Dr WU, Tsz Wing Giovanna    胡梓穎 博士
Assistant Professor
Department of Literature and Cultural Studies
Contact
ORCiD
0000-0002-4676-4538
Phone
(852) 2948 6764
Email
gtwwu@eduhk.hk
Address
10 Lo Ping Road, Tai Po, New Territories, Hong Kong
Website
https://pappl.eduhk.hk/rich/web/person.xhtml?pid=178528&name=WU, Tsz Wing Giovanna
SDGs
4 - Quality Education
5 - Gender Equality
10 - Reduced Inequality
Research Interests
  • 中國古典戲曲 Classical Chinese Opera
  • 制義與科舉文化 Formulated Exegesis and the Culture of Civil Service Examination
  • 中國古代文體學 Ancient Chinese Stylistics
  • 中國古典小說 Classical Chinese Fiction
  • 明清文學 Ming-Qing Literature
  • 中國傳記書寫 Chinese Biographical Writings

 

Teaching Interests
  • LIT7079 / LIT6035 文獻學與中文研究 Philology and Chinese Studies
  • LIT6077 中國戲曲史 History of Chinese Drama
  • LIT4025 中國文學及其他藝術 Chinese Literature and Other Arts
  • LIT3016 文學經典作品選讀 Selected Readings in Literary Classics
  • LIT3015 明清小說 Ming and Qing Fiction
  • LIT3013 專家詩 Works of Major Poets
  • LIT3012 戲劇與傳意 Drama and Communication
  • LIT3010 唐代傳奇 Tang Dynasty Tales
  • LIT2007 中國古代文學（一）：先秦至隋唐Classical Chinese Literature I: From Pre-Qin to Sui and Tang
  • LIT2006 中國古代文學（二）：宋至清Classical Chinese Literature II: From Song to Qing
  • CUS1002 中國文化概說 Introduction to Chinese Culture
External Appointments

Moderator, “Meet-the-Artists: A Dream Under the Southern Bough – Creating a Virtual World from Reality 藝人談：夢裡夢外說南柯,” Hong Kong Cultural Centre, Chinese Cultural Festival cum Chinese Opera Festival 2026, organised by Leisure and Cultural Services Department and Chinese Culture Promotion Office, HKSAR Government (31 July 2026) 

 

Moderator, “Meet-the-Artists: On the Development and Dissemination of Yu Opera – A Legacy from Luoyang, Henan 藝人談：「河洛傳芳‧情滿香江」──豫劇的發展與傳播,” Hong Kong Cultural Centre, Chinese Cultural Festival cum Chinese Opera Festival 2026, organised by Leisure and Cultural Services Department and Chinese Culture Promotion Office, HKSAR Government (16 July 2026) 

 

External Reviewer, Faculty Development Scheme (FDS), Research Grants Council (RGC), HKSAR Government (2026)

 

Visiting Research Fellow ( 客座研究員 ), Fuzhou Tang Xianzu International Research Center ( 撫州湯顯祖國際研究中心 ) ( 2016-2018 )

 

Conference Secretariat & External Member of Organizing Committee, "Between Old and New Values: International Conference on Transitions in Literature and Culture from Late Qing to Early Republican China.” Hong Kong: Organized by the Open University of Hong Kong (January 2015 - June 2016)

 

External Referee, Journal of Chinese Literary Studies (2014)


Personal Profile

Dr Giovanna Tsz Wing Wu specialises in Chinese literature of the sixteenth through early twentieth centuries. Her research interests lie at the intersection of classical Chinese opera and fiction, eight-legged essays, ancient Chinese stylistics, and the culture of imperial examination. She has presented her academic papers at conferences across the globe, including the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Germany, Bulgaria, Australia, Japan, and China. Her research articles have appeared in peer-reviewed journals, such as Chinese Studies, Tsing Hua Journal of Chinese Studies, Sino-humanitas, NTU Humanitas Taiwanica, Tang Xianzu Xuekan, Tang Xianzu Yanjiu. In 2016, Wu was appointed a Visiting Research Fellow at the Fuzhou Tang Xianzu International Research Centre in China.



