Tu Haowen 凃皓文

Education:
B.A., Southwest University
M.A., National University of Singapore

Research interests:
Classical Chinese Poetry (from Ming and Qing Dynasty to the 20th Century); Sinophone Classicism; Women Literature from Ming to Qing Dynasty

Self-Introduction:
I come from Chongqing in southwest China, and have spent much of my “twenties” in Singapore. My earlier research centered on women’s literature of the Ming and Qing dynasties; I now work across modern Chinese literature, classical-style poetry, and Sinophone literature. I am especially interested in how classical poetry responds to war, migration, and displacement, and how new emotional and cultural connections take shape as people move across places. More recently, I have also been exploring the echoes and transformations of classical traditions in contemporary popular culture and digital media.

Thesis Advisor: Prof Lam Lap

Thesis Title: Classical-Style Poetry in China’s Wartime Hinterland during the Second Sino-Japanese War, 1937–1945 (tentative)

Thesis Research Area:
My research explores how individuals living outside Japanese-occupied territories used classical-style poetry to navigate the modern experience of war during the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945). Themes of strategic bombing, forced migration, and encounters with unfamiliar landscapes permeate these poems, reflecting the profound impact of wartime displacement. Through this body of work, I examine how modern warfare transformed human perception and affect, and how individuals sought resonance and human connection amid trauma and violence. More broadly, my project investigates why an ancient literary tradition remained a powerful vehicle for articulating radically new experiences in an era of rapid modernization.