Tenured Associate Professor and PhD Supervisor

Email: jiayan@tsinghua.edu.cn

Research Interests: Area studies with a focus on India and South Asia; Indian languages and literatures; China–India literary relations; Religious Cultures of India.

2015–2019  PhD in Literature, Culture and Postcolonial Studies, SOAS University of London

2011–2015  MA in Indian Languages and Literatures, Peking University

2007–2011  BA in Hindi, Peking University

2008–2009  Visiting student, University of Delhi (government-sponsored study abroad)

October 2026–present  Tenured Associate Professor, Institute for International and Area Studies, Tsinghua University

February 2025–October 2026  Tenured Associate Professor, Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures, Tsinghua University

August 2019–February 2025  Assistant Professor, Department of South Asian Studies, School of Foreign Languages, Peking University

Undergraduate courses (including previously taught): Hindi I–IV; Indian Religions; Selected Readings of Indian English Newspapers and Periodicals.

Postgraduate courses (including previously taught): Studies of Indian Literature; Studies of Indian Religions; Close Reading of Hindi Literary Classics; Indian English Literature.

Journal Articles and Book Chapters

1. JIA Yan, “Middlebrowing Lu Xun: Para-literary Translation and the Making of the Hindi Magazine Sārikā”, Perspectives: Studies in Translation Theory and Practice (SSCI & AHCI), forthcoming, 2026.

2. JIA Yan, “The Intermedialities of Indian ‘Parallel Cinema’: Literary Connections in Mani Kaul’s Filmmaking”, World Cinema (CSSCI), no. 5, 2026. (Chinese)

3. JIA Yan and HE Yang, “Hindu Pilgrimage Traditions and the Practices of Yatra in Modern and Contemporary Indian Politics”, World Religious Cultures (CSSCI), no. 4, 2026. (Chinese)

4. JIANG Jingkui and JIA Yan, “Constructing an Autonomous Knowledge System for China’s South Asian Studies from the Perspective of Mutual Learning among Civilisations”, South and Southeast Asian Studies, no. 3, 2026. (Chinese)

5. JIANG Jingkui and JIA Yan, “Constructing an Autonomous Knowledge System for Chinese Buddhism through the Lens of Mutual Learning between Chinese and Indian Civilisations”, South and Southeast Asian Studies, no. 2, 2026. (Chinese)

6. JIANG Jingkui and JIA Yan, “Gangrenboqi Culture and Its Influences”, South and Southeast Asian Studies, no. 6, 2025. Reprinted in full in Cultural Studies, Renmin University of China’s Replicated Journals, no. 7, 2026. (Chinese)

7. JIA Yan, “From Anti-Imperialism to Anti-Fascism: The Transnational Circulation and Indian Adaptation of Roar China!”, Lu Xun Studies Monthly (CSSCI), no. 10, 2025. (Chinese)

8. JIA Yan, “Anti-Fascist Literature and a Reinterpretation of ‘World Literature’: India as a Case Study”, Comparative Literature in China (CSSCI), no. 4, 2025. (Chinese)

9. “Third-world Literary World-making: Local Internationalist Writings in the “People’s Theatre” of India”, Cultural Studies and Literary Theory, 2025(1). (CSSCI; in Chinese)

10. “‘Translation Field’ in Polyphonic Harmany: Multiple Subjects and Their Practices in the Hindi Translation of Chinese Literature (1978-1995)”, International Comparative Literature, 2025(1). (in Chinese)

11. “A Spatial Interpretation of the ‘Modernity’ in Mohan Rakesh’s Ashadh ka Ek Din”, Foreign Languages Teaching, 2024(6). (CSSCI; in Chinese)

12. The Intertextualities of Homeplace Writing in Sarveshwar Dayal Saxena’s “Gaon ka Sapera” and Lu Xun’s “Shexi”, Foreign Literature Studies, 2024(3). (CSSCI; in Chinese)

13. “The Commentaries on Chinese Literature in 1950s India”, Fudan Forum on Foreign Languages and Literature, 2024(3). (CSSCI; in Chinese)

14. “Chinese Voices at the Delhi Asian Writers’ Conference: A Commented Translation of New Age’ s Exclusive Interview with Mao Dun”, South Asian Review, 2024(1). (in Chinese)

