Wang Mengheng 王孟衡

Education:
B.A., Illinois Wesleyan University
M.A., The University of Chicago

Research interests:
Late Imperial Chinese History; Social and Legal History; Rumor and Collective Fear; Marginalized Groups

Self-Introduction:
An amateur enthusiast of Cthulhu fiction whose hobby has led to all sorts of strange research interests.

Thesis Advisor: Dr Chan Ying-kit; Prof Koh Khee Heong

Thesis Title: Rumor-Induced Fear of Marginalized Groups: A Case Study of the Dissemination Mechanisms, Textual Narrative, and Social Consequences of Caisheng Zhege Rumors in Qing-Contemporary China (tentative)

Thesis Research Area:
My research looks at Caisheng Zhege cases to explore how fear-driven rumors have spread from the Qing dynasty to the present. I compare legal cases and laws, local records, literati writings, newspapers, and modern media to see why the public's imagined suspects can differ from those actually involved in the crimes, how the same kinds of fear keep being retold and reshaped across different media, and what these patterns reveal about the history of mentalities.