Department of Fine Arts,
CUHK

Associate Professor

PENG Peng

B.A. and M.A. (Peking University), M.A. and PhD. (Princeton University)

 

Prof. Peng holds a PhD and an MA from Princeton University, as well as an MA and a BA from Peking University. Before joining the Department of Fine Arts at The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Prof. Peng taught at Pace University (2017) and The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities (2018–2019). Prof. Peng’s research focuses on the art, archaeology, and material and visual cultures of ancient East Asia. His first book, Metalworking in Bronze Age China: The Lost-Wax Process (Amherst, New York: Cambria Press, 2020), has been well received in the academic field. His second book, Origins: Copper and Bronze Metallurgy in Early China (initially titled Bronze Casting in Early China), has successfully undergone peer review and is under contract with Amsterdam University Press. In addition to his publications, Prof. Peng has curated exhibitions, including one centered on early Chinese garment hooks. He also edited the accompanying bilingual research catalogue, Cast for Dignity: Early Chinese Belt Hooks from the De-Neng-Tang Collection (Chinese Title: 霜雪明金玄鈎沉: 德能堂藏華夏早期帶鈎; Art Museum, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2023).

MAJOR PUBLICATIONS

Books

1.(Authored) Forthcoming: Origins: Copper and Bronze Metallurgy in Early China (initial title: Bronze Casting in Early China). Under contract with Amsterdam University Press.

2. (Authored) 2020: Metalworking in Bronze Age China: The Lost-Wax Process. Amherst, New York: Cambria Press, 514 pages.
ISBN: 9781604979626 (hardcover), 9781638570257 (paperback)

3. (Edited) In Preparation: Boundary-Crossing Brainstorms in Ancient Chinese Bronze Metallurgy: Art History, Archaeology, and the History of Technology.

4. (Edited) 2023: Cast for Dignity: Early Chinese Belt Hooks from the De-Neng-Tang Collection (霜雪明金玄鈎沉: 德能堂藏華夏早期帶鈎). Hong Kong: Art Museum, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, 243 pages.
ISBN: 9789881949486.

 

Selected Journal Articles
1. 2024: “Sparks of Inquiry: Two Key Debates on Early Metalworking in China.” Herança 7 (Special): 51–85.
2. 2024: “Devouring Predator on the Waist: An Intriguing Chinese Garment Hook in the De-Neng-Tang Collection and Some Relevant Pieces.” Arts of Asia, Spring 2024, pp. 124–133.
3. 2023: “Between Piece Molds and Lost Wax: The Casting of a Diatrete Ornamentation in Early China Rethought.” Humanities and Social Sciences Communications 10.456.
4. 2021: “Decentralizing the Origin of Civilization: Early Archaeological Efforts in China.” History of Humanities 6(2): 515–548.

EXHIBITIONS

Cast for Dignity: Early Chinese Belt Hooks from the De-Neng-Tang Collection (霜雪明金玄鈎沉: 德能堂藏華夏早期帶鈎).