Research Interests
  • 中國古典戲曲 Classical Chinese Opera
  • 制義與科舉文化 Formulated Exegesis and the Culture of Civil Service Examination
  • 中國古代文體學 Ancient Chinese Stylistics
  • 中國古典小說 Classical Chinese Fiction
  • 明清文學 Ming-Qing Literature
  • 中國傳記書寫 Chinese Biographical Writings

 

Teaching Interests
  • LIT7079 / LIT6035 文獻學與中文研究 Philology and Chinese Studies
  • LIT6077 中國戲曲史 History of Chinese Drama
  • LIT4025 中國文學及其他藝術 Chinese Literature and Other Arts
  • LIT3016 文學經典作品選讀 Selected Readings in Literary Classics
  • LIT3015 明清小說 Ming and Qing Fiction
  • LIT3013 專家詩 Works of Major Poets
  • LIT3012 戲劇與傳意 Drama and Communication
  • LIT3010 唐代傳奇 Tang Dynasty Tales
  • LIT2007 中國古代文學（一）：先秦至隋唐Classical Chinese Literature I: From Pre-Qin to Sui and Tang
  • LIT2006 中國古代文學（二）：宋至清Classical Chinese Literature II: From Song to Qing
  • CUS1002 中國文化概說 Introduction to Chinese Culture
External Appointments

Moderator, “Meet-the-Artists: A Dream Under the Southern Bough – Creating a Virtual World from Reality 藝人談：夢裡夢外說南柯,” Hong Kong Cultural Centre, Chinese Cultural Festival cum Chinese Opera Festival 2026, organised by Leisure and Cultural Services Department and Chinese Culture Promotion Office, HKSAR Government (31 July 2026) 

 

Moderator, “Meet-the-Artists: On the Development and Dissemination of Yu Opera – A Legacy from Luoyang, Henan 藝人談：「河洛傳芳‧情滿香江」──豫劇的發展與傳播,” Hong Kong Cultural Centre, Chinese Cultural Festival cum Chinese Opera Festival 2026, organised by Leisure and Cultural Services Department and Chinese Culture Promotion Office, HKSAR Government (16 July 2026) 

 

External Reviewer, Faculty Development Scheme (FDS), Research Grants Council (RGC), HKSAR Government (2026)

 

Visiting Research Fellow ( 客座研究員 ), Fuzhou Tang Xianzu International Research Center ( 撫州湯顯祖國際研究中心 ) ( 2016-2018 )

 

Conference Secretariat & External Member of Organizing Committee, "Between Old and New Values: International Conference on Transitions in Literature and Culture from Late Qing to Early Republican China.” Hong Kong: Organized by the Open University of Hong Kong (January 2015 - June 2016)

 

External Referee, Journal of Chinese Literary Studies (2014)


Research Outputs
Scholarly Books, Monographs and Chapters
Chapter in an edited book (author)
WU, Tsz Wing Giovanna (2018). The Endangered Genre: Re-considering the Significance of the Eight-legged Essay in the History of Chinese Literature. eds. Alex Alexiev et al., Current Issues in Contemporary Chinese and Oriental Studies (293-312). Sofia: Sofia University Press.
胡梓穎 (2017)。 〈《牡丹亭》與八股文 ───── 從王季重評點本論湯顯祖的士人品位〉。輯於撫州湯顯祖國際研究中心編， 《湯學聚珍：2016年中國 ‧ 撫州湯顯祖劇作展演暨國際高峰學術論壇論文選集》 (243-256)。上海: 上海古籍出版社。
胡梓穎 (2012)。 〈晚明滑稽仿作新視野 ──── 王思任《弈律》初探〉。輯於陳蒨編， 《香港亞洲學會第七屆年會研討會論文集》 (1251-1263)。香港: 香港樹仁大學當代中國研究中心。
胡梓穎 (2009)。 〈何須扇底看桃花 ────《桃花扇》之解讀與孔尚任罷官原由新探〉。輯於周建渝、張洪年、張雙慶編， 《重讀經典：中國傳統小說與戲曲的多重透視》 (939-978)。香港: 牛津大學出版社。

