Xianxian Dai

Thesis Title: Memory, Identity, and Power: Constructing and Mobilising the Historical Memory of the Sanyuanli Incident in China, from 1841 to the Present

Xianxian Dai is a PhD candidate in History at the University of Warwick. Her doctoral research examines how the Sanyuanli Incident—an episode of local resistance during the First Opium War—has been remembered, narrated, and instrumentalised across different political regimes and social contexts in China from the mid-19th century to the present. By analysing state narratives, local commemorations, and grassroots practices, her project explores how historical memory is constructed and mobilised to shape identity and power.

Her broader research interests include the history of the Opium War, local governance and society in Qing and Republican-era Canton, memory studies, and the cultural politics of commemoration in modern China.

Email: xianxian.dai@warwick.ac.uk