Chinese Studies

Lecture: "China, mein Vater und ich: Über den Aufstieg einer Supermacht und die Verbindung zur Familie Lee aus Wolfsburg", Gewinner des deutschen Wirtschaftsbuchpreises 2023
2024-06-13 11:15 - 12:15 (Europe/Helsinki) | Zentrales Hörsaalgebäude
Referent: Felix Lee, Journalist & Autor
Titel: “China, mein Vater und ich: Über den Aufstieg einer Supermacht und die Verbindung zur Familie Lee aus Wolfsburg”,
Gewinner des deutschen Wirtschaftsbuchpreises 2023
Datum und Uhrzeit: 13. Juni 2024, 11:15-12:15 Uhr
Ort: ZHG (Zentrales Hörsaalgebäude)
Veranstalter: Alumni der Wirtschaftswissenschaftlichen Fakultät
Für Ihre Teilnahme registrieren Sie sich bitte hier: https://www.alumni-goettingen.de/termine/responsible-innovation-summit-2024/
Weitere Informationen finden Sie unter: Responsible Innovation Summit 2024 https://www.alumni-goettingen.de/termine/responsible-innovation-summit-2024/
Mehr über Felix Lee erfahren Sie hier: Felix Lee – Aufbau Verlag https://www.aufbau-verlage.de/autor-in/felix-lee

Summer Workshop (Fudan University, Shanghai, China) 23.06.-02.07.2024
2024-06-23 08:00 - 17:00 (Europe/Helsinki)
For further information please click here.

Workshop Announcement: Asian Regionalisms in an Age of De-Globalization. Observing, Discoursing, Identifying
2024-07-05 09:00 - 17:00 (Europe/Helsinki) | Emmy-Noether-Saal, Wilhelmsplatz, Göttingen
Workshop Announcement: Asian Regionalisms in an Age of De-Globalization. Observing, Discoursing, Identifying

Date: July 5, 2024
Time: 09:00 – 17:00
Venue: Emmy-Noether-Saal, Wilhelmsplatz, Göttingen
Organizer: Lee, Yu-Ting (National Taiwan University)

We are pleased to invite you to our upcoming workshop, “Asian Regionalisms in an Age of De-Globalization. Observing, Discoursing, Identifying,” hosted by the Department of East Asian Studies at Georg-August-Universität Göttingen. This event is open to all.

Program Schedule:
09:15-09:30

Welcome and Introduction

Lee, Yu-Ting (National Taiwan University)

09:30-11:00

Panel One: Worldmaking: Discourses and Structural Transformations

Chair: Eva Orthmann (Göttingen)
Presenters:

Rebecca Karl (New York University): Civilizational Confusions: Neo-traditionalism and Economism
Cao Yin (Peking University): The Yunnan-Burma Railway Project, 1860s-1940s
Nikolay Kamenov (Göttingen/ETH Zürich): India’s Trade Connections to the Rest of Asia: Territorialization in the Interwar Period.

11:00-11:30

Coffee Break

11:30-12:30

Keynote Presentation

Zhang Hanwen (Independent Artist, Berlin): Defection, Exile, and Utopia: Pan-Asianist Bodies and Legacies

12:30-13:30

Lunch Break

13:30-15:00

Panel Two: Between the Local and the Universal: Identity and Claims

Chair: Dominic Sachsenmaier (Göttingen)
Presenters:

Lee Yu-Ting (National Taiwan University): Taiwanese Self-Situating in Asian Regionalisms
Julian Strube (Göttingen): Religious Universalism and Nationalism in Bengal
Henrike Rudolph (Göttingen): Reclaiming the Local. Conceptions of the Bentu in Chinese International Politics

15:00-15:30

Coffee Break

15:30-17:00

Concluding Discussion

Join us for an insightful day of discussions and presentations on the evolving dynamics of Asian regionalisms in our current era of de-globalization.

Institute: Department of East Asian Studies, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen
This workshop is open to all. We look forward to your participation!

Zhang Hanwen (Artist/Filmmaker; Berlin): Defection, Exile, and Utopia: Pan-Asianist Bodies and Legacies
2024-07-05 11:30 - 12:30 (Europe/Helsinki) | Emmy-Noether-Saal, Tagungs-und Veranstaltungshaus Alte Mensa, Wilhelmsplatz
Zhang Hanwen (Artist/Filmmaker; Berlin)
Defection, Exile, and Utopia: Pan-Asianist Bodies and Legacies
Emmy-Noether Saal, Wilhelmsplatz
5. July (Friday), 11:30-12:30
Abstract:
The artist and filmmaker Zhang Hanwen will present his recent work, “Hostile Landscapes”, a two-channel installation film initiated in 2022, and related research. The project revolves around the true story of Jhu Hyeun-ken (朱贤健/주현건), a North Korean defector imprisoned in the Jilin Prison in Northeast China for illegal border-crossing since 2013. Jhu managed to escape from the prison on October 18th, 2021, with bare hands. After eluding local police and authorities for 40 days, Jhu was ultimately shot in the leg and apprehended near the Fengman Dam and Reservoir, a historically significant location with deep Japanese colonial ties. The presentation will explore notions related to Chinese/Asian identities, and their connections to nationalism and colonialism, within the framework of contemporary and modern East Asian history, navigating the geopolitical shifts of the past and the present.
Speaker:
Zhang Hanwen is an artist and filmmaker originally from Changchun, China, who has been wandering nomadically across Germany lately. Drawing from artistic research and field studies, his work examines specific landscapes, infrastructures, and mundane activities through images and texts, weaving them within a network of local, personal, transnational, historical, and ideological contexts. His recent research revolves around marginalized individuals’ exile, troublesome colonial heritage, and secret society activities against the backdrop of East Asian modern/contemporary history. Zhang holds an MFA from the School of Visual Arts, New York, and has participated in various artist-in-residencies and fellowship programs including the German Chancellor Fellowship (Bonn, 2025), the Braunschweig Projects (Braunschweig, 2023), the Oberhausen Seminar (Oberhausen, 2023), the Fosun Foundation Art Residency (Shanghai, 2021), the BRIClab Video Art Residency (New York, 2020), etc. His work has been exhibited and screened at venues such as the Power Station of Art in Shanghai, the OCAT Institute in Beijing, BY ART MATTERS in Hangzhou, the CACHE Space in Beijing, as well as at film festivals including the Beijing International Short Film Festival and BBC LongShots. In 2020, Zhang’s film “The First Line of China” was awarded the SAH Award for Film and Video.
Organizer:
Prof. Dominic Sachsenmaier, University of Göttingen

Die Geschichte des Unterrichts „Chinesisch als Fremdsprache“ in Taiwan
2024-07-11 16:00 - 18:00 (Europe/Helsinki) | KWZ 0.602
Die Geschichte des Unterrichts „Chinesisch als Fremdsprache“ in Taiwan
Referent: Dr. Chin-Hua Chu, National Taiwan University
Datum und Uhrzeit: 11. Juli 2024, 16:15-17:45 Uhr
Ort: KWZ 0.602
Sprache: Chinesisch-Englisch

Wir laden Sie herzlich zu einem spannenden Vortrag von Dr. Chin-Hua Chu von der National Taiwan University ein. Dr. Chu wird über die Geschichte und Entwicklung des Unterrichts von „Chinesisch als Fremdsprache“ in Taiwan sprechen. Dieser Vortrag bietet eine einzigartige Gelegenheit, mehr über die Methoden und Herausforderungen des Sprachunterrichts in Taiwan zu erfahren.

Lecture: Prof. Song Chen (Bucknell University): Connecting the Dots: Advancing Chinese Historical Studies through Social Network Analysis
2024-07-15 18:00 - 20:00 (Europe/Helsinki) | Kulturwissenschaftliches Zentrum, KWZ 0.607, Heinrich-Düker-Weg 14, Göttingen, 37073
In recent years, an increasing number of scholars have actively explored how social network analysis (SNA) may advance the understanding of Chinese history and literature. These explorations have underscored the pressing need for methodological reflections and the most appropriate subjects for network analysis. Drawing on my research in the areas of prosopography and local religion, this talk discusses the potentials and pitfalls in the application of SNA to historical studies. Using elite marriages in eleventh- and thirteenth-century China as an example, the first part of this talk explores how SNA breaks new ground in prosopographical research, directing attention from the “common background characteristics” of a historical population to the patterned relationships knitting together the members of that population. The second part of this talk addresses the tendency to conflate social networks as a subject of inquiry with social network analysis as a method of data modeling. This confusion often leads to flawed research designs at the onset of a project, skewing data collection and hampering subsequent analyses. It also results in missed opportunities where scholars overlook potential research projects that seem unrelated to SNA but could greatly benefit from its analytical capabilities. As an illustration, insights will be shared from my recent work that employs SNA to unveil patterns in the spatial distribution of temple cults in the Lower Yangzi during the thirteenth century.
Biography:
Song Chen received his Ph.D. in East Asian Languages and Civilizations from Harvard University in 2011 and is currently an Associate Professor of Chinese History in the Department of East Asian Studies at Bucknell University, USA. His research focuses on Chinese social and cultural history between the eighth and the eighteenth century. For many years his work has focused on the migration and marriage patterns of China’s ruling elite in these centuries. Recently he is expanding the scope of his study to popular religion. He uses digital methods extensively in his teaching and scholarship. He is the inaugural project manager of the China Biographical Database project (CBDB), and has served on the project’s Steering and Executive Committees since 2011. His research combines prosopography, network analysis, and historical GIS. In 2021 and 2022, he co-edited, with Henrike Rudolph and Zhao Wei, two special journal issues that feature cutting-edge digital scholarship in Chinese studies. He has given research talks and taught digital humanities workshops at Harvard, Stanford, Cornell, National Taiwan University, Peking University, Tsinghua University (Beijing), Shanghai Normal University, National University of Singapore, among others.

