Mei Yi Lau is a DPhil student in Asian and Middle Eastern Studies under the supervision of Professor Tian Yuan Tan. As the awardee of the TEXTCOURT DPhil studentship, her DPhil research is part of the TEXTCOURT Project. She earned her BA and MPhil in Chinese Language and Literature from the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK). Before starting her study at the University of Oxford, she worked as a research assistant in the department of Chinese Language and Literature at CUHK and was responsible for supporting the “Re-envisioning 'Grand Plays' at the Court of Qianlong” research project. Inspired by the “grand plays” project, her current research focuses on examining the visual and material representations of imperial power in the “grand plays” at the court of Qianlong. Her research interests include Chinese court drama, classical Chinese drama and Ming-Qing literature. She is also interested in material culture and political culture in late imperial China.