Book Talks at CU Book Festival 2026 - Prof. Leo Ou-fan Lee: Memory, Testimony, and the Reconstruction of Humanities
In this book talk, we are honored to welcome Professor Lee Leo Ou-fan and Professor Cheung Lik Kwan to join us in exploring the theme “Memory, Testimony, and the Reconstruction of the Humanities.” We will engage in an in-depth dialogue on the significance and process of reconstructing the humanities.
The talk will be concluded by a book signing session.
Recommended readings
| Name | Author(s) / Editor(s) |
| My Twentieth Century: A Memoir of Leo Ou-fan Lee | Leo Ou-fan Lee |
| 人文六講 | Leo Ou-fan Lee |
| 兩間駐望：中西互動下的中國現代文學 | A lecture by Leo Ou-fan Lee, compiled by Xi Yunshu |
| Humanism and Democratic Criticism | Edward W. Said |
| The Memory Chalet | Tony Judt |
Details
2026.04.13 (Mon)
6pm - 7:30pm
Student Experience and Development Section, Office of Student Affairs, CUHK
The Chinese University of Hong Kong Press
Speaker
Prof. Lee Leo Ou Fan
Prof. Lee Leo Ou Fan is one of the most prominent intellectuals recently. He is a distinguished scholar of Chinese literature, a writer, and a cultural critic. His areas of research are wide-ranging, including modern literature, cultural studies, modern fiction, and movies -fields in which he has made a profound impact on both academia and the broader cultural landscape.
Over the past few decades, Prof. Lee has published nearly twenty books in both Chinese and English, focusing on cultural criticism and academic scholarship. His influential works include Voices from the Iron House: A Study of Lu Xun, Shanghai Modern: The Flowering of a New Urban Culture in China (1930–1945), and The Romantic Generation of Modern Chinese Writers.
Beyond literature, Prof. Lee has a wide array of humanistic interests, particularly in classical music, film, and architectural aesthetics. He has received numerous honors throughout his career, including the prestigious Guggenheim Fellowship.
Moderator
Prof. Cheung Lik Kwan
Prof. Cheung holds a Ph.D. in Intercultural Studies from CUHK, and is currently an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Department of Chinese Language and Literature at CUHK. He also serves as an assessor for the Hong Kong Arts Development Council, a contributing editorial board member of Reviews and Research on Chinese Literature, an academic editor for O-Square, and an editorial board member of the literary magazine Fleurs des lettres.
He was a visiting scholar at the Harvard-Yenching Institute (2009–2010) and the Institute of Chinese Literature and Philosophy at Academia Sinica (2019–2020). His representative work, the monograph Qu Qiubai and Transcultural Modernity, received a Recommendation Award in the Literary Criticism category at the 16th Hong Kong Biennial Awards for Chinese Literature (2022).
The talk is mainly conducted in Putonghua.
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