Lecture: Prof. Mei Li Inouye (Stanford University): Soviet Dramatic Theory on a Shanghai Stage: Stanislavski, Zhang Min, and the Shanghai Amateur Dramatist Association
2025-01-27 16:00 - 18:00 (Europe/Berlin) | Kulturwisssenschaftliches Zentrum, KWZ 1.601, Heinrich-Düker-Weg 14, Göttingen, 37073
Soviet Dramatic Theory on a Shanghai Stage: Stanislavski, Zhang Min, and the Shanghai Amateur Dramatist Association

Time: January, 27 from 4-6 pm
Venue: KWZ 1.601

Abstract:​ References to Stanislavski are commonplace in the historiography of Chinese socialist theater and cinema. Scholars have largely focused on translations of Stanislavski into Chinese as the starting point for Stanislavski in China, crediting director and actor Zheng Junli 郑君里(1911–1969) with the first translation of Stanislavski’s An Actor’s Works in 1943. However, Zheng Junli was not the only translator of An Actor’s Works. First introduced to Stanislavski by director and theater scholar Zhang Min at the Shanghai Amateur Dramatists Association during the 1930s, Zheng Junli worked as an actor under Zhang Min’s directorship and co-translated An Actor’s Works with him. This paper explores Chinese modern dramatists’ early reception and experiments with Stanislavski by attending to the elements of Stanislavski’s theories that received the most attention in practice. It demonstrates that Stanislavski’s system was a familiar system within acting and film circles prior to its translation and how the practice and circulation of Stanislavski within the elite circles of modern dramatist practitioners laid the ground for its widespread acceptance in the 1950s in the domains of both theater and cinema prior to being banned in the 1960s. This paper concludes with considerations of the effects of those experiments on actors and actresses who acted in those productions and who participated in the banning of Stanislavski in the 1960s.
Bio:Mei Li Inouye is an assistant professor of Chinese at Centre College with a Ph.D. in Chinese Literature from Stanford University. Her research interests include transnational exchange, gender politics, performance and remix studies in modern Chinese literature, theater, and visual culture. Her book project, “Performing Jiang Qing (1914-1991): Gender, Performance, and Power in Modern China,” examines the most powerful, visible, and reviled woman in the history of modern China as a cultural remix and durational performance that can help us understand the interplay of gender, performance, media, and power in the worlds she inhabited and the scholarship that has tried to understand those worlds. Her scholarship has been supported by a CLIR-Mellon Fellowship, the Stanford Humanities Center, and the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies at Stanford University. Her article, “Marketing Jiang Qing: Revolutionary, Modern Girl, and Dangerous Woman in Left-wing Cinema,” is forthcoming in the Journal of Chinese Cinemas. Her article, “Soviet Dramatic Theory and Dramas on Stage in 1930s Shanghai,” can be found in the fall 2022 issue (5.2) of International Comparative Literature.

Panel discussion: Xi Jinping and the Question of Power
2025-03-13 18:00 - 20:00 (Europe/Helsinki) | Adam von Trott Saal Tagungs- und Veranstaltungshaus Alte Mensa, Wilhelmsplatz 3, Göttingen, 37073
Johnny Erling & Joseph Fewsmith in Dialogue
Moderator: Jürgen Trittin
Since taking office in 2012, Xi Jinping has reshaped the Chinese political landscape, consolidating authority in ways not seen since Mao Zedong. His leadership has redefined governance, the role of the Communist Party, and China’s position on the global stage. But how does power function under Xi? What mechanisms sustain his control, and how do they compare to past leadership models?
Join us for an in-depth discussion on the centralization of power, ideological shifts, and institutional changes under Xi Jinping—exploring their implications for China’s future and the international order.
Panelists:
🗣 Johnny Erling (Journalist, China expert)
🗣 Joseph Fewsmith (Political scientist, China scholar, Boston University)
🎤 Moderation: Jürgen Trittin (Former Federal Minister)
This event will be held in person and streamed via Zoom. It will be conducted in English, but questions during the Q&A can be asked in German. No registration is required—this is an open event.
Zoom Link: https://uni-goettingen.zoom-x.de/j/69671256989
Johnny Erling
Johnny Erling, born 1952, graduated from the University of Frankfurt/Main studied 1975/76 and 1982 at Beijing University. Most of his professional life he spent reporting from China, from 1985 until 1990 as the Beijing correspondent for a pool of daily newspapers from Germany and Austria, from 1997 to 2019 as the Beijing correspondent for the German newspaper “Die Welt” and the Austrian “Der Standard”. After more than 35 Years working in China he moved back to Germany where he lives since 2020 with his family in Bad Homburg. As a MERICS Senior Associate Fellow, he focuses on the Communist Party and domestic politics.
Erling, J. (2021). Xi Jinping: The rise of an authoritarian leader. In K. Larres (Ed.), Dictators and Autocrats (pp. 177–190). Routledge. This chapter is available for download.
Jospeh Fewsmith
Joseph Fewsmith is Professor of International Relations and Political Science at the Boston University Pardee School. He is the author of seven books, including, most recently, Forging Leninism in China: Mao and the Remaking of the Chinese Communist Party, 1927-1934. Other works include Rethinking Chinese Politics (June 2021), The Logic and Limits of Political Reform in China (January 2013), and China since Tiananmen (2nd edition, 2008). Other books include Elite Politics in Contemporary China (2001), The Dilemmas of Reform in China: Political Conflict and Economic Debate (1994), and Party, State, and Local Elites in Republican China: Merchant Organizations and Politics in Shanghai, 1890-1930 (1985). He was one of the seven regular contributors to the China Leadership Monitor, a quarterly web publication analyzing current developments in China from 2002 to 2014.
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Fewsmith traveled to China regularly and was active in the Association for Asian Studies. His articles have appeared in such journals as Asian Survey, Comparative Studies in Society and History, The China Journal, The China Quarterly, Current History, The Journal of Contemporary China, Problems of Communism, and Modern China. He is a Center Associate of the John King Fairbank Center for China Studies at Harvard University and an associate of the Pardee Center for the Study of the Longer-Range Future at Boston University.
Professor Fewsmith’s areas of expertise include comparative politics as well as Chinese domestic politics and foreign policy.
https://www.bu.edu/pardeeschool/profile/joseph-fewsmith/
Jürgen Trittin
Jürgen Trittin is a former German minister, parliamentarian, speaker, and author. He studied social sciences in Göttingen, and worked as a researcher, press spokesman, and freelance journalist before entering politics. A member of Alliance 90/The Greens since 1980, Trittin served in the Lower Saxony state parliament from 1985 and was Minister for Federal and European Affairs from 1990 to 1994. He later became the federal spokesperson for the party (1994–1998) and entered the Bundestag in 1998, serving as Federal Minister for Environment, Nature Conservation, and Nuclear Safety until 2005. From 2009 to 2013, he chaired the Greens’ parliamentary group. After over 25 years in parliament, he stepped down on January 5, 2024.
https://www.trittin.de/ueber-mich/

Lecture: Writing World History in a Global Historical Context: Perspectives on Meiji Japan and Contemporary Taiwan
2025-04-29 18:00 - 20:00 (Europe/Helsinki) | PH 20. Hörsaal der Philosophischen Fakultät, Humboldtallee 19/21
Writing World History in a Global Historical Context: Perspectives on Meiji Japan and Contemporary Taiwan
Prof. Mu-chou Poo (Chinese University of Hong Kong)
PH 20. Hörsaal der Philosophischen Fakultät, Humboldtallee 19/21
29. April (Tuesday), 18:00-20:00