15. “‘Eastern Literature’ as Happenstance? Re-reading Indian Literature in 1980s Chinese Magazines, Journal of World Literature, 2023(2). (Scopus; in English; awarded the position of runner-up of the 2024 Martha Cheung Award for Best English Article in Translation Studies by an Early Career Scholar)

16. “Writing Friendship: The Fraternal Travelogue and China-India Cultural Diplomacy in the 1950s”, in The Form of Ideology and the Ideology of Form: Cold War, Decolonization and Third World Print Cultures, eds. Francesca Orsini, Neelam Srivastava and Laetitia Zecchini, Cambridge, UK: Open Book Publishers, 2022. (in English)

17. “The Cold War, Afro-Asian Writers’ Conference, and An Analysis of Indian Writers’ ‘Anti-anticolonial’ Stance”, South and Southeast Asian Studies, 2021(6). (in Chinese)

18. “Reappraising the ‘Indian value’ of Xuanzang’s Journey to the West: A Study of Datang Xiyu Ji and Xuanzang’s Biographies in Hindi”, Journal of Chinese Language and Literature, 2021(1). (CSSCI; in Chinese)

19. “Cultural Bandung or Writerly Cold War? Revisiting the 1956 Asian Writers’ Conference from an India-China Perspective”, in The Cultural Cold War and the Global South: Sites of Contest and Communitas, eds. Kerry Bystrom, Monica Popescu and Katherine Zien. New York: Routledge, 2021. (in English; a part of “Routledge Studies in Cultures of the Global Cold War”)

20. “Subterranean Translation: The Absent Presence of Shen Congwen in K.M. Panikkar’s ‘Modern Chinese Stories’”, World Literature Studies, 2020(1). (A&HCI, Scopus; in English)

21. Making a World of Literary Relations: The Representation of Indian Literature in the Chinese Journal Yiwen/Shijie wenxue, 1953-1962”, in World Literature in Motion: Institution, Recognition, Location, eds. Flair Donglai Shi and Gareth Guangming Tan, Ibidem Press, 2020. (in English)

22. “‘Bharat Mata’ and Nationalist Imaginations of India”, South and Southeast Asian Studies, 2020(3). (in Chinese; cited 17 times)

23. “From Diversity to Oneness: The Changing Contour of ‘India’ as A Concept”, World Affairs, 2020(21). (second author; in Chinese)

24. “Comparative Studies of Chinese and Indian Literatures”, Chinese Social Sciences Today, October 20, 2020. (second author; in Chinese)

25. “Trans-Asian Popular Aesthetics: The Reception of Hindi Popular Fiction in 1980s China”, Journal of World Literature, 2019(4). (Scopus; in English; awarded the position of runner-up of the 2021 Martha Cheung Award for Best English Article in Translation Studies by an Early Career Scholar)

26. “‘Performing’ Anti-Fascist Alliances: Cultural Borrowing and Representation of China in the Practices of Indian People’s Theatre Association”, Journal of Chinese Language and Literature, 2019(1). (CSSCI; in Chinese)

27. “Asia’s Cultural Choice during the Cold War: The 1956 Asian Writers’ Conference in Delhi and Its Historical Significance”, Collected Writings of Asia-Pacific Studies (Vol.15), Peking University Press, 2019. (in Chinese)

28. “The History of the Production of India-Related Knowledge in Post-1950 China”, History Compass, 2018(4). (corresponding author; ESCI; in English)

29. “Prioritizing Hindi: The Changing Linguistic Structure in India”, World Affairs, 2018(1). (in Chinese; cited 21 times)

30. “Translation and Transmission: The Indian ‘Afterlives’ of Lu Xun”, Lu Xun Studies Monthly, 2017(11). (first author; CSSCI; in Chinese)

31. “Language Situations and Policies of India”, Journal of Eastern Languages and Cultures (Vol.36), World Publishing Corporation, 2017. (in Chinese)

32. “‘Bollywood’ Sweeps the World”, World Affairs, 2017(5). (second author; in Chinese)

33. “The Translation and Reception of Modern Chinese Literature in 1950s India: A Preliminary Study”, Journal of Eastern Languages and Cultures (Vol.35), World Publishing Corporation, 2016. (in Chinese)

