Cold War Literary Culture in Malaya through Sinophone Periodicals
Talks in Chinese Humanities Series
Join us for a talk by Dr Ying Xin SHOW to demonstrate how literary magazines shaped the cultural and intellectual fabric of Sinophone Malaya
Friday, 30 May, 12 - 1pm AEST, online
The postwar period was a transformative era for Malaya, characterised by dynamic cultural, political, and social shifts across colonial and postcolonial developments. Amid these changes, literary magazines emerged as crucial platforms for articulating aspirations, struggles, and evolving identities. Situated within the polarised landscape of the Cold War and the Malayan Emergency, these magazines facilitated a vibrant interplay between literature, politics, and social change, amplifying the voices of young, often non-elite writers who grappled with questions of identity, decolonisation, and cultural renewal.
Beyond their textual contributions, the material and visual dimensions of these magazines enriched their cultural significance. As sites of labour, creativity, and community-building, they fostered networks of literary-minded individuals across Malaya and beyond. Despite their ephemeral nature, these periodicals left a lasting imprint on the history of Mahua (Malaysian Chinese) literature.
This talk will explore these rich yet understudied archives, demonstrating how literary magazines shaped the cultural and intellectual fabric of Sinophone Malaya from the 1940s to the 1960s.
About the speaker
Dr Ying Xin SHOW is Senior Lecturer in the School of Culture, History and Language, College of Asia and the Pacific at the Australian National University and Deputy Director of the ANU Malaysia Institute. Her works explore the history and culture of migration, decolonization and the impact of the Cold War on Asian societies through literature and arts. She co-edited (with Ngoi Guat Peng) Revisiting Malaya: Uncovering Historical and Political Thoughts in Nusantara and authored the Chinese translation of Alfian Sa’at’s short story collection Malay Sketches. She currently holds an Australian Research Council Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (DECRA).
"Talks in Chinese Humanities" is co-presented by the China Studies Centre, the Discipline of Chinese Studies, the Australian Society for Asian Humanities and the Sydney Southeast Asia Centre at the University of Sydney.