Abstract:
This talk will address two issues: the unique situation of Japanese learning of Western history and civilization in the mid-Nineteenth Century (Meiji Period), and the development of World History textbook writing as a response/reaction to the political process in contemporary Taiwan. For Japan, I will concentrate on the writing of ancient Western history, in particular the ancient Near East, as this period touches upon the origin of human civilization, which was of vital importance in terms of political, cultural, and religious implications to Japan’s effort of nation building. For Taiwan, the more liberal new national standard textbooks of mid-1980’s sought to debunk the old frame of textbook writing, and to introduce new concepts in history education; the decentralized textbooks of the late-1990’s were involved in the struggle of identity politics, and took a more conservative turn in terms of writing style and interpretation.
Speaker:
Mu-chou Poo (PhD in Egyptology, Johns Hopkins 1984), is adjunct Professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. He had worked as a Research Fellow at Academia Sinica, Taipei, from 1984-2009, and Chair Professor of History at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2009-2023, and taught at various places, including Columbia, UCLA, and Grinnell College. Research interests include religion and society in ancient Egypt and China. Major publications include Burial and the Idea of Life and Death: Essay on Ancient Chinese Religion (Taipei, 1993); Wine and Wine Offering in the Religion of Ancient Egypt (London: Kegan Paul, 1995); In Search of Personal Welfare: A View of Ancient Chinese Religion (Albany: SUNY, 1998); Enemies of Civilization: Attitudes toward Foreigners in Ancient Mesopotamia, Egypt and China (Albany: SUNY, 2005). (Ed.) Rethinking Ghosts in World Religions (Leiden: Brill, 2009). Old Society, New Belief, Religious Transformation of China and Rome, ca. 1st-6th Centuries. Ed. With H. A. Drake and Lisa Raphals, (Oxford University Press, 2017), Daily Life in Ancient China (Cambridge U Press, 2018), Ghosts and Religious Life in Early China (Cambridge U Press, 2022), and The Netherworld in Ancient Egypt and China: An Imagined Paradise (London: Bloomsbury, 2023)
Organizer:
Prof. Dominic Sachsenmaier, University of Göttingen

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Lecture: Should Children be Carefree? A Chinese and Global Debate
2025-05-06 18:00 - 20:00 (Europe/Helsinki)
Should Children be Carefree? A Chinese and Global Debate
Prof. Hsiung Ping-Chen (Secretary General, CIPSH)

PH 20. Hörsaal der Philosophischen Fakultät, Humboldtallee 19/21
6. May (Tuesday), 18:15-19:45
Abstract:
Recognized as signs of modernity, children, free roaming, have been referred to as a best representatives for a progressive society. Historically in China, however, as early as the Song Dynasty, unique attention to children at play in arts and children’s health in traditional pediatrics prevailed, as Neo-Confucian philosophers continued to debate whether they ought to be left carefree. Illustrated with Chinese paintings and medical texts, this lecture will trace a thousand years of ebbs and flows of such concerns and interests on the nature of childhood. To reflect also on a contention and obsession with how to lessen burdens for today’s schoolers too, in creating a child friendly environment that connects contemporary China with the rest of the world. The talk intends to offer a public occasion to argue and deliberate on this never-ending tug of war over whether or how children should be set free.
Speaker:
Professor Hsiung Ping-chen is a distinguished scholar and academic leader in the humanities, with a multifaceted career across renowned international institutions. She holds a PhD in History from Brown University and an MSc from the Harvard School of Public Health. Her research spans childhood studies, gender and family history, and health humanities, with a particular focus on Late Imperial and Modern China. She also engages with comparative cultural and social history, public health, and the intellectual history of Russia. Professor Hsiung has published extensively on the history of Chinese pediatrics, the cultural memory of childhood, and the evolution of health practices in Chinese society. Since 2020, Professor Hsiung has served as Secretary-General of the International Council for Philosophy and Human Sciences (CIPSH), and she was re-elected to this position in 2023. Among other academic distinctions, she also holds the UNESCO Co-Chair in “Global Asia” at McGill University and the CIPSH Chair in “New Humanities” at the University of California, Irvine. She is also the founder of the Asian New Humanities Network and has held key leadership positions at institutions such as the Chinese University of Hong Kong, where she served as Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Director of the Research Institute for the Humanities.

Organizer:
Prof. Dominic Sachsenmaier, University of Göttingen

© This image was generated with the assistance of OpenAI’s Chat GPT and is intended solely for promotional use. Unauthorized reproduction or use is prohibited.

Lecture: Journey to the East (and Back): China and “Western Esotericism” from Reception History to Global Religious Studies
2025-05-08 18:00 - 19:30 (Europe/Helsinki) | KWZ 0.603
Journey to the East (and Back): China and “Western Esotericism” from Reception History to Global Religious Studies
Davide Marino (University of Erlangen-Nürnberg)

Date: May 8, 2025
Time: 18:00 – 19:30
Place: KWZ 0.603
Abstract:
This presentation examines the intricate and multifaceted relationship between Chinese spiritual culture(s) and the field of “Western Esotericism.” For centuries, the East, and particularly China, was regarded by Europeans as a repository of superior spiritual knowledge, a realm of profound wisdom that seemed inaccessible to the West. This perception of the East as a mystical and enigmatic source of ancient wisdom persisted across various periods of European intellectual history, with China holding a particularly prominent place in Western imagination. Beginning in the early modern period, and reaching its peak during the colonial era, Western thinkers found abundant inspiration in Chinese religions, philosophies, and cultural practices and these elements were integrated into the evolving spiritual and philosophical discourses of the time, ultimately becoming essential components of the eclectic mix of ideas now known as “Western Esotericism.” China was not simply “received” or passively absorbed into Western thought; rather, various Chinese intellectuals, spiritual leaders, and cultural movements became active participants in a global esoteric discourse that transcended geographical boundaries and facilitated the exchange of ideas. This dynamic of intellectual and spiritual exchange is even more pronounced in contemporary times. While in “the West,” Chinese cultural elements such as Chinese medicine, the Daodejing, and the notion of qi have become widely embraced as staples of global post-confessional spirituality, “Western Esotericism” is increasingly being discussed, reinterpreted, and adapted in the People’s Republic, both in commercial contexts and within academic discourse. This growing interest reflects a reciprocal flow of ideas that continues to shape global spiritual trends. Although often overlooked by Western scholars, Chinese perspectives on “Western Esotericism” present a challenge to traditional diffusionist models, which tend to view the flow of ideas as a one-way process. Instead, these Chinese perspectives reveal a more complex and circular flow of ideas, which calls into question the conventional notion of one-way reception (whether “from East to West” or “from West to East”). China did not merely provide raw material for Western thinkers to appropriate and adapt for their own purposes; rather, Chinese cultural and spiritual traditions actively shaped and influenced the trajectory of global discourses on esotericism. Likewise, contemporary Chinese discourses on “Western Esotericism” are increasingly framed around both domestic issues—such as the role and necessity of regulating religion in Chinese society—and international debates on religion, science, and public health. Thus, this presentation advocates for a global and interdisciplinary approach to the study of esotericism—one that recognizes the entangled and reciprocal histories of “China” and “the West,” and acknowledges their shared responsibility in shaping the development of modern and postmodern alternative religious trajectories.
Davide Marino, PhD
Davide Marino specializes in the interplay between East Asian religions, particularly Chinese, and European Esotericism, with a focus on Traditionalism. His Ph.D. thesis, which received the CUHK Young Scholars Thesis Award in 2023, examined the influence of Chinese and Vietnamese religious concepts on the works of Albert de Pouvourville and René Guénon. More recently, he has been investigating the intersection of politics and esotericism in both China and Europe.
Organizers:
Department of East Asian Studies, University of Göttingen
Centre for Modern East Asian Studies, University of Göttingen
Image: Image: Gauthier Delecroix, Spirituality CC BY 2.0, https://flic.kr/p/MxGNDj

[Event Cancellation] Lecture: Network Ties, Social Capital, and Multilateral Cooperation
2025-05-12 16:00 - 17:30 (Europe/Helsinki)
We regret to inform you that the lecture:
Network Ties, Social Capital, and Multilateral Cooperation
has been cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances.
We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. Should the event be rescheduled in the future, we will update the information accordingly.
Thank you for your understanding and continued interest.
—

Network Ties, Social Capital, and Multilateral Cooperation
Christina Davis (Harvard University)
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Room: ZHG 005 16:15 – 17:30
Lecture: May 12, 2025