34. “Modern Hindi Playwright Ramkumar Verma and His One-act Plays”, Journal of Eastern Languages and Cultures (Vol.34), World Publishing Corporation, 2015. (in Chinese)

35. “The ‘Bhramar Geet’ of Sursagar”, Peking University Journal of South and Southeast Asian Studies (Vol.2), China Youth Press, 2014. (in Chinese)

36. “An Investigation of Kalidasa’s Religious Belief through Meghaduta”, Journal of Eastern Languages and Cultures (Vol.33), World Publishing Corporation, 2014. (in Chinese)

Book Reviews, Essays and Interviews

1. JIA Yan, review of States of Disconnect: The China–India Literary Relation in the Twentieth Century by Adhira Mangalagiri, The Journal of Asian Studies (SSCI & AHCI), no. 1, 2026.

2. JIA Yan, “Contemporary Indian Literature: An ‘Elephant’ That Resists Easy Categorisation”, Literary Gazette (文艺报), 25 October 2024, p. 4. First published on China Writers’ Website under the title “‘Elephant’ or ‘Elephantine Darkness’: What Kind of Contemporary Indian Literature Do We Need?” (Chinese)

3. JIA Yan (first author), “An Interview with Geetanjali Shree, Hindi-language Writer and Winner of the 2022 International Booker Prize”, South Asian Studies (南亚学), vol. 1, Encyclopedia of China Publishing House, 2023. (Chinese)

4. JIA Yan (second author), “Cultural India: A Different Spiritual World”, Globe Magazine (环球), Xinhua News Agency, no. 15, 2020. The article received nearly 1.5 million views on the Globe app. (Chinese)

Textbook

JIA Yan (associate editor), Standard Hindi 1–6, vol. 2. Encyclopedia of China Publishing House, 2020. (Chinese)

Translations

1. Deepdan: Select One-act Plays of Ramkumar Verma (from Hindi to Chinese), China Encyclopedia Publishing House, 2023.

2. Sursagar: Select Poems of Surdas in Three Volumes (from Brajbhasha to Chinese), China Encyclopedia Publishing House, 2020. (Co-translator)

3. India and China by P.C. Bagchi (from English to Chinese), China Encyclopedia Publishing House, 2018. (Co-translator)

4. “Nine Poems by Kunwar Narain” (from Hindi to Chinese), Peking University Journal of South and Southeast Asian Studies (Vol.3), China Encyclopedia Publishing House, 2020.

Edited Volumes

1. Peking University Journal of South and Southeast Asian Studies (Vol.5), China Encyclopedia Publishing House, 2025, forthcoming. (Executive Associate Editor, in charge of calling for papers, editing, and proofreading; in Chinese)

2. Encyclopedia of China-India Cultural Contacts, China Encyclopedia Publishing House, 2015. (Authored 15 Chinese entries, edited 110 Chinese entries written by others, translated 13 English entries, and edited 80 English entries in translation; in Chinese)

Principal Investigator

1. National Social Science Fund of China, Young Scholars Project: “‘Chinese Agencies’ in the Progressive Literary Movement of India” (awarded 2021; ongoing).

2. Academic Community for International Cultural Exchanges Fund: “The Current State Chinese Culture in India” (awarded 2021; completed).

3. Peking University Fund for Undergraduate Teaching Reform on the course “Indian Religions” (awarded 2024; completed).

4. Peking University Fund for Disciplinary Construction: “Conceptions and Practices of ‘World Literature’ in India” (awarded 2023; completed).

5. Peking University Humanities and Social Sciences Talent Start-up Project: “Post-independence Hindi Drama” (awarded 2021; completed).

Project Participant

1. Major Project of the National Social Science Fund of China: “Compilation of Foundational Documents, Plural Genealogies and Conceptual Reconstructions of World Literature” (awarded 2024; ongoing).

2. National Publication Fund / 13th Five-Year Plan National Key Publication Planning Project: “Translation and Publication of Chinese and Indian Classics and Contemporary Works” (awarded 2015; completed).

3. Major cultural exchange project between the governments of China and India: “Encyclopaedia of China–India Cultural Exchanges” (awarded 2012; completed).

