Blog Archives

8 March China seminar: Ka Kin Cheuk: ‘Little India’ in China

‘Little India’ in China: Indian Traders in a Chinese Fabric Market

Speaker: Ka Kin Cheuk (LIAS, China Studies)

Date/time: 8 March 2017 (Wed), 15.15-17.00

Place: Vrieshof 1, Room 6

 

Synopsis:

Keqiao, a county-level district under Shaoxing municipality in the eastern Zhejiang Province, is not only a global trading frontier, but also a ‘Little India’ in China. Its wholesale market accounts for one-third annual turnover of China-made fabrics – the semi-finished textiles that are industrially weaved, knitted, dyed, and printed in bulk before being exported. In the local market, about 5,000 Indians have established intermediary businesses, brokering fabric trade deals for their overseas buyers. Drawing on long-term anthropological fieldwork (2011-2012; 2016-2017), this talk aims to explore the everyday business experience of these Indians in Keqiao. It unpacks the economic niche that they have created, as well as the global trading networks that have sustained this niche in the local market. In so doing, the talk seeks to bring attention to the significance of this group of Indians in the global fabric trade.

 

 

 

 

15 Feb China seminar: Rogier Creemers: Building a Strong Cyber Power

Title: Building a Strong Cyber Power: China’s Ambitious ICT Strategy

 

Speaker: Rogier Creemers (LIAS & Van Vollenhoven Institute)

 

Date/time: 15 Feb 2017, 15.15-17.00

Place: Vrieshof 1, Room 6

 

Synopsis:

In 2013, China embarked on a profound restructuring of its Internet governance structure and its information technology policy. Called the “strong cyber power strategy”, these measures are aimed at enhancing China’s technological capacities, their commercial application and the country’s weight in global Internet governance. This talk will discuss the leadership’s perceptions concerning the challenges and opportunities of information technology, how these influence policy formation, and how that interrelates with global questions.

30 November China Seminar: Matt Ferchen: Political risk assessment

Political Risk Assessment with Chinese Characteristics: Venezuela and Beyond

Matt Ferchen (Tsinghua University)

Beginning around 2011, when Chinese investments and citizens were caught up in unexpected turmoil and political change in places like Libya and Myanmar, Chinese government officials, academics and business leaders began to focus on better understanding and managing “political risk”. Yet at this same time China was building up its largest overseas loan portfolio, and a close diplomatic relationship, with arguably the highest risk country in the Americas: Venezuela. This talk will discuss how the concept, and management, of political risk has evolved in China in recent years and how despite these efforts China’s relations with Venezuela highlight the difficulties and contradictions in China’s new risk management efforts. The discussion will include a focus on how the political economy of “stability”, both in China’s domestic and foreign affairs, is central to understanding how risk is conceptualized and, at least in the case of Venezuela, (mis)managed.

Matt Ferchen is an associate professor in the Department of International Relations at Tsinghua University in Beijing and also a resident scholar at the Carnegie-Tsinghua Center for Global Policy. Professor Ferchen has lived, studied and worked in China since 2000 and his research and teaching focus on the domestic and international political economy of China’s evolving development model. He has a Ph.D. in Government from Cornell University and a Master’s in international affairs from Johns Hopkins SAIS.

 

When & where: Wednesday 30 November 15:15-17:00 p.m. De Vrieshof 4/006 Leiden University, Leiden

23 November China Seminar: Michael Keevak: How did East Asians become yellow?

Wednesday 23 November; 15:15-17:00 p.m. Location: De Vrieshof 3/ 104 (Verbarium), Leiden University

How Did East Asians Become Yellow?

Michael Keevak

In their earliest encounters with East Asia, Europeans almost uniformly characterized the people of China and Japan as white, yet by the end of the seventeenth century the category of whiteness was reserved for Europeans only. When and how did Asians become “yellow” in the Western imagination? Looking at the history of racial thinking, this talk will explore the notion of yellowness and show that the label originated not in early travel texts or objective descriptions, but in the eighteenth- and nineteenth-century scientific discourses on race. The conceptual relationship between East Asians and yellow skin did not begin in Chinese culture or Western readings of East Asian cultural symbols, but in anthropological and medical records that described variations in skin color. Eighteenth-century taxonomers such as Carl Linnaeus, as well as Victorian scientists and early anthropologists, assigned colors to all racial groups, and once East Asians were lumped together as members of the “Mongolian race” they began to be considered yellow.

Michael Keevak is a professor of foreign languages at National Taiwan University. His books include Becoming Yellow: A Short History of Racial Thinking (Princeton, 2011); The Story of a Stele: China’s Nestorian Monument and its Reception in the West, 1625-1916 (Hong Kong, 2008); and The Pretended Asian: George Psalmanazar’s Eighteenth-Century Formosan Hoax (Detroit, 2004). A new book, Embassies to China: Diplomacy and Cultural Encounters Before the Opium Wars, is forthcoming next year from Palgrave Macmillan.

