Digital exhibit launch for a rare Chinese TV series

August 27, 2026

Stylized illustrated poster showing a man and young woman in uniform — "Father is sending me to the frontier" by Zhao Guojing, from UVic Libraries' Chinese Propaganda Poster Project.

On September 10, join UVic Libraries in launching a new digital exhibit, Echoes of an Awakening Generation: The TV Series of Zhang Kangkang's Novel The Invisible Companion. This rare Chinese TV series allows a glimpse into an extraordinary period in modern history.

UVic students, faculty, and staff are welcome to celebrate the launch of the exhibit. The event will include clips from the series, as well as an introduction and discussion of the project.

Based on the novel of the same name by the celebrated author Zhang Kangkang, The Invisible Companion takes place during a period in the 1960s when thousands of Chinese youth were "sent down" to live and work on farms in rural areas.

The exhibit is the result of a partnership between Dr. Richard King, librarians Ying Liu and Bill Blair, and student research assistants. The result is an open-access multimedia educational resource, which includes digitized and subtitled copies of all ten episodes in English and Chinese, as well as interviews with the author and additional resources.

Date: Thursday, September 10
Time: 12 to 1 p.m.
Location: Mearns – McPherson Library, room 210