold and fine horses across regions.
The series attracted scholars in history and archaeology, as well as enthusiastic participation from students and the general public, with a combined online and on-site attendance of over 76,000.
Uncovering a history shaped by rammed earth
At the first lecture on 29 January CUHK Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Dennis Lo Yuk-ming along with Professor Maggie Wan Chui-ki, Head of the Graduation Division of Fine Arts and Associate Professor in the Department of Fine Arts, delivered welcome remarks. Professor Lo said: “This year marks the fifth edition of the Chinese Art History Lecture Series, a milestone we are proud to celebrate. The series echoes CUHK’s unique position as a leading university in China research and further strengthens our collaborations with local museums.”
In her lecture, Professor Rawson highlighted how architectural platforms in ancient China have long been overlooked in scholarship. These low yet expansive raised platforms built on rammed earth in the loess region nurtured an architectural culture of building on natural platforms, which in turn enabled the widespread development of wooden architecture across East Asia, with an enormous impact on the world.
Echoes of civilisations across the Silk Roads
The second and third lectures took place on 31 January and 4 February. At the former, organised by CUHK’s Department of Fine Arts and the Hong Kong Palace Museum, Professor Rawson discussed how the nomadic peoples of Central Asia played a pivotal role in cultural exchange between East and West, the mutual transmission of metalworking and jade carving techniques, and the evolution and acceptance of bronze weapons, gold artefacts and inscriptions across different cultures and religions. In the third lecture, she explored the introduction of horses into China, the environmental challenges of horse rearing in the Central Plains, the development of riding and husbandry technologies, and the emergence of a distinctive “gift economy” involving horses during the Shang (c.1600-1046 BC), Zhou (c.1046-256 BC) and Tang (618-907) dynasties. She also discussed the cultural significance and symbolism of dancing horses in Chinese civilisation.
For Professor Rawson’s biography and summaries of the three lectures, please refer to the attachments.
Renowned art and archaeology scholar Professor Dame Jessica Rawson, CUHK’s Distinguished Visiting Professor, visits the Department of Fine Arts at CUHK, exchanging views with postgraduate students on the study of Chinese art history.
Professor Rawson joins faculty members and students of the CUHK Department of Fine Arts and staff members from the Art Museum.
CUHK Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Dennis Lo presents Professor Rawson with a calligraphy work that features a Chinese translation of the title of her renowned work Life and Afterlife in Ancient China.
Professor Dame Jessica Rawson (centre), CUHK Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Dennis Lo Yuk-ming (7th right), CUHK Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Research) Professor Sham Mai-har (6th right), Ms Lillian Kiang, CEO of the Bei Shan Tang Foundation (7th left), Professor Max Tang Xiaobing, Dean of the Faculty of Arts (5th right), and Professor Maggie Wan Chui-ki from the Department of Fine Arts (6th left), with guests.
After the first lecture, Professor Rawson engages with the audience during a lively Q&A session.
Professor Rawson presents “Jade and Gold: Chinese and Eurasian Cultures Compared”, the second lecture of CUHK’s “Chinese Art History Lecture Series 2026”, at the Hong Kong Palace Museum.
After the second lecture, Professor Rawson joins Dr Daisy Wang, Deputy Director of the Hong Kong Palace Museum, for a dialogue on East-West cultural exchange.
After the second lecture, Professor Dame Jessica Rawson (centre), CEO of the Bei Shan Tang Foundation, Ms Lillian Kiang (2nd right) and Professor Maggie Wan (2nd left) are presented with souvenirs by Director of the Hong Kong Palace Museum Dr Louis Ng (1st left) and Deputy Director of the Hong Kong Palace Museum Dr Daisy Wang (1st right).
In the third lecture, Professor Rawson discusses the introduction of horses into China and the historical development of horse husbandry.
Executive Associate Director of CUHK’s Institute of Chinese Studies Professor Lai Chi-tim interacts with Professor Rawson during the Q&A session after the third lecture.