Journal Publications
Publication in refereed journal
胡梓穎 (2024)。 〈有情以終滅爲驗 ──── 湯顯祖制藝中的時間意識與《紫簫記》中的生命哲學〉。 《人文中國學報》，38，93-133。
胡梓穎 (2024)。 〈制藝的結尾：湯顯祖萬曆癸未會試制藝考論〉。 《清華學報》，第54卷第2期，307-346。 https://doi.org/10.6503/THJCS.202406_54(2).0003
胡梓穎、黃自鴻 (2017)。 〈被建構的文類────從「辨體」角度論傳記與「傳奇文」〉。 《臺大文史哲學報》，86，87-126。 https://doi.org/10.6258/bcla.2017.86.03
黃自鴻、胡梓穎 (2016)。 〈傳記與辨體觀：內部衝突的分類過程〉。 《漢學研究》，34(1)，95-122。
Publication in policy or professional journal
胡梓穎 (2025)。 〈儒家政治理念的再現 ──《玉茗堂書經講意》與湯顯祖的讀書策略〉。 《湯顯祖學刊》，Vol. 12 & 13，93-105。
胡梓穎 (2021)。 〈能於筆墨之外言所欲言者────湯顯祖嘉隆時期應試制藝研究〉。 《湯顯祖學刊》，Vol. 8 & 9，104-129。

