Digital Humanities Initiative Talk Series

Date: 21 April 2026 (Tuesday)
Time: 4:00 pm (HKT)
Via Zoom

Speaker: Prof. Stephen Whiteman
Professor of the Art and Architecture of China, The Courtauld Institute of Art (UK),
Co-Editor-in-Chief, The Art Bulletin, and
Trustee, Association for Art History

Click here to register.

Abstract:

This talk explores the Virtual Mountain Estate (VME) project, considering how 3D modelling and XR technologies can help critically reconstruct cultural landscapes. Centred on the Qing imperial park-palace of Bishu shanzhuang 避暑山莊—the Mountain Estate to Escape the Summer Heat—around 1713, VME draws upon diverse sources and iterative 3D modelling to integrate sensory, spatial, and atmospheric cues into a dynamic, immersive environment for research and scholarly dissemination. Deepening our appreciation of cultural landscapes as multisensory worlds shaped by text, place, and subjective perception, this method foregrounds the subjective and ephemeral qualities of historical landscapes, emphasising multivalence rather than any definitive reconstruction.

Bio:

Stephen Whiteman’s research explores the intersections of landscape, identity, and experience in early modern and modern China. He is Professor of the Art and Architecture of China at the Courtauld Institute of Art, University of London and currently serves at the Coeditor-in-Chief of The Art Bulletin.