4. Chinese Academic Translation Project of the National Social Science Fund: Hindi edition of History of Chinese Poetry Criticism (awarded 2023; ongoing).

5. Major Project of the Ministry of Education in Philosophy and Social Sciences: “Chinese Discourse and Images of China in Overseas Criticism of Chinese Literature since the Twentieth Century” (awarded 2021; ongoing).

6. Major Project of Key Research Bases for Humanities and Social Sciences in Higher Education: “Oriental Literature and Mutual Learning among Civilisations: A Study from the Perspective of Literary Modernisation” (awarded 2022; ongoing).

7. Special Project of the Ministry of Education: “The Development of Less Commonly Taught Foreign Languages in China” (awarded 2021; completed).

8. Tsinghua University “Double-High” Plan for Humanities Development: “Tibetan Culture in China and the Chinese National Community through Mutual Learning between Chinese and Indian Civilisations” (awarded 2025; ongoing).

9. Tsinghua University Independent Research Plan, Humanities Special Project: “Building an Independent Chinese Discourse System through Mutual Learning between Chinese and Indian Civilisations” (awarded 2025; ongoing).

1. Executive Council Member, Chinese Association for South Asian Studies.

2. Deputy Director, South Asian Languages Branch, Chinese Association for South Asian Studies.

3. Deputy Secretary-General, Subcommittee on Less Commonly Taught Languages, Foreign Language Teaching Steering Committee of the Ministry of Education.

4. Director, Editorial Office of South Asian Review.

5. Assistant, “Jiang Jingkui Column”, South and Southeast Asian Studies.

6. Associate Editor, Tsinghua Foreign Languages and Literatures.

7. Associate Editor, “Indian Culture and Thought” book series, The Commercial Press.

8. Associate Editor, “China and the World: Area Studies” and “Indian Studies” book series, Encyclopedia of China Publishing House.

9. Editorial Board Member, Literature Compass (AHCI-indexed journal).

10. Executive Editor, “South Asia Observer” (南亚观察) WeChat account.

1. 2026: Best Paper(Faculty Category), 2026 Annual Conference of the South Asian Languages Branch, Chinese Association for South Asian Studies, for “Middlebrowing Lu Xun: Para-literary Translation and the Making of the Hindi Magazine Sārikā”.

2. 2025: The “Translation and Publication of Chinese and Indian Classics and Contemporary Works” project, in which he participated as a principal translator, received the Book Award of the 11th China Publishing Group Publishing Award.

3. 2024: Second Prize for Best Paper, Fifth Annual Conference of the Comparative Literature and Intercultural Studies Association of the China Association for Foreign Literary Studies and the Third Deans’/Editors’ Forum, for “Making Worlds through Third World Literature: Local Internationalist Writing in Indian People’s Theatre”.

4. 2024 and 2021: Runner-up in the Martha Cheung Award for Best English Article in Translation Studies by an Early Career Scholar for “‘Eastern Literature’ as Happenstance? Re-reading Indian Literature in 1980s [Chinese magazines]” and “Trans-Asian Popular Aesthetics: The Reception of Hindi Popular Fiction in 1980s China”, respectively.

5. 2023: Supervised undergraduate dissertation received the Beijing Municipal Universities’ Outstanding Undergraduate Graduation Project (Thesis) Award and Peking University Outstanding Undergraduate Thesis Award.

6. 2023: Shuren College Teaching Award, Peking University.

7. 2022: Second Prize, Annual Outstanding Paper Award, Intercultural Communication Research Committee of the Translators Association of China, for “Cultural Bandung or Writerly Cold War? Revisiting the 1956 Asian Writers’ Conference from an India–China Perspective”.

8. 2022: An undergraduate research paper supervised by her won the Grand Prize in the 30th “Challenge Cup” Competition at Peking University.

9. 2021: Outstanding Class Adviser, Peking University, 2020–2021 academic year.

10. 2021: Best Presentation Award, South Asia Sub-forum, Second Tsinghua Area Studies Forum.

11. 2017: First Prize (Translated Works), Fourth Award for Outstanding Achievements in Less Commonly Taught Foreign Languages in China, for the co-translated works Sūrsāgar (three volumes) and India and China: A Thousand Years of Cultural Relations.