Conference Papers
Other conference paper
Wu, Tsz Wing Giovanna (2026, September). The Eight-legged Essay and the Structural Design of Ruan Dacheng’s Experimental Chuanqi Drama, Spring Lantern Riddles. The 2026 British Association for Chinese Studies (BACS) Annual Conference, Lancaster University, Lancaster, The United Kingdom..
Wu, Tsz Wing Giovanna (2026, August). Subversion and Containment: The Rewriting of Song Dynasty History in Court Drama of the Ming and Qing Dynasties. the 10th World Association for Chinese Studies (WACS) Conference, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
Wu, Tsz Wing Giovanna (2026, March). Li Yu and Wu Bing: The Eight-Legged Essay and the Standardization of the All-in-One Structure of the Late Ming Chuanqi Drama. The 2026 Chinese Oral and Performing Literature (CHINOPERL) Conference, Vancouver, Canada.
Wu, Tsz Wing Giovanna (2025, December). From Tang Xianzu to Yuan Yuling: On the Eight-legged Essay and the Dual Spatial Structure in the Late Ming Chuanqi Drama. the Chinese Studies Association of Australia (CSAA) 19th Biennial Conference: China Within and Beyond: Perspectives on Change and Continuity, Melbourne, Australia.
胡梓穎 (2025，11)。 從「靖康之變」的書寫論清宮大戲《忠義璇圖》對《水滸》續書的收編。第八届「戲曲與俗文學」國際學術研討會暨中國俗文學學會2025年年會，中山大學，廣州，中國。
Wu, Tsz Wing Giovanna (2025, September). The Awareness of Time in Tang Xianzu’s Eight-Legged Essay and the Exploration of Life Philosophy in His ‘Four Dreams of Linchuan’. The 2025 British Association for Chinese Studies (BACS) Annual Conference, The University of Leicester, Leicester, The United Kingdom.
Wu, Tsz Wing Giovanna (2025, January). The Inner Palace Edition of Feng Tianming Sanbao Xia Xiyang and the Imagination of Great Ming in the Court Drama of the Ming Dynasty. Fourth Hawai’i International Conference on Chinese Studies (HICCS) Center for Chinese Studies, University of Hawaii at Monoa, Honolulu, The United States of America.
胡梓穎 (2024，10)。 〈從《療妒羹》到《補春天》──論十七世紀以來東亞劇壇上馮小青形象的嬗變〉。首屆粵港澳大灣區俗文學研討會暨青年學術論壇，廣州大學，廣州，中國。
胡梓穎 (2024，8)。 〈「藏雅」的藝術──湯顯祖制藝與傳奇定場白之關係初探〉。第七届「戲曲與俗文學」國際學術研討會，中山大學，廣州，中國。
WU, Tsz Wing Giovanna (2024, June). From Shuihu Houzhuan to Zhongyi Xuantu: On the Historical Reappearance of “Jingkang Incident” in the Qing Court Drama of the Qianlong Period. Faculty Conference - Hong Kong Convergence: (Re)connection: Communication, and Contact, Faculty of Arts, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
Wu, Tsz Wing Giovanna (2023, December). Tang Xianzu’s Eight-legged Essay and the Parallel Character Arrangement in his World of Chuanqi Drama. 2023 Biennial Conference of the Chinese Studies Association of Australia – “Studying Things Chinese: Challenges and Opportunities”, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.
胡梓穎 (2023，8)。 〈湯顯祖制藝及「臨川四夢」中的複調式人物安排〉。論文發表於「第六届『戲曲與俗文學』國際學術研討會暨中華戲劇學刊聯盟年會」，中山大學，廣州，中國。
Giovanna Tsz Wing Wu (2023, March). Portraits of the Loyal Officials in the Zhongyi Xuantu: The Reconstruction of the Relationship between Manchu Monarch and Han Officials during the Qianlong Period. The 2023 CHINOPERL Conference, Boston, The United States of America.
WU, Tsz Wing Giovanna (2022, August). "Inner Sage and Outer King”: The Portraits of Kings and Emperors in Tang Xianzu’s Eight-Legged Essay. 2022 European Association for Chinese Studies (EACS) Biennial Conference, Palacký University, Olomouc, Czech Republic.
WU, Tsz Wing Giovanna (2021, November). Flowery Words Picking from the Six Dynasties: The Lyricism of Tang Xianzu’s Eight-legged Essays. Chinese Studies Association of Australia (CSAA) 17th Biennial Conference: Changing China: Then and Now, Australian National University,Canberra, Australia.
Wu, Tsz Wing Giovanna (2021, August). Ending with the Disillusionment of Love: The Philosophy of Life in Tang Xianzu’s Eight-legged Essay and the Virtual Lives in The Legend of Purple Flute. 2021 European Association for Chinese Studies (EACS) Biennial Conference, Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany.
WU, Tsz Wing Giovanna (2019, July). Tang Xianzu and His Eight-legged Essay: a Re-account on the Great Dramatist of the Late Ming China. Chinese Studies Association of Australia (CSAA) 16th Biennial Conference: Engaging Chinese Scholarship: New Directions, New Challenges, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia.
WU, Tsz Wing Giovanna (2018, August). Hidden Voices Behind the Image of Lady Feng: ‘Peony Fever’ and East Asian Theatres of the Seventeenth Through Nineteenth Centuries. 2018 European Association for Chinese Studies (EACS) Biennial Conference, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, The United Kingdom.
WU, T. W. Giovanna (2017, December). The Endangered Genre: Re-considering the Significance of the Eight-legged Essay in the History of Chinese Literature. Paper presented at the 25th Anniversary Conference of the Chinese Studies Program in Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski" on the topic "Current Issues in Contemporary Chinese and Oriental Studies", Sofia University, Sofia, Bulgaria.
WU, Tsz Wing Giovanna (2017, July). The “Notorious” Eight-legged Essay: And Its Significance for Rewriting the History of Classical Chinese Literature. Chinese Studies Association of Australia 15th Biennial Conference - Chinese Values and Counter-Values: Past and Present, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia.
胡梓穎 (2016，9)。 〈《牡丹亭》與八股文────兼論湯顯祖與王思任的文學因緣〉。論文發表於「2016'中國撫州湯顯祖劇作展演國際高峰學術論壇」，撫州，中國。
胡梓穎 (2016，6)。 〈從《雪曇夢》到《魯男子》──── 論曾樸的自我觀照與清末民初文學轉型〉。論文發表於「推陳致新：清末民初文學文化轉折國際學術研討會」，香港公開大學， 香港，中國。
胡梓穎 (2016，4)。 〈崑劇的另類現代性 ────《牡丹亭》之流播與中外文化藝術對話〉。論文發表於「香港亞洲研究學會第十一屆研討會」，神戶大學， 神戶， 日本。