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Christina L. Davis
Christina L. Davis is the Edwin O. Reischauer Professor of Japanese Politics in the Department of Government and Director of the Program on U.S.-Japan Relations at Harvard University. During academic year 2024-25 she will be on leave at Oxford University (affiliated to Queen’s College) as the Centenary Visiting Professor in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics. Her research interests include the politics and foreign policy of Japan, East Asia, and the study of international organizations with a focus on trade policy. Her research has been published in leading political science journals. She is the author of Food Fights Over Free Trade: How International Institutions Promote Agricultural Trade Liberalization (Princeton University Press 2003), and Why Adjudicate? Enforcing Trade Rules in the WTO (Princeton University Press 2012, winner of the international law best book award of the International Studies Association, Ohira Memorial Prize, and co-winner of Chadwick Alger Prize). Her latest book, Discriminatory Clubs: The Geopolitics of International Organizations, was released by Princeton University Press in July 2023. Currently she is working on several projects on the evolving trade order and economic sanctions. Education: AB in East Asian Studies, Harvard 1993; Ph.D. in Political Science, Harvard 2001.
https://scholar.harvard.edu/cldavis/home

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Organizers:
Centre for Modern East Asian Studies (CeMEAS), Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, Heinrich-Düker-Weg 14, 37073 Göttingen, Germany, http://www.cemeas.de
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Department for International Relations, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen,Platz der Göttinger Sieben 3, 37073 Göttingen, Germany, https://lehrstuhlib.uni-goettingen.de
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Chair of Development Economics, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, Platz der Göttinger Sieben 3, 37073 Göttingen, Germany, https://www.uni-goettingen.de/en/614556.h
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Image: Image created using AI-generated content powered by DALL·E via ChatGPT by OpenAI

Lecture: Towards a New World Order: Reading Zhao Tingyang’s Tianxia in Light of the Japanese Experience
2025-05-13 18:00 - 20:00 (Europe/Helsinki) | PH 20. Hörsaal der Philosophischen Fakultät, Humboldtallee 19/21
Towards a New World Order: Reading Zhao Tingyang’s Tianxia in Light of the Japanese Experience

Prof. Viren Murthy (University of Wisconsin-Madison)

PH 20. Hörsaal der Philosophischen Fakultät, Humboldtallee 19/21

13. May (Tuesday), 18:15–19:45

Abstract:
Today in the midst of a global pandemic, we are constantly confronted with the inability of national governments to create the conditions for human flourishing. In this context, the recent attempts from Chinese Confucianists to envision a new world order could point the way to a more sustainable future. This global gesture in recent Confucian theory overlaps with recent trends in Marxism. For example, Jacques Bidet has written of an incipient world-state (état-monde), which could potentially go against the capitalist world order. From its inception, Marxism has been interested in a global movement to overcome capitalism. But tianxia theorists seem to proceed from the opposite direction of Marxism. Put simply, while Marxists explain philosophical theories by relating them to social and historical structures, Confucian tianxia theorists proceed from philosophy to history and politics. Recently, Marxists have questioned the Confucian tianxia approach and contend that such theories are merely an ideology to legitimate Chinese capitalism and the imperialist tendency of the contemporary Chinese government. In response to such criticisms, I attempt to synthesize Marxism and tianxia theory by focusing on the contemporary Chinese thinker, Zhao Tingyang. With respect to imperialism, one of the key issues concerns how Zhao envisions the unity of a world as encompassing the many, without negating their particularity. I deal with this ideal philosophically, making comparisons to Hegel’s conception and also to thinkers in interwar Japan, which was imperialist. I claim that Zhang can avoid the pitfall of the Japanese path, only if he places the problems of capitalism at the center of his theory. In short, one will not be able to achieve a non-imperialist global unity that respects multiplicity without overcoming global capitalism.

Speaker:

My work probes the historical conditions for the possibility of philosophy and politics in the modern world and in East Asia in particular. I am generally interested in the attempts of East Asian intellectuals to resist modernity through reviving premodern philosophies and religions, such as Buddhism. My first book, The Political Philosophy of Zhang Taiyan: The Resistance of Consciousness, shows how in early 20th century China, Zhang Taiyan, drew on Consciousness-Only (Yogācāra) Buddhism to formulate a theory of revolution. In particular, the book explains how this seemingly ancient body of knowledge is reformulated as China was incorporated into the global capitalist system of nation-states.

In June 2022, I published The Politics of Time in China and Japan: Back to the Future (Routledge), which is a collection of essays that explore how Chinese and Japanese intellectuals mobilize traditional texts to create a better future. They produce what I call “back to the future” narratives, in which they conjure the past to envision a world beyond global capitalism. These narratives are nationalistic but unlike in England and the United States, this nationalism is connected to anti-imperialism and resistance to global inequality. I suggest that such inequality also divides Europe, which enables comparisons between Germany and Asian nations, all of whom saw themselves as being marginalized.

My third monograph Pan-Asianism and Legacy of the Chinese Revolution (University of Chicago Press, 2023) shows how intellectuals in China and Japan promoted unity among weak Asian nations to resist Western domination. To promote such unity, pan-Asianists struggled against Eurocentric visions of history articulated by philosophers such as Hegel, who argued that the Orient had to follow the West. At the same time, these thinkers appropriated Hegel’s criticisms of abstract individualism. I contend that Japanese and Chinese pan-Asianists drew on elements of both Asian and Western culture to posit a world beyond narrow self-interest, capitalism, and imperialism. The legacy of pan-Asianism is complex given that Japan employed this ideology to promote imperialism. Consequently, postwar Japanese pan-Asianists had to confront the problem of war memory. Postwar pan-Asianists tried to show that a healthy transnationalism was both possible and necessary to struggle against Western imperialism.

My present project concerns how East Asian intellectuals drew on G.W.F Hegel to uncover logics to Chinese and Japanese history, which culminate in a new world order inspired by their respective cultures. In addition to the above projects connected to East Asia, I am also involved in a project on South Indian Classical Music and Tamil Identity, which also explores issues of how traditions have been reconstituted by capitalist modernity. I have also been interested in how Marxists in (primarily in the North Atlantic) have drawn on Jewish Messianism to confront capitalist modernity.

Organizer:
Prof. Dominic Sachsenmaier, University of Göttingen

Image Disclaimer:
This promotional poster was generated using OpenAI’s ChatGPT (DALL·E) for non-commercial academic purposes.

Workshop | Strategien und Praxis der Vermittlung des chinesischen Ausdrucks
2025-05-17 10:00 - 17:00 (Europe/Helsinki) | Lulz-Raum, Waldweg 26, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen
📢 Workshop-Ankündigung | 漢語作為外語的表達教學：策略與實踐
Strategien und Praxis der Vermittlung des chinesischen Ausdrucks
🗓 Datum | 日期: Samstag, 17. Mai 2025（週六）
📍 Ort | 地點: Lulz-Raum, Waldweg 26, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen
🕙 Uhrzeit | 時間: 10:00 – 17:00（Einlass/報到 ab 09:30）
🈶 Kurssprache | 工作語言: Chinesisch 中文

Das Akademische Konfuzius-Institut Göttingen lädt herzlich zur Fortbildung für Chinesischlehrkräfte ein. Der Workshop wird von Frau Liu Dienmin, Doktorandin an der National Taiwan Normal University, geleitet und widmet sich praxisnah der Vermittlung mündlicher und schriftlicher Ausdrucksfähigkeiten im Chinesischunterricht.
哥廷根學術孔子學院誠摯邀請您參加本次華語教師專題工作坊，由臺灣師範大學華語教學系博士候選人劉殿敏老師主講。工作坊將聚焦於「語言輸出」的教學策略與實踐，幫助教師提升學生在口語與書寫方面的表達能力。

💡 Workshop-Inhalte | 活動亮點

Bildinterpretationen und kreative Denkprozesse 圖像解讀與創意思維啟發

Körperliche Multimodalität und Sprachwiederholung 肢體多模態與語言記憶訓練

Strategien für Vorträge und Schreibübungen 口語與寫作教學策略

Praktische Übungen, Gruppenarbeit, Feedback 實作演練與小組互動

👩‍🏫 Dozentin | 主講人:
劉殿敏 Dienmin Liu
Doktorandin an der National Taiwan Normal University, mit langjähriger Erfahrung im Bereich Chinesisch als Fremdsprache. Sie war u.a. an der UC Berkeley, der University of British Columbia sowie an der Universität Tübingen tätig und wurde 2019 mit dem „華育獎“ für hervorragende Lehrleistungen ausgezeichnet.
臺灣師範大學華語教學系博士候選人，曾任教於美國柏克萊大學、加拿大UBC與德國圖賓根大學，具多年華語教學與師資培訓經驗，2019年獲得「華育獎」殊榮。

📩 Anmeldung | 報名方式:
👉 Zur Anmeldung | 點我報名
📅 Anmeldeschluss | 報名截止: 18. April 2025
🔖 Die Teilnehmerzahl ist begrenzt – bitte frühzeitig anmelden!
名額有限，請儘早報名！
📧 Kontakt | 聯絡方式:
ChaF Team – chaf@aki-goettingen.de
🧩 Veranstalter | 主辦單位:
Akademisches Konfuzius-Institut Göttingen 哥廷根學術孔子學院
📎 In Zusammenarbeit mit | 合作單位: Professur für Fachdidaktik Chinesisch als Fremdsprache, Ostasiatisches Seminar 哥廷根大學東亞系華語教學教席

