Professor Chia-ying Yeh (1924-2024) taught pre-modern Chinese literature in the Department of Asian Studies at UBC from 1969 to 1989 and was a Member of the Royal Society of Canada. She was also a Member of the Central Research Institute of Culture and History of China and Director of the Research Institute of Chinese Poetry Education and Classical Culture at Nankai University. The literary documentary Like the Dyer’s Hand (掬水月在手), directed by Tsun-shing Chen, chronicles her legendary life, weaving her personal journey with millennia of classical Chinese poetry to explore the meaning of life through poetry. The documentary won the Best Documentary/Educational Film at the 33rd China Golden Rooster Awards.
Like the Dyer’s Hand portrays Professor Yeh as a towering figure in classical Chinese poetry and raises two timeless questions: What is poetry? Why do poets exist? Devoting her life to the study and teaching of classical Chinese poetry, she nurtured generations of scholars. Integrating profound sinological knowledge, refined Western learning, and profound life experience, she built a distinctive poetic system centered on “inspiration and emotion”(兴发感动), making unique and far-reaching contributions to cultural inheritance and cross-civilizational dialogue. Structured around Professor Yeh’s ancestral home in Beijing’s Chayuan Hutong, the documentary traces the intertwining of her life—marked by trials and hardships—and her poetic journey, illuminating why poets emerge even in times of suffering.
The documentary is also the concluding work of Director Tsun-shing Chen’s Trilogy of Poetry and explores the relation between “Poetry and Existence”. Audience will have a chance to have a Q&A session with Mr. Chen.
This event is free and open to the public; registration is required. The event will be held in Chinese (Mandarin), with English subtitles for the film screening.
This event is co-organized by the UBC Department of Asian Studies and Nankai University.
Date & Time:
Tuesday, May 5, 2026 | 10:00 AM – 4:30 PM (PT)
Location:
AM: Auditorium, Asian Centre, 1871 West Mall, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z2
PM: Royal Bank Cinema, Chan Centre for the Performing Arts, 6265 Crescent Rd, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z1
Schedule
Opening Remarks and Donation Ceremony
10:00 AM – 11:45 AM | Auditorium, Asian Centre
Reception
12:00 PM – 1:00 PM | Royal Bank Cinema, Chan Centre
Lunch for attendees registered for both the AM and PM portions
Screening of Like the Dyer’s Hand & Academic Symposium
1:00 PM – 4:30 PM | Royal Bank Cinema, Chan Centre
