Graduate Student Asian Languages and Civilizations (Chinese) The College of Lib Arts & Sci
Long Bio
Rishi Mahendran Nair (姓名: 江智源) joined ASU, in 2024, as a Master's student in the East Asian Languages & Civilizations (Chinese) Program. He received his Bachelor's degree in East Asian Studies at Western Washington University where he chiefly studied under advisors Dr. Julian Siyuan Wu and Dr. Ethan Bushelle.
Rishi’s scholarship seeks to mediate meaningful dialogues between the poetic and the religious, enriching our understanding of the impact religion has on the creation, product, evaluation, and culture of poetry, and the impact that poetry has on the language, imagination, and experience of religion in Medieval China. His current projects revolve around Buddhism and poetic culture in the Tang.
He also pursues subjects related to Sino-Indian Studies in various comparative frameworks such as comparative literature, religion, and culture.
Education
B.A. East Asian Studies (Concentration: Chinese Studies), Western Washington University
Research Interests
Poetry and religion in Medieval China
Literati culture
Chinese Nature Writing
Scripture as Literature
Sino-Indian Studies
Research Activity
Transcribing Heaven: Lu Ji's Wenfu and the Making of Chinese Literary Spirituality
Fighting Tigers: The First Buddhist Poetry Competition
Passing Temples in Chinese Poetry: Envisioning Buddhist Space in Meng Haoran's Araṇya Poems
A Living World: The Issue of Imagined Nature in the Shanhai Jing
The Lotus and Other Indian Images in Chinese Poetics