📄 Weitere Informationen und das vollständige Programm finden Sie im PDF-Flyer.
活動詳情與完整日程，請點擊以下連結查看 PDF 宣傳冊：
👉 PDF anzeigen | 查看 PDF 宣傳冊

International Conference: Identity, Ignorance, and the Politics of the Self（May 19 & May 21, 2025）
2025-05-19 - 2025-05-21 | • May 19: Paulinerkirche, Papendiek 14, 37073 Göttingen • May 21: Historische Sternwarte, Geismar Landstraße 11, 37083 Göttingen
International Conference: Identity, Ignorance, and the Politics of the Self

Dates: May 19 & May 21, 2025
Locations:
• May 19: Paulinerkirche, Papendiek 14, 37073 Göttingen
• May 21: Historische Sternwarte, Geismar Landstraße 11, 37083 Göttingen
Online Option: YouTube Livestream

The University of Göttingen is pleased to host the international conference “Identity, Ignorance, and the Politics of the Self” on May 19 and 21, 2025. Co-organized by Prof. Dominic Sachsenmaier (University of Göttingen) and Prof. Wang Hui (Tsinghua University), this event will bring together leading voices from both academia and the arts to engage in a cross-cultural dialogue between China and the West.
Among the distinguished participants are world-renowned scholars as well as prominent figures from contemporary Chinese literature and art, including novelist Yu Hua, essayist Mao Jian, and artist Xu Bing. From the German side, acclaimed writer Steffen Kopetzky will also take part in the discussions.
This rare and high-level exchange is generously funded by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation.
We warmly welcome all students, faculty, and interested members of the public to join this exceptional event.

For detailed information, please click here for the full program.

Lecture: The Great Transformation of International Order and the Future of Chinese Economy
2025-05-27 18:00 - 19:30 (Europe/Helsinki) | PH 20. Hörsaal der Philosophischen Fakultät, Humboldtallee 19/21
The Great Transformation of International Order and the Future of Chinese Economy

Prof. Gao Bai (Duke University)

PH 20. Hörsaal der Philosophischen Fakultät, Humboldtallee 19/21
27. May (Tuesday), 18:15-19:45

Abstract:
The international order established after World War II is currently experiencing a profound transformation. Many Chinese use 百年未有之大变局 （major changes unseen in a century）to describe the current situation.
What are the driving forces behind this great transformation?
In his newly published book titled 《把脉：全球巨变与中国经济》（Taking A Pulse：Global Transformation and the Chinese economy）, Bai Gao uses three long cycles of history, which include the pendulum movement of globalization, the cycle of hegemonic expansions, and technological revolution, to explain the drastic changes occurring in the international economic order and their profound impacts on the Chinese economy.
Bai Gao demonstrates that since China’s reform and opening up, the dynamics of development of the Chinese economy have changed twice, first to the world factory model focusing on external circulation by promoting export, and then shifted to a supply-side demand model emphasizing internal circulation sustained by government spending in infrastructure construction and private investment in real estate. With low birth rate and ageing population and mounting debts of local governments, these old strategies can no longer sustain economic growth. Bai Gao predicts a new model for the Chinese economy in the 21st century: 休养生息（rest and recuperate）by developing strong social protection programs, and 强筋壮骨 （strengthen muscles and bones）by upgrading industries and developing international competitiveness.
Speaker:
Gao Bai is a lifelong professor of sociology at Duke University. Professor Gao Bai graduated from Peking University in the 1980s and received a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree. In 1994, he graduated from the Department of Sociology of Princeton University and received a doctorate in sociology.
Professor Gao Bai’s main research fields include economics and society, comparative history sociology, organizational theory, comparative political economy, international political economy and globalization.
Professor Gao Bai has been teaching at Duke University since graduation; has been a visiting scholar at the Institute of Social Sciences of the University of Tokyo, the Department of Economics of the University of One Bridge, the School of International Business and Law of Yokohama National University, the Tokyo University of Economics and the Max Planck Institute of Social Studies in Cologne, Germany; has been a visiting professor at the University of Tokyo, Meiji University and Jacob University in Bremen, Germany, as a self-strengthening professor at the University of Shanghai and a lecture professor at the Shanghai University of Finance and Economics; and has been the director and chief expert of the China High Speed Railway Development Strategy Research Center at Southwest Jiaotong University since June 2014.
Organizer:
Prof. Dominic Sachsenmaier, University of Göttingen

Gab es außereuropäische Kolonialreiche? Theoretisch-konzeptuelle Überlegungen am Beispiel des Qingreichs (1636-1912)
2025-06-02 16:00 - 17:30 (Europe/Helsinki) | Kulturwissenschaftliches Zentrum, KWZ 0.607
Gab es außereuropäische Kolonialreiche? Theoretisch-konzeptuelle Überlegungen am Beispiel des Qingreichs (1636-1912)

Zeit: 16.00-17:30, 2. Juni 2025
Ort: KWZ 0.607, Göttingen
Vortrag: Julia C. Schneider

Abstract
Seit etwas mehr als zwei Jahrzehnten findet man in der historischen Forschung vermehrt die Konzeptualisierung des Qingreichs und anderer außereuropäischer Reiche wie des osmanischen und des russischen Reichs als Kolonialreiche. Parallel zu den europäischen imperialistischen Kolonialreichen und -staaten der frühen Neuzeit, so die These, hätten sie in eroberten Gebieten koloniale Projekte durchgeführt und Siedlungskolonialismus unterstützt.
In meinem Vortrag stelle ich diese These auf den Prüfstand, indem ich am Fall der manjurischen Qingdynastie zeige, warum der Begriff Kolonialreich und verwandte Begriffe in den Empire studies verwendet werden, was ihre Verwendung mit Postkolonialismus zu tun hat und warum sie aus meiner Sicht letztlich unzutreffend sind.

CV: Julia C. Schneider ist Professorin für Sinologie an der Universität Hamburg. Von 2019 bis 2024 war sie Lecturer bzw. Senior Lecturer für chinesische Geschichte am University College Cork (Irland). Nach einem Magister in klassischer Sinologie (Heidelberg) hat sie an den Universitäten Gent und Göttingen in Sinologie promoviert (Cotutelle).
Julia C. Schneider befasst sich vor allem mit Ideengeschichte. Ihr inhaltlicher Schwerpunkt liegt dabei auf chinesischen Diskurses zu nicht-chinesischen Gesellschaften bezüglich Nationalismus, Historiographie und Zensur, ihr zeitlicher Fokus auf der späten Kaiser- und Republikzeit sowie den Ming- und Qingdynastien. Darüberhinaus hat sie ein Interesse für die Manjuristik.

Lecture: Guerrilla Practice and the Cultural Conjury of Cooperation in Wartime China, 1937-1945
2025-06-03 18:00 - 19:30 (Europe/Helsinki) | PH 20. Hörsaal der Philosophischen Fakultät, Humboldtallee 19/21
Guerrilla Practice and the Cultural Conjury of Cooperation in Wartime China, 1937-1945

Dr. Harlan Chambers (University of Göttingen)
PH 20. Hörsaal der Philosophischen Fakultät, Humboldtallee 19/21
3. June (Tuesday), 18:15-19:45

Abstract:
Within the long, global history of modern guerrilla warfare and related practices of “small wars,” revolutionaries and scholars alike have regarded Mao Zedong’s texts on guerrilla war as formative to post WWII liberation struggles. In this talk, I will argue that beyond Mao’s famous texts on military strategy, the “guerrilla” as it was developed in China’s War to Resist Japan articulated a cultural and philosophical project to forge a new logic of political-economic development. Progressive thinkers and creative writers working amongst guerrilla zones narrated “guerrilla practices” as those of cooperative construction, a non-exploitive form of economic organization that rejected the extractive economics of fascism that were engendered by Japanese invasion and Nationalist hegemony.
First, I will examine how Chinese thinkers staged and debated the guerrilla in 1930s China, particularly in light of Italy’s invasion of Abyssinia (Ethiopia). By analyzing international developments, progressive thinkers not only formulated the guerrilla as a project of social reconstruction but interrogated it as a philosophical problem for thinking world history. The second part builds upon these formulations of the guerrilla to understand the particular “guerrilla practices” of the late 1930s, which extend beyond Mao’s famous military tactics to encompass forms of cooperative economic construction in the base areas of northern China. I show that, by the early 1940s, guerrilla zones’ economic practices also integrated culture workers as essential for developing their particular forms of cooperative labor. Considering several cultural creations from these guerrilla zones, particularly around the Jin-Cha-Ji base area, I will argue that cultural works conjured a new logic of cooperatively organized economic production, formative to the guerrilla project.
Speaker:
Harlan Chambers completed his Ph.D. in Modern Chinese Literature and Culture at Columbia University in 2022 and served as a Visiting Assistant Professor of History at Illinois Wesleyan University before joining the Department of East Asian Studies at the University of Göttingen in 2024. As an interdisciplinary scholar of Chinese culture and history, as well as feminist and critical theory, his research interrogates the role of cultural practices in processes of social transformation, integrating archival research with analyses of cultural texts. Harlan is part of a research team exploring the history of conceptions of world order at the University of Göttingen.
Organizer:
Prof. Dominic Sachsenmaier, University of Göttingen

Image Disclaimer:
This promotional poster was generated using OpenAI’s ChatGPT (DALL·E) for non-commercial academic purposes.