19 October China Seminar: Prof. Max K.W. Huang on the Transformation of Knowledge in Modern China

China Seminar 2016-2017 19 October

From 15.15-17.00 in Vrieshof 3 – Verbarium, Leiden University, Witte Singel 25, Leiden. All are welcome.

 

Evolution and Ethics and the Transformation of Knowledge in Modern China

Professor Max. K. W. Huang

Distinguished Research Fellow at the Institute of Modern History, Academia Sinica, Taiwan, R.O.C.

Abstract

Yan Fu’s Theory of Natural Evolution, a translation of Huxley’s Evolution and Ethics, was an important work and famous for its inaccuracy. It was widely read and encouraged Chinese people to understand natural evolution to strengthen themselves and to save their race. In this talk I will analyze the features of this Chinese translation and its impact on knowledge transformation in modern China. Yan’s translation was strongly influenced by his prior study of The Book of Changes and Xunzi. Yan emphasized the importance of ethical values in the process of evolution. He criticized Spencer for overemphasizing natural evolution at the expense of moral autonomy, and established a link between his emphasis on ethics, individual freedom, and Huxley’s theory of social cooperation. In this way, Yan’s understanding of evolution placed equal emphasis on self and group and led to an accommodative approach to policy and cultural reform. His ideas influenced both revolutionaries and constitutionalists in the late Qing, as well as liberals and New-Confucians in the Republican period. Moreover, Yan’s view of natural evolution along with his other translations of J. S. Mill, Adam Smith and Herbert Spencer led to the widespread adoption of a linear view of historical studies, as well as the rise of sociology, economics, political sciences, and religious studies in Modern China.

  

About the Speaker:

Dr. Max K. W. Huang was born in Taipei, Taiwan in 1957. He received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in History from Nation Taiwan Normal University. He subsequently pursued his studies in the United Kingdom and the United States, receiving a second master’s degree from Oxford University and his Ph. D degree from Stanford University. He is a distinguished research fellow at the Institute of Modern History, Academia Sinica. His major fields are Ming-Qing studies and Modern Chinese intellectual history. He has published six books and more than 80 articles. Dr. Huang’s most recent book is If It’s not Dirty, It’s No Joke: Humor, Desire, and the Body in the World of Modern Chinese Masculinity. His latest book is Government and Politics in Taiwan (Rouledge, 2011). He has a new co-edited volume titled Migration to and from Taiwan (Routledge, 2014).

《天演論》與近代中國的知識轉型

黃克武 教授

中央研究院近代史研究所特聘研究員

《天演論》乃嚴復譯自赫胥黎的《演化與倫理》一書,此書在近代中國影響深遠,鼓舞國人自立圖強,然該書乃「達旨」而非忠實之翻譯。本次講座將分析此譯書的思想特點及其對近代中國知識轉型的影響。嚴譯深受《易經》與荀子之影響,以此來詮釋西方天演觀念。他強調天演過程之中倫理的價值,並結合了倫理、個人自由與赫胥黎所強調的社會合作,而批評斯賓塞「任天為治」的想法。他的觀念影響了晚清的革命黨與立憲派,以及民國之後的自由主義者與新儒家。他所譯介的天演觀念以及他對穆勒、亞當斯密與斯賓塞著作的翻譯促成線性觀點的歷史研究,以及近代中國社會學、經濟學、政治學與宗教學的興起。

 

講者簡介:

黃克武博士1957年生於臺灣臺北,臺灣師範大學歷史學系學士、碩士,英國牛津(University of Oxford, U.K.)大學東方系碩士(1989),美國史丹佛(Stanford University, USA)大學歷史系博士(2001)。現任中央研究院近代史研究所特聘研究員。研究領域為明清史、中國近代思想史。主要著作:《一個被放棄的選擇:梁啟超調適思想之研究》(1994)、《自由的所以然:嚴復對約翰彌爾自由思想的認識與批判》(1998)、The Meaning of Freedom: Yan Fu and the Origins of Chinese Liberalism(2008),《惟適之安:嚴復與近代中國的文化轉型》(2010),《近代中國的思潮與人物》(2013),《言不褻不笑:近代中國男性世界中的諧謔、情慾與身體》(2016),以及有關明清文化史、嚴復、梁啟超、胡適、蔣中正等之學術論文八十餘篇。

China seminar: updated schedule

China Seminar 2016-2017

From 15.15-17.00 in Vrieshof 1 – 6

 

28 Sep 2016   CANCELLED

Frank Pieke (LIAS): “Party Spirit: Producing Communist Belief in Contemporary China”

 

19 Oct 2016

Max K.W. Huang (Academia Sinica): “Evolution and Ethics and the Transformation of Knowledge in Modern China”

This lecture is part of the Taiwan Lectures on Chinese Studies.

