Speaker Bio

Huang Chih-Yen Debby obtained her Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania after receiving her BA and MA degrees at National Taiwan University. She is currently a NSTC Research Scholar at Academia Sinica, where she serves as principal investigator of a research project funded by the National Science and Technology Council, titled Empire of Pleasure: The Art of Governing and Being Governed in Eighth-Century China. Her research lies at the intersection of institutional, cultural, and gender history in medieval China, with a focus on gender relations, public performance of emotion, and the ways institutions both enable and constrain action while also generating political and social capital. She is the author of Princess Politics: A Gendered Investigation into the Political History of Early Medieval China (2013, in Chinese; simplified Chinese edition forthcoming) and has published widely in peer-reviewed journals and edited volumes. Her recent article on the transcultural reception of a Buddhist tale, accepted by the Bulletin of the Institute of History and Philology (2026, in Chinese). She is currently completing More Than Friends: Gender, Space, and the Making of Intimacy in Medieval China, 3rd–7th Centuries, a monograph that reconstructs how elites negotiated intimacy, trust, and social distance at the moment of first encounter with their friends’ relatives, revealing an underlying emotional order that shaped early medieval sociability.

Recapping the Academic Seminar “Ruling with Joy: Emperor Xuanzong and the Political Epistemology of Pleasure in Eighth-Century China” on 27 February 2026

Dr. HUANG Chih-Yen Debby of the Institute of History and Philology, Academia Sinica, delivered a lecture entitled “Ruling with Joy: Emperor Xuanzong and the Political Epistemology of Pleasure in Eighth-Century China.” In this talk, Dr. HUANG presented a fresh reinterpretation of Emperor Xuanzong’s (r. 712–756) promotion of state-sponsored banquets and scenic outings by situating pleasure within the broader framework of political legitimacy and governance strategies.

Dr. HUANG outlined the multifaceted historical image of Emperor Xuanzong. Celebrated for his aesthetic sensibilities, musical talent, and strong relationships with military leaders, Xuanzong presided over the cultural and economic flourishing of the Kaiyuan era. However, later historiography often associates the Tang Dynasty’s decline with his alleged extravagance and self-indulgence. Challenging this conventional narrative, Dr. HUANG argued that Xuanzong strategically deployed pleasure as a concrete instrument of rule—fostering loyalty among officials, embodying the prosperity of his governance, and manifesting the ideal of “Great Peace.” This approach drew upon principles of seasonal governance, Daoist notions of simplicity and non-action, and the belief that ease of rule generated wealth, communal enjoyment, and overall harmony. In this framework, pleasure signified effective governance rather than moral failing.

A central case study concerns the grand state-sponsored banquet of 730 at Xingqing Palace. Funded by the imperial treasury, the event brought together close court officials, members of the imperial clan, and representatives of other polities. From a palace tower, Xuanzong observed participants drinking and performing ritualized dances. Dr. HUANG noted that the banquet served not only to reinforce bonds of loyalty and solidarity but also to synchronize the ruler and his inner circle through shared corporeal participation.

Dr. HUANG concluded that Xuanzong fundamentally reshaped the political discourse surrounding pleasure. By reframing pleasure as a legitimate and even necessary component of governance—distinct from the Han Confucian ethic of restraint—he distanced it from associations with moral danger and divine retribution. Following the An Lushan Rebellion, these practices and ideas were further institutionalized in administrative knowledge systems, marking a significant transformation in medieval Chinese political culture. The political order thus shifted from an ethos of desire suppression to one that strategically mobilized collective pleasure to strengthen group cohesion and visibly affirm dynastic legitimacy.