Chinesischsprachige Filmwochen Göttingen 2025
2025-06-11 - 2025-06-26
Chinesischsprachige Filmwochen Göttingen 2025
哥廷根中文电影季 2025
„Von Wurzeln und Flügeln: Sprachen und Kulturen auf dem Weg zum Erwachsenwerden“
Mehr Informationen: https://www.cemeas.de/chinesischsprachige-filmwochen-2025/
PROGRAMM
EINTRITT FREI!

Meine Kindheit im alten Peking《城南舊事》 11. 06. 2025, 18:00, ZHG 005
Mand. m. engl. UT, 88 Minuten
Referentin: Prof. Dr. Tao Zhang (Universität Göttingen)

Deep Sea 《深海》 18. 06. 2025, 18:00, ZHG 005
Mand. m. dt. UT, 112 Minute, Referent: Arvid Storch (Sprachlehrer, Hannover & Hamburg)

Growing Apart 《何处生长》 19. 06. 2025, 19:30, Kino Lumière Göttingen
Eintritt frei, Ticketreservierung: https://lumiere-melies.de/
Mand. m. engl. UT, 89 Minuten, Referentin: Heidi Marweg (Mannheim)
https://www.midnightblurfilms.com/growing-apart

White Snake《白蛇：缘起》 20. 06. 2025, 13:30, Kino Lumière Göttingen (Eintritt frei, Schüler:innen-Sondervorführung, Anmeldung bis 18.06.2025: goechaf@uni-goettingen.de)
Deutsch (synchronisiert), 99 Minuten, Referentin: Prof. Dr. Tao Zhang (Uni Göttingen)

The Farewell 《别告诉她》 25. 06. 2025, 18:00, ZHG 005
Mand. m. engl. UT, 98 Minuten, Referentin: Dr. Yongli Li (Heinrich Heine Universität Düsseldorf), (En/Ch)

Pickpocket 《小武》 26. 06. 2025, 19:30, Kino Lumière Göttingen
Eintritt frei, Ticketreservierung: https://lumiere-melies.de/
Mand. m. engl. UT, 108 Minuten, Referentin: Katja Pessl (Universität Göttingen)

Restored by The Film Foundation’s World Cinema Project and Cineteca di Bologna at L’Immagine Ritrovata laboratory in association with MK2 and in collaboration with Jia Zhangke. Restoration funding provided by the Hobson/Lucas Family Foundation.

Organisatoren & Unterstützer:

Chinesischsprachige Filmwochen 2025 – Erste Filmvorführung: Meine Kindheit im alten Peking (城南舊事)
2025-06-11 18:00 - 20:00 (Europe/Helsinki) | ZHG 005, Universität Göttingen
Chinesischsprachige Filmwochen 2025 – Erste Filmvorführung: Meine Kindheit im alten Peking (城南舊事)
Meine Kindheit im alten Peking (城南舊事)
Datum: Mittwoch, 11. Juni 2025
Zeit: 18:00 Uhr
Ort: ZHG 005, Universität Göttingen
Einführung: Prof. Dr. Tao Zhang (Georg-August-Universität Göttingen)
Sprache: Mandarin mit englischen Untertiteln
Eintritt: frei, ohne Anmeldung
Der Auftakt unserer chinesischsprachigen Filmwochen 2025 beginnt mit einem zeitlosen Klassiker: Meine Kindheit im alten Peking basiert auf den gleichnamigen autobiografischen Erinnerungen von Lin Haiyin und bietet eine einfühlsame Rückschau auf das Peking der 1920er Jahre – gesehen mit den Augen eines Kindes.
Begleiten Sie uns auf eine filmische Reise in eine vergangene Welt voller Wärme, Melancholie und fein gezeichneter Figuren. Die Veranstaltung beginnt mit einer kurzen Einführung durch Prof. Dr. Tao Zhang und lädt im Anschluss zum gemeinsamen Gespräch ein.
Weitere Informationen zur gesamten Filmreihe finden Sie hier:
https://www.cemeas.de/chinesischsprachige-filmwochen-2025/

Conference Announcement: Civilization and Conceptions of World Order
2025-06-16 - 2025-06-17 | Geiststrasse 10, Room 1.118
Short Report: Civilization and Conceptions of World Order Conference

On June 16–17, 2025, the joint center for advanced studies Worldmaking from Global Perspectives: A Dialogue with China organized an international conference on “Civilization and Conceptions of World Order.” The event was sponsored by the German Ministry of Education and Research and held at a location of the Göttingen Academy of Sciences and Humanities in Lower Saxony. Bringing together scholars from across Asia, Europe, and North America, the event explored civilizational discourses and their role in shaping (partly weaponized) visions of global order. Prof. Dominic Sachsenmaier figured as the main host.

Photos taken by Haifeng Weng.

Conference Announcement
Civilization and Conceptions of World Order

June 16–17, 2025
Conference Venue
Niedersächsische Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Göttingen
Geiststrasse 10, Room 1.118

We are pleased to announce the upcoming conference Civilization and Conceptions of World Order, which will take place on June 16–17, 2025, at the Niedersächsische Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Göttingen (Geiststrasse 10, Room 1.118).
This conference brings together international scholars to explore civilizational narratives and conceptions of world order from inter-Asian and global perspectives. Over two days, panels will address a wide range of topics, including recent civilizational debates in China, civilizational discourses in East Asia, proposals for a “good society” in Taiwan and beyond, as well as genealogies of civilizational narratives in both China and India. The conference will conclude with a roundtable discussion on the global and local contexts of the rise of civilizational narratives.

Conference Program Highlights:

Keynote Panels and Presentations:
Scholars from Duke University, Indiana University, Fudan University, Columbia University, Peking University, Rowan University, and other institutions will present their latest research.

Roundtable Discussion:
A final roundtable chaired by Dominic Sachsenmaier (University of Göttingen) with Hans Kundnani (Royal Institute of International Affairs, London), Srirupa Roy (University of Göttingen), and Mohammed Alsudairi (ANU Canberra).

Invited Discussants:
Steven Halsey (University of Miami), Fang Ruobing (University of Göttingen), Axel Schneider (University of Göttingen), Zhang Tong (Handelshøyskolen, Oslo), and Zhao Xiaoyang (University of Göttingen).

Funding Information
This conference is generously funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF).

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Image: Image created using AI-generated content powered by DALL·E via ChatGPT by OpenAI

Chinesischsprachige Filmwochen Göttingen 2025: Schüler:innen-Vorführung: White Snake
2025-06-20 13:30 - 16:00 (Europe/Helsinki) | Kino Lumière, Göttingen
Chinesischsprachige Filmwochen Göttingen 2025

Schüler:innen-Vorführung im Kino Lumière – White Snake《白蛇：缘起》
Freitag, 20. Juni 2025
Beginn: 13:30 Uhr
Kino Lumière, Göttingen
Eintritt frei – Anmeldung bis zum 18.06.2025 an: goechaf@uni-goettingen.de
Film in deutscher Synchronisation | FSK ab 12 Jahren
Im Rahmen der diesjährigen Filmreihe „Von Wurzeln und Flügeln: Sprachen und Kulturen auf dem Weg zum Erwachsenwerden“ laden wir herzlich zur Sondervorstellung des chinesischen Animationsfilms White Snake – Die Legende der weißen Schlange (《白蛇：缘起》) ein.
Dieser visuell beeindruckende Film erzählt eine zeitlose Geschichte über erste Liebe, Mut und das Anderssein – ein cineastisches Erlebnis für junge Menschen und alle Interessierten!

Im Anschluss: Filmgespräch mit Prof. Dr. Tao Zhang
Themen: Othering | Zugehörigkeit | Antidiskriminierung
(Professur Fachdidaktik Chinesisch als Fremdsprache, Universität Göttingen)
Wir freuen uns auf zahlreiche Teilnahme und einen inspirierenden Austausch im Kino! Bitte gerne an interessierte Kolleg:innen und Schüler:innen weiterleiten.

