322Z Fall 2026 1776: A Tale of Two Worlds: George Washington’s America and Qing China

What was happening in China when George Washington led the American colonies toward independence? This session explores 1776 through two parallel worlds—revolutionary America and Qing-dynasty China—highlighting Washington’s contemporaries and the surprising everyday connections between the two cultures through tea, porcelain, silk, and trade. This session will be a fresh, accessible global perspective on the year of America’s founding.

Dawn Li, Ph.D., a native Chinese speaker with a Doctorate in Language and Literature, has taught Chinese culture at George Washington University and English at Peking University in Beijing. She is the author of New Dao Fables: Wisdom of the Wild (animal stories) and Song of a Lotus Leaf (poems).