On the evening of March 12, 2026, Dr. Richard David Williams, Reader (Associate Professor) in Music and South Asian Studies at SOAS University of London, was invited to deliver an online lecture titled “Painted Poems: Classical Hindi Aesthetics and Courtly Arts in Early Modern India”. This lecture was hosted by Research Center of Eastern Literature, Peking University (PKU) and School of Foreign Languages (SFL), PKU, and organized by the Program of International and Regional Studies, SFL, PKU. It is the inaugural lecture of “Muti-Civilizations Indian Ocean Region: Classical Hindi Literature” lecture series. The lecture was moderated by Zhang Minyu, Tenured Associate Professor in the Program of International and Regional Studies, SFL, PKU. Discussions were contributed by Fan Jingjing, Tenured Associate Professor in the Department of South Asian Studies, SFL, PKU, and Zhao You, Tenured Associate Professor in the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies, PKU. Nearly 70 faculty members and students from institutions including PKU, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Fudan University, and Sun Yat-sen University attended the lecture.

Dr. Williams outlined the linguistic, literary, and aesthetic genealogy of early modern classical Hindi (Braj Bhasha). He then illustrated three major genres of Braj literature that influenced early modern courtly arts: Nāyikābheda, Bārahmāsa, and Rāgamālā. Through a close reading of Bihari’s couplets and their illustrations, he reflected on the challenges of translating poetry and interpreting visual representations.

During the discussion and commentary session, Associate Professor Fan Jingjing and Dr. Williams explored the criteria for evaluating paintings and the connections between literary traditions and miniature paintings. Associate Professor Zhao You and Dr. Williams exchanged views on topics such as the sonic quality of poetry, social contexts, and the musical connections between North and South India.

Text and Image by Xiong Yi