Spielerische Einführung in die Schriftzeichen mit Kalligraphieprobe
2025-06-21 17:00 - 19:00 (Europe/Helsinki)
Zeit: 17:00–18:00, 18:00–19:00, 21. Juni 2025
Format: Mitmachaktionen, Präsentation
Ort: KWZ 0.606, Heinrich-Düker-Weg 14, 37073 Göttingen
Veranstalter: Ostasiatisches Seminar (Philosophische Fakultät)
Leitung: Prof. Dr. Tao Zhang, Xuemei He
Taucht ein in die faszinierende Welt der chinesischen Schriftzeichen! Mit spielerischen und interaktiven Elementen bringen wir euch die Magie dieser jahrtausendealten Schrift näher. Durch Animationen, Bewegungen und kreative Spiele entdeckt ihr die einzigartige Schönheit und Struktur der Zeichen. Zum Abschluss laden wir euch ein, das Zeichen „ᐰ“ (Glück) selbst mit dem Pinsel zu schreiben – ein Zeichen für euer eigenes Glück. Ein Erlebnis für Groß und Klein!
Teil der 6. Nacht des Wissens – Göttingen, 21. Juni 2025

Weitere Informationen:
Nach Einrichtungen – Nacht des Wissens Göttingen

Lecture: From Theory to Practice: Enhancing Inclusive L2 Chinese Language Teaching at U.S. Universities through Multimedia Pedagogy
2025-06-25 16:00 - 17:30 (Europe/Helsinki) | KWZ 3.601
From Theory to Practice: Enhancing Inclusive L2 Chinese Language Teaching at U.S. Universities through Multimedia Pedagogy

Time: 16:00-17:30, 25.06.2025
Place: KWZ 3.601
Language:

Talk: Chinese
Handout: English & Chinese
Q&A: Bilingual (English / Chinese)

Speaker:
Dr. Yongli Li
Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf / College of the Holy Cross (USA)

Over the past two decades, shifting geopolitics, rapid technological advancements, and growing scholarship on decolonialization in applied linguistics have challenged conventional language teaching pedagogies within higher education. Transforming an inclusive, culturally sustaining, and long-term motivating pedagogy has become the center of recent scholarship. Inclusiveness in L2 language classrooms in higher education means respecting linguistically and culturally diverse students, and creating curricula and pedagogies that promote equity and raise awareness of social justice in classroom. What are the multifaceted dimensions of inclusiveness in Chinese language teaching in higher education? How can we enhance inclusive excellence when teaching diverse learners through task-based language learning and the strategic use of multimedia? In this talk, I will discuss recent English-language scholarship on inclusiveness in language teaching and reflect on my experiences teaching Chinese at the university level in the U.S. The talk will be followed by a Q&A session featuring discussions on classroom task design and sharing of teaching experiences in Europe and the U.S.

讲座题目:美国大学中文二语课堂中的包容性教学与多媒体应用
过去二十年中，全球地缘政治的变化、数字媒体和人工智能技术的日新月异，以及应用语言学领域中去殖民化研究的不断深入，都对高等教育中传统的语言教学法提出了挑战。如何对现有的二语教学法进行革新，使其成为更具有包容性、文化持续性和长期激励性的教学法已成为近年来学术研究的重点之一。高等教育二语教学课堂的包容性教学，不仅意味着尊重语言及文化背景多元化的学生，创建具有平等性的课堂，更意指在教学大纲和课堂活动设计中激发批判性多元文化主义的思考及提高学生社会正义意识的实践。此次讲座中，将首先讨论近期英文文献中关于中文二语教学包容性的学术研究成果，并以美国大学中文二语教学课堂实践为例，探讨教学中的包容性概念，并着重分享多媒体在二语教学中的应用及其对促进包容性教学的作用。

Short bio Yongli Li is Assistant Professor of Chinese Studies in the Department of World Languages, Literatures, and Cultures at College of the Holy Cross in the U.S. She specializes in Chinese film history, urban cinema and media industry. She has published in academic journals, including Transnational Screens, Global Storytelling: Journal of Digital and Moving Images, Chinese Literature Today. In addition to her reseaerch on Chinese media, she has taught Chinese language courses at universities in California, New York and Massachusetts. During the 2024-2025 academic year, she also holds a visiting assistant professor position at the Heinrich-Heine-University Düsseldorf.

Lecture: History on Sale: Unofficial Archive Markets in Contemporary China
2025-07-01 18:00 - 19:30 (Europe/Helsinki)
History on Sale: Unofficial Archive Markets in Contemporary China

Dr. Yi Lu (Assistant Professor of History, Dartmouth College)

PH 20. Hörsaal der Philosophischen Fakultät, Humboldtallee 19/21

1. July (Tuesday), 18:15–19:45

Abstract:

For the past four decades, the study of contemporary China has been significantly shaped by an informal market in de-accessioned government archives. My research examines how state records have been transformed into both street commodities and scholarly resources, proposing a theory of knowledge recycling through a material economy lens. In this presentation, I explore how individuals on the margins of Chinese society, including waste recyclers, have repurposed discarded paper ephemera to create a counter-archive of knowledge. From Beijing’s Panjiayuan flea market to online platforms like Kongfuzi.com, and through various forms of indigenous classification and private museums, their cultural entrepreneurship has forged connections between a global network of scholars and collectors. This phenomenon has not only reshaped the field of contemporary Chinese history but also raised some unsettling questions about the practice and ethics of knowledge production: Who is a historian? What constitutes an archive? And what happens to history as a field when historians write with what they can buy?

Speaker:

Dr. Yi Lu is a historian of modern China, with particular interests in the history of information, material culture, and digital humanities. He is currently Assistant Professor of History at Dartmouth College and working on his first book project, The Dustbin of History: Making History in Modern China.

Organizer:
Prof. Dominic Sachsenmaier, University of Göttingen

Workshop: Pre-modern Literary Theory in Comparison – China, India, Europe
2025-07-04 - 2025-07-07 | Humboldtallee 19, PH 20 & VG, Platz der Göttinger Sieben 7, room 3.104
Workshop: Pre-modern Literary Theory in Comparison – China, India, Europe

4.–7. Juli 2025
Humboldtallee 19, PH 20 & VG, Platz der Göttinger Sieben 7, room 3.104
Vortragssprachen: Englisch

In diesem internationalen Workshop diskutieren Forscher:innen aus China, Indien und Europa vormoderne Literaturtheorien im Vergleich – von Sanskrit-Poetik und klassischer chinesischer Dichtung bis zu aristotelischer Mimesis und barocker Poesietheorie.
Die Themen reichen von Metapoetik über Textkonzepte bis hin zu historischen Veränderungen von Gattungen.

🔗 Programm & Abstracts (PDF):

Abstracts herunterladen

Programm herunterladen

Organisiert von: Prof. Dr. Matthias Freise (Slavistik & Weltliteratur, Göttingen)

Semi-Governmentalism: The Guild Socialists’ Reform Proposals in the Socialist Debates
2025-07-08 16:00 - 18:00 (Europe/Helsinki) | VG 2.105
Semi-Governmentalism: The Guild Socialists’ Reform Proposals in the Socialist Debates

Zhou Yuefeng (Sichuan University)
Time: 08 July 2025 (Tuesday), 16:00–18:00
Room: VG 2.105
Language: Chinese
Abstract:
Originating in Britain, Guild Socialism was one strand of socialist thought that gained popularity in China during the May Fourth period and served as an important intellectual resource for addressing the political situation of the time. Those influenced by it actively participated in the debates on socialism. However, existing research has largely portrayed them as opponents of Marxism, emphasizing their non-communist stance while overlooking their broader vision for societal reform. In response to the emerging discourse surrounding the ideas of a “strong government” and a “good government” in the public sphere during the socialist debates, figures influenced by Guild Socialism—such as Zhang Dongsun, Lan Gongwu, Xu Liuji, and Guo Mengliang—voiced sustained opposition. They not only rejected early communists’ proposals to achieve socialism through a strong state, but also remained wary of idealized conceptions of an “omnipotent” or “benevolent” government. Instead, they advocated for a gradual strengthening of social forces and the balance of state power through a combination of occupational and regional self-governance. Their ultimate goal was a “semi-government” or a “dual-government” model—an ideal of minimal government. Yet, within an era that favored immediate action, this gradualist, society-oriented socialism was often dismissed as non-socialist or even anti-socialist. Ironically, it was the socialism advocating for a strong state that became recognized as the “orthodox” form of socialism.
Bio: Prof. Dr. Zhou Yuefeng holds a Professorship in Chinese History at Sichuan University. He is the author of Alternative New Culture Movement: The Cultural Activities of Liang Qichao’s Circle and the Intellectuals around the May Fourth Movement (Peking University Press, 2023). He has published articles on Modern Chinese intellectual history in peer-reviewed journals, including Historical Research, Modern Chinese History Studies, Bulletin of the Institute of Modern History Academia Sinica, Journal of Tsinghua University (Philosophy and Social Sciences), etc. He serves as the vice president of Sun Yat-Sen Research Association and the vice chief director of “Data Platform of Chinese Modern history”. He is also an elected member of the “Centre for the Study of Modern Chinese Thought” at Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