– Chief Curator

-Period: 25 August 2023 – 30 December 2023

-Venue: Gallery II, Art Museum, CUHK

SELECTED TALKS / LECTURES

  1. “多維視域下的早期中國冶金與金工起源：區域創新、文化交融與技術傳播” (The Origins of Metallurgy and Metalworking in Early China: Regional Innovation, Cultural Interactions, and Technological Diffusion in a Multidimensional Perspective). April 2025.
  2. “重思早期中國冶金技術與金屬工藝的起源” (Rethinking the Origins of Metallurgy and Metalworking in Early China). Invited lecture for the HKPM Special Exhibition Talk Series, Hong Kong Palace Museum. January 2025.
  3. Keynote Speech: “Metallurgical Inceptions in China: An Art Historical Note.” International conference “Innovation and Integration: A Symphony of History, Technology and Art,” Nanjing, China. November 2024.
  4. “Devouring Feline on Waist: Some Early Chinese Belt Hooks Revisited in Comparative Perspective.” CAA 112th Annual Conference, Chicago, United States. February 2024.
  5. “Sanxingdui and the Lost-Wax Mystery: Early Chinese Metalworking in Multiregional Perspective.” University of Chicago Forum, Hong Kong. November 2023.
  6. “The Devouring Feline and the Overpowered Cultural Other: Fighting Images Cast in Metal from The Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age of China.” Fourteenth International Conference on The Image, Zaragoza, Spain. November 2023.
  7. “德能堂所藏華夏早期帶鈎: 精品解讀與策展心路” (Early Chinese Belt Hooks in the De-Neng-Tang Collection: Interpretation of Exquisite Artworks and Relevant Curatorial Thoughts). CUHK Art Museum. September 2023.
  8. “Piece Molds or Lost Wax? Casting of a Diatrete Ornamentation in Early China.” 16th ICHSEA, Frankfurt, Germany. August 2023.
  9. “On the Origins of Metalworking in China.” Nineteenth International Conference on Technology, Knowledge, and Society, Malta. April 2023.
  10. “On the Origins of Metalworking in China: Technology and Art.” 88th SAA Annual Conference, Portland, United States. March 2023.
  11. “Early Archaeological Efforts in China and Relevant Historical Discourses.” Invited Lecture, Hong Kong Baptist University. March 2023.
  12. “華夏失蠟工藝的起源及相關熔模鑄造傳統” (The Lost-wax Origins of Early China and Related Traditions of Investment Casting). Sichuan University, China. November 2022.
  13. “Rethinking the 5,000-yr-old Tin Bronze in Xinjiang, China: An Early Metal Anomaly related to ‘Afanasievo’?” WAC-9, Prague, Czech Republic. July 2022.
  14. “Cast for Novelty: An Alternative Way of Metalworking in Early China.” BUMA X, Bangkok, Thailand. July 2022.
  15. “On the Origins of Copper-based Metallurgy and Iron Smelting in China: A Comparative Perspective.” SEAA 9th Worldwide Conference, Daegu, South Korea. July 2022.

SELECTED GRANTS/AWARDS

  1. 2024–2025: Principal Investigator, CUHK Direct Grant for Research (Project Title: “Rethinking the Late Western Zhou and Eastern Zhou Bronzes in the Han-Huai Region”), Faculty of Arts, The Chinese University of Hong Kong (HKD 83,500).
  2. 2023–2025: Co-investigator, Archaeological Science in Hong Kong Interdisciplinary Initiatives, Research Institute for the Humanities, CUHK.
  3. 2023–2024: Principal Investigator, CUHK Direct Grant for Research (Project Title: “Rethinking the Iron-blade Bronze Weaponry in Early China”), Faculty of Arts, The Chinese University of Hong Kong (12 months, 85,975 HKD, Reference no. 4051217).
  4. 2021–2024: RGC Early Career Scheme (Project Title: “Early Chinese Investment Casting in Comparative Perspective”), Faculty of Arts, CUHK (HKD 557,000).
  5. 2021–2023: Principal Investigator, CUHK Direct Grant for Research (Project Title: “Reexamining the ‘Circum-Yellow Sea Cross-cultural Sphere’: Metallurgical Interactions between Korean Peninsula, Japanese Archipelago, and Early China”), Faculty of Arts, The Chinese University of Hong Kong (12+12 months, 97,500 HKD, Reference no. 4051178).
  6. 2021–2023: Contract Research, Warring States and Han Dynasty Belt Hook Research, Exhibition Design, and Catalogue Editing. Curatorial Project: “Comparative Studies on Ancient Chinese Belt Hooks from Archaeological Perspectives”, Research Programme for Chinese Archaeology and Art, Art Museum, Institute of Chinese Studies, CUHK.
  7. 2020–2021: Principal Investigator, CUHK Direct Grant for Research (Project Title: “Rethinking the ‘Crescent-shaped Cultural-Communication Belt’: Archeometallurgical Evidence from Early Chinese Frontiers”), Faculty of Arts, The Chinese University of Hong Kong (12 months, 80,550 HKD, Reference no. 4051155).
  8. 2021: Faculty of Arts Outstanding Teaching Award, CUHK.