Creative and Literary Works, Consulting Reports and Case Studies
Authored play, poem, novel, story
胡梓穎 (2010)。 〈從爸爸說起〉。 《香港作家》，6 (20-21)。香港

All Other Outputs
Other outputs
胡梓穎 (2020)。 〈摘艷六朝──湯顯祖制藝與《紫簫記》的語言藝術〉，講座。中國香港: 香港中文大學中國語言及文學系舉辦。
胡梓穎 (2019)。 〈湯顯祖嘉隆時期應試制藝研究〉。《湯顯祖研究通訊》，10(3) : 5-6。
胡梓穎 (2018)。 〈孔尚任《小忽雷傳奇》與明末清初骨董文化〉，講座。香港: 香港教育大學文學及文化學系、「薪傳文社」合辦。
胡梓穎 (2017)。 〈八股文與明代文學──兼論重寫文學史的問題〉，講座。香港: 香港教育大學文學及文化學系、「薪傳文社」合辦。
胡梓穎 (2013)。 〈從晚清走進民國──論《孽海花》之修訂與曾樸小說觀念之轉變〉，講座。香港: 香港教育學院中國文學文化研究中心。
胡梓穎 (2011)。 〈「湯沈之爭」與清中葉崑劇的衰落〉。《文匯報》，A29。
胡梓穎 (2011)。 〈明代「湯沈之爭」〉，講座。香港: 香港公開大學。

Projects
Subversion and Containment: The Rewriting of Song Dynasty History in Court Drama of the Ming and Qing Dynasties
The Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), ruled by the Han Chinese, was a distinctive era in ancient China, following the Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368) under Mongol rule and preceding the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) led by the Manchus. The Han Chinese had experienced a rare period of governance by non-Han rulers, prompting the Ming imperial court to make concerted efforts to restore the status of the “Celestial Empire,” reminiscent of the Tang (618-907) and Northern Song Dynasties (960-1127). This research will focus on how Song history was rewritten in court dramas of the Ming and the Qing dynasties.
Project Start Year: 2026, Principal Investigator(s): WU, Tsz Wing, Giovanna

 
The Eight-legged Essay and the Development of Structure of Chuanqi Drama in the Late Ming Dynasty 八股制藝與明末傳奇結構的發展
The structure of the Ming chuanqi drama carries significant importance in its composition. During the late Ming Dynasty, these dramas often comprised thirty or even sixty acts. The organization and structure of such lengthy chuanqi drama became a concern for literati playwrights of the time. Previous studies have indicated that the structure of the eight-legged essay affected the construction of literati chuanqi dramas. For instance, Jin Shengtan’s drama criticism and Li Yu’s drama theory, which emerged in the early Qing Dynasty, drew inspiration from the structure of the eight-legged essay. Nevertheless, it remains unknown whether this also inspired the composition of chuanqi dramas during the late Ming Dynasty before the emergence of Jin’s criticism and Li’s theory. Furthermore, previous discussions on the relationship between the eight-legged essay and the chuanqi drama structure often highlighted that the latter influenced the four-fold structure, i.e., introduction (qi), elucidation (cheng), transition (zhuan), and conclusion (he), as well as the symmetrical structures presented in chuanqi dramas. However, such structural features can be found in various classical Chinese literary genres, indicating that these observations are one-sided and lack scientific grounding. Since the eight-legged essay originates from the exegesis of Confucian classics, the Principal Investigator of this project believes that the genre’s structure is not solely inherited from the acquired structure of other literary genres but also constrained by the innate structure, tailored for “speaking on behalf of the sages.” Considering the historical and cultural context of the late Ming Dynasty, this project selects masterpieces of chuanqi drama composed by twenty representative playwrights of the time as examples. It examines the innate structure and acquired structure of the eight-legged essay as double filters, aiming to explore whether the intervention of the structure of the eight-legged
Project Start Year: 2025, Principal Investigator(s): WU, Tsz Wing, Giovanna

