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Julia Lovell

ジュリア・ラヴェル

Julia Lovell

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
Carlisle, England
Nationality
British
Languages
English, Chinese
Residence History
Carlisle (birth) → London (resident / workplace: Birkbeck) → Nanjing (Hopkins–Nanjing Center)

Career

Occupations
scholar, historian, author, translator, university professor
Active Years
2000-
Affiliations
Department of History, Classics and Archaeology, Birkbeck, University of London, Fellow of the British Academy
Memberships
The British Academy (FBA)
Influenced By
Influenced by Jung Chang (inspired by 'Wild Swans' to study China), Scholars of modern Chinese history and literature

Education

Emmanuel College, Cambridge
Country: United Kingdom
Completed undergraduate and graduate studies, focusing on Chinese studies
Hopkins–Nanjing Center
Country: China
Attended an international Sino-US program for advanced Chinese studies

Awards

Philip Leverhulme Prize
2010
Category: Medieval, Early Modern, and Modern History
Organization: Leverhulme Trust
Result: winner
Cundill History Prize (longlist)
2012
Work: The Opium War: Drugs, Dreams and the Making of China
Organization: McGill University (Cundill Prize)
Result: longlist
Jan Michalski Prize for Literature
2012
Work: The Opium War: Drugs, Dreams and the Making of China
Organization: Jan Michalski Foundation
Result: winner
Orwell Prize (shortlist)
2012
Work: The Opium War: Drugs, Dreams and the Making of China
Organization: The Orwell Foundation
Result: shortlist
Baillie Gifford Prize (shortlisted)
2019
Work: Maoism: A Global History
Organization: Baillie Gifford Prize
Result: shortlisted
Cundill History Prize
2019
Work: Maoism: A Global History
Organization: McGill University (Cundill Prize)
Result: winner
Elected Fellow of the British Academy
2019
Organization: The British Academy
Result: elected
Orwell Prize (longlist)
2020
Work: Maoism: A Global History
Organization: The Orwell Foundation
Result: longlist

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

The Politics of Cultural Capital: China's Quest for a Nobel Prize in Literature

2006 cultural history / literary studies

Examines the relationship between Chinese literature and international recognition, analysing the cultural and political dynamics surrounding the Nobel Prize in Literature.

cultural capitalliterature and the state

The Great Wall: China Against the World, 1000 BC – AD 2000

2006 history / general non-fiction

A long-term history of the Great Wall that uses the structure as a lens to explore China's relationship with the world.

borderssymbolism and nationalism

The Opium War: Drugs, Dreams and the Making of China

2011 history / non-fiction

A comprehensive history of the Opium Wars using both Chinese and Western sources, discussing the conflicts' impact on Chinese society, memory and nation-building.

imperialismmemory and nationalismAnglo-Chinese relations

Maoism: A Global History

2019 history / political thought

Surveys how Maoism was received, transformed and exported both within China and globally, offering an international perspective on the ideology's diverse manifestations.

transmission of ideasrevolutionary movementsCold War and post-Cold War impacts

Bibliography

  • The Politics of Cultural Capital: China's Quest for a Nobel Prize in Literature
  • The Great Wall: China Against the World, 1000 BC – AD 2000
  • The Opium War: Drugs, Dreams and the Making of China
  • Maoism: A Global History

Translations by Author

  • Lu Xun translations (The Real Story of Ah-Q and other tales)
  • Selected translation of Journey to the West (Monkey King: Journey to the West)
  • Han Shaogong - A Dictionary of Maqiao (translation)
  • Translations of Zhu Wen, Yan Lianke, Eileen Chang and others

Style & Themes

Literary Style
scholarly yet accessible prosenarrative history grounded in primary sources
Recurring Motifs
Chinese national identity and memoryrelationship between culture and powercultural exchange through translation

Legacy

Has contributed significantly to modern Chinese history and literature studies and acted as an important bridge for Chinese studies in the English-speaking world. Her translations and scholarly works have been widely recognised through academic and literary prizes.

Academic Societies

  • The British Academy

Quotes

  • Lovell's translation of Lu Xun's work "could be considered the most significant Penguin Classic ever published."
    Source: Time magazine (2009)

Trivia

  • Her book The Opium War won the Jan Michalski Prize in 2012 (the first non-fiction work to win the prize).
  • Her translation of Zhu Wen's I Love Dollars and Other Stories of China was a finalist for the Kiriyama Prize in 2008.
  • She is married to author Robert Macfarlane.