半政府主义：社会主义论战中基尔特主义者的改造构想
周月峰（四川大学历史文化学院）
时间：2025年7月8日（星期二），16:00–18:00
地点：VG 2.105
语言：中文
摘要：起源于英国的基尔特社会主义是社会主义流派之一，曾在五四时期流行于中国，成为时人应对时局的重要思想资源。受其影响者曾深度参与社会主义论战，然而既有研究多将其视为马克思主义的对立者，看到的多是其非共产主义的面相，而忽视他们应对时局的整体构想。面对社会主义论战前后舆论界新兴的“强政府”与“好政府”思潮，当时受基尔特社会主义影响的张东荪、蓝公武、徐六几、郭梦良等人曾有持续反对。他们不仅反对早期共产主义者以“强政府”为手段实现社会主义的主张，在理想国家形态上也警惕“万能政府”、“好政府”的设想，而是希望通过逐渐发展社会力量，以职业自治与区域自治相结合的方式制衡政府，最终实现“半政府”、“两个政府”的小政府理想。然而，在当时倾向立刻行动的时代思潮中，这一倾向“社会”的渐进式社会主义，被视为了非社会主义或反社会主义，反而是主张“强政府”的社会主义，成了社会主义的“正统”。
简介：周月峰教授现任四川大学中国历史教授，著有《另一场新文化运动：五四前后“梁启超系”再造新文明的努力》（北京大学出版社，2023）。他在《历史研究》、《近代史研究》、《中央研究院近代史研究所集刊》、《清华大学学报（哲学社会科学版）》等同行评审期刊发表多篇关于中国近代思想史的学术论文。现任孙中山研究会副会长、“中国近代史数据平台”副主任，同时也是中国社会科学院“近代中国思想研究中心”特邀研究员。

Lecture: A Multispecies Conquest of Zomia: The British Raj, the Elephant Paths, and the Panthay Mule Caravans in the Chin-Lushai Hills
2025-07-08 18:00 - 19:30 (Europe/Helsinki) | PH 20. Hörsaal der Philosophischen Fakultät, Humboldtallee 19/21
A Multispecies Conquest of Zomia: The British Raj, the Elephant Paths, and the Panthay Mule Caravans in the Chin-Lushai Hills

Prof. Cao Yin (Peking University)

PH 20. Hörsaal der Philosophischen Fakultät, Humboldtallee 19/21

8. July (Tuesday), 18:15–19:45

Abstract:

Since the 1850s, the British Raj sought to control the Chin-Lushai Hills, which lie between India and Burma. However, the region’s harsh terrain and climate rendered British occupation nearly impossible. The encounter between the colonial authorities, wild elephants, and the Panthay mule caravans marked a turning point. By following wild elephant migratory corridors and relying on the infrastructures of the Panthay mule caravans, the Raj overcame the logistical challenges that had previously hindered its efforts. This study argues that the non-Western knowledge upon which the British relied for their conquest of the hills in northeastern India and northern Burma was not purely locally rooted or indigenous. Rather, it had been shaped through the mobilities of migratory elephants and itinerant Panthay traders, who developed their understandings of the region through movement and translocal engagements. The British annexation of the Chin-Lushai Hills thus represents only one chapter in a longer, multispecies history of conquest and entanglement in this frontier zone.

Speaker:

Cao Yin is an associate professor in the department of history at Peking University. He is a scholar of modern South Asian history, global history, and India-China relations. He is the author of Chinese Sojourners in Wartime Raj, 1942-45 (Oxford University Press, 2022) and From Policemen to Revolutionaries: A Sikh Diaspora in Global Shanghai, 1885-1945 (Brill, 2017). He is a recipient of the Humboldt Research Fellowship for Experienced Researchers affiliated with the University of Göttingen. While in Göttingen, he is developing a book manuscript that explores the more-than-human dimensions of colonial expansion across the India-Burma-China borderlands in the 19th century.

Organizer:
Prof. Dominic Sachsenmaier, University of Göttingen

Fortbildung für Chinesischlehrkräfte: „Vom Zeichen zum Wort – Theorie und Praxis im Unterricht“ 以字带词：从理论到实践
2025-07-12 10:00 - 17:00 (Europe/Helsinki) | LuLZ-Raum, Waldweg 26, 37073 Göttingen
Fortbildung für Chinesischlehrkräfte: „Vom Zeichen zum Wort – Theorie und Praxis im Unterricht“
以字带词：从理论到实践

Datum: Samstag, 12. Juli 2025
Uhrzeit: 10:00–17:00 Uhr
Ort: LuLZ-Raum, Waldweg 26, 37073 Göttingen
im thematischen Rahmen von:
Typische Probleme in der Vermittlung chinesischer Schriftzeichen im deutschsprachigen Raum – Analyse und Lösungsansätze aus der Praxis
德语区汉字教学中常见问题的解析与实操

Veranstaltungssprache: Chinesisch（PPT zweisprachig: Chinesisch/Englisch）
Referent: Dr. Dehong Meng (Beijing Foreign Studies University)
Beschreibung:
Diese eintägige Lehrerfortbildung widmet sich typischen Herausforderungen im Unterricht chinesischer Schriftzeichen im deutschsprachigen Raum. Dr. Meng stellt praxisorientierte Lösungsansätze vor, um die Verbindung zwischen Zeichen und Wörtern im Fremdsprachenunterricht effektiv zu nutzen und den Wortschatzerwerb zu fördern.
Anmeldung: bis zum 2. Juli 2025
Link zur Anmeldung: https://forms.gle/UJt2i9MrxzYdCnLM8
oder QR-Code

Kontakt: chaf@aki-goettingen.de
Teilnahme: kostenfrei
Veranstalter:
Akademisches Konfuzius-Institut Göttingen in Zusammenarbeit mit der Professur für Fachdidaktik Chinesisch als Fremdsprache, Ostasiatisches Seminar, Universität Göttingen.
📎 Weitere Informationen:
🔗 Programm und Anmeldung (PDF)
🔗 Veranstaltungsposter (PDF)

Abend der Filmsongs – Gesang & Gespräch
2025-07-19 18:00 - 21:00 (Europe/Helsinki) | KWZ 0.608
Abend der Filmsongs – Gesang & Gespräch
Ein besonderes Highlight der chinesischsprachigen Filmwoche 2025
Datum: Samstag, 19. Juli 2025
Uhrzeit: 18:00–ca. 21:00 Uhr
Ort: KWZ 0.608, Universität Göttingen
Sprachen: Deutsch & Chinesisch
Eintritt frei | Keine Anmeldung erforderlich
Im Rahmen der chinesischsprachigen Filmwoche 2025 laden wir herzlich zu einem besonderen Abend ein, der Film und Musik auf kreative Weise miteinander verbindet: dem „Abend der Filmsongs“.
Nach der gemeinsamen Filmsichtung von Xiao Wu (1997, Regie: Jia Zhangke) möchten wir mit allen Interessierten in die musikalische Welt chinesischer Filme eintauchen. Zahlreiche chinesische Filme nutzen Musik als zentrales Ausdrucksmittel für Emotionen, gesellschaftliche Veränderungen und persönliche Geschichten. Der Abend bietet die Gelegenheit, diese Lieder gemeinsam zu hören, zu übersetzen, zu reflektieren – und natürlich mitzusingen!
Was Sie erwartet:

Eine kurze Einführung zu ausgewählten Liedern aus chinesischen Filmklassikern
Vergleich verschiedener Versionen (Original, Cover, Karaoke)
Gemeinsames Übersetzen und Diskutieren prägnanter Textstellen
Offene KTV-Runde: Singen ausdrücklich erwünscht, aber ohne Druck!

Bringen Sie gerne auch eigene Lieblingslieder aus chinesischen Filmen mit.
Für Snacks und Getränke ist gesorgt – zusätzliche Mitbringsel willkommen!
Die Veranstaltung richtet sich an alle – mit oder ohne Chinesischkenntnisse, mit oder ohne musikalische Erfahrung. Im Mittelpunkt steht das gemeinsame Erleben von Musik als kultureller Brücke.
Organisation:
Prof. Dr. Tao Zhang (Ostasiatisches Seminar)
Katja Pessl (CeMEAS)