 
On the Variation and Dispersion of Its Readership: The Eight-legged Essay and Jin Shengtan’s Xixiang Commentary 讀者群的變異與游離──制藝與金聖歎的《第六才子書西廂記》
The project aims to study Jin Shengtan’s (金聖歎, 1608-1661) comments on the zaju (雜劇) opera Xixiang Ji (or Romance of the Western Chamber). The structure of zaju operas are often based on the principle of four acts in one part. Wang Shifu (王實甫, 1260-1336), a playwright of the late Yuan dynasty, broke this restriction and completed his Xixiang Ji in twenty-one acts in five parts, which complicated the plots and greatly expanded the length of the play. Jin Shengtan’s Xixiang Commentary is one of the most widely circulated versions of Xixiang Ji since the early Qing dynasty. In this project, the PI considers the theory on the structure of the eight-legged essay as a lens for re-reading Jin Shengtan’s Xixiang Commentary. She will also combine opera aesthetics, stylistics, and commercial publishing of the Qing dynasty, to re-analyse the relationship between the structural theory of the eight-legged essay and the Xixiang Commentary and re-investigate how Jin Shengtan integrated literary theory on the structure of the eight-legged essay, which is cultural assets of the literati, into opera and popular literature.
Project Start Year: 2023, Principal Investigator(s): WU, Tsz Wing, Giovanna

 
Reconsidering “Peony Fever”: The Peony Pavilion and the Changes on Ideology during the Late Ming and Early Qing Dynasties 「《牡丹》熱」的重新審視：《牡丹亭》與明末清初意識形態的轉變
自《牡丹亭》於萬曆二十六年（1598）脫稿至明代覆亡（1644）的短短四十多年間，該劇已有數十種刻本、改本、仿作面世。及至清代，《牡丹亭》的影響不斷拓大，並持續超過兩個世紀，成為中國歷史上鮮有的文化現象。本研究嘗試從消費文化角度，勘察「《牡丹》熱」與明清兩代商業出版及劇場的關係，並重新審視明清時期社會意識形態的嬗變過程。
Project Start Year: 2016, Principal Investigator(s): WU, Tsz Wing Giovanna 胡梓穎

 
From Xuetanmeng to Lunanzi: The Self-Reflection of Zeng Pu and the Autobiographical Writings of the Late Qing and Early Republican China 從《雪曇夢》到《魯男子》── 論曾樸的自我觀照與清末民初自傳文學
1924年，魯迅在《中國小說史略》中把《孽海花》列為「晚清四大譴責小說」，自始其作者曾樸一直被論者標籤為晚清「新小說家」。然而，曾樸的文學創作生涯實跨越了清末和民初兩個時期。他的文學生涯，正是清末民初文學發展史的最佳寫照，此亦突顯了曾樸研究的特殊價值與地位。本研究將以曾樸文學生涯的起點和終點──《雪曇夢》和《魯男子》──作比較研究。透過這兩部自傳性質濃厚的文學作品，勾勒出清末民初作家意識形態的過度及轉變過程。
Project Start Year: 2016, Principal Investigator(s): WU, Tsz Wing Giovanna 胡梓穎

 
A Dialogue between Opera and History: Peony Pavilion and the Spread of School of Mind during the Late Ming China 戲曲與歷史的對話──《牡丹亭》與晚明心學之流播
This research aims to re-interpret the cultural and historical background of the late Ming dynasty before and after the published of Peony Pavilion. By re-reading the opera, this research tries to re-elaborate the relationship between Peony Pavilion and the spread of School of Mind during the late Ming China, in order to have a better understanding of the Ming society .
Project Start Year: 2015, Principal Investigator(s): WU, Tsz Wing Giovanna 胡梓穎

 
Prizes and awards
之妍高等研究資助

Date of receipt: /3/2020, Conferred by: 香港中文大學中國文化研究所
 
洽蕙短期進修研究贊助金

Date of receipt: /4/2019, Conferred by: 香港中文大學中國文化研究所