 

9 Nov 2016

Weiyu Zhang (National University of Singapore): “Fandom Publics: The Internet and New Social Formation in China”

N.B.: This session starts at 16.00.

 

30 Nov 2016

Matt Ferchen (Tsinghua University): “Political Risk Assessment with Chinese Characteristics: Venezuela and Beyond”

 

 

 

Save the dates: China Seminar 2016-2017

China Seminar 2016-2017

From 15.00-17.00 in Vrieshof 1 – 6

 

28 Sep 2016

Frank Pieke (LIAS): “Party Spirit: Producing Communist Belief in Contemporary China”

 

19 Oct 2016

Max K.W. Huang (Academia Sinica): “Evolution and Ethics and the Transformation of Knowledge in Modern China”

 

9 Nov 2016

Weiyu Zhang (NUS): TBA

N.B.: This session starts at 16.00.

 

30 Nov 2016

Xiao Chi (NUS): TBA

 

15 Feb 2017

Rogier Creemers (LIAS): TBA

 

8 Mar 2017

Ka Kin Cheuk (LIAS): TBA

 

29 Mar 2017

Jue Wang (LIAS): TBA

 

19 Apr 2017

Svetlana Kharakova (LIAS): TBA

Presentation 26 August: Mazu Worship and the Commercial Network of Chaozhou Merchants during the Qing Dynasty

We have the pleasure of inviting you to the presentation “Mazu Worship and the Commercial Network of Chaozhou Merchants during the Qing Dynasty” by Dr. Chen Jingxi (Huaqiao University, China). The lecture will be in Chinese.

Wednesday 26 August 2015 | 15.00~17:00 hrs. | Room 001, Arsenaal, Arsenaalstraat 1, 2311 CT Leiden

讲题:

《妈祖信仰与清代潮州海商网络》

提要:

本研究运用碑刻、方志、海关报告等资料,以时间为序,梳理清代康熙年间至同治年间,潮州海上贸易商人先后在苏州、上海、澄海、新加坡、汕头五地,建立起崇奉天后圣母,以“万某某”(其中四家为“万世某”)为名称的妈祖祭祀组织的历史脉络,藉此探讨流行于清代潮州族群中的妈祖信仰文化,与特定地域、特定行业人群的历史联系。

讲者:

陈景熙,国际潮籍博士联合会郑汉明学者交流奖励计划资助对象, 中山大学历史学博士,中国社会科学院世界宗教研究所宗教学博士后。现任华侨大学华侨华人研究院副教授、硕士生导师,华侨大学华侨华人文献中心主任、海外华人宗教研究中心副主任,泰国德教会紫真阁荣誉顾问,中国宗教学会理事,潮汕历史文化研究中心学术委员会、青年委员会主任委员,《潮学集刊》( The Journal of Chaoshan History and Culture Studies)主编,《华侨华人文献学刊》( The Journal of World Confederation of Institutes and Libraries for Overseas Chinese Studies)副主编,潮学网(http://www.chxw.net/)站长。

7 mei seminar Boek, letter, pijl en boog: Leiden en de Mantsjoes

Boek, letter, pijl en boog
Leiden en de Mantsjoes | Programma

07 mei 2015
Van 13:30 tot 16:15 uur
East Asian Library – Arsenaal

13:30
Aftrap door Léon Rodenburg en Fresco Sam-Sin

13:45-14:25
Van loden drukletter naar digitaal font: de typografische evolutie van
lettertypes voor de Mantsjoe taal. Door: Dr. Jo De Baerdemaeker

Over de oorsprong, de evolutie en het gebruik van authentieke Mantsjoe
drukletters. De Baerdemaeker zal aantonen waarom het nodig is
voormalige druktechnieken en de typografische karakteristieken van
Mantsjoe lettertypes te onderzoeken, om zo oplossingen te vinden voor de
ontwikkeling van nieuwe hedendaagse digitale Mantsjoe fonts.

14:35-15:15
De kracht van het boogschieten: de rol van pijl en boog bij de Mantsjoes.
Door: Peter Dekker

De Mantsjoes wierpen in 1644 de Ming omver. In de eeuw erna breidden
zij de grenzen uit tot een rijk dat over zo’n 36% van de toenmalige
wereldbevolking heerste. Opeens werden hun pijl-en-boog traditie het
symbool van de macht van China’s nieuwe dynastie, de Qing. Dekker
bespreekt deze traditie en legt uit hoe pijl en boog won van vuurwapens.

15:15
Pauze. Werp een blik op het tentoongestelde Mantsjoe-materiaal.

15:35-16:15
Spiegeltje, spiegeltje: klank, letter, pijl en boog in de Keizerlijke woordenboeken.
Door Fresco Sam-Sin

Mantsjoe-keizers hechtten veel belang aan hun encyclopedische
woordenboeken, spiegels. Dit was ingegeven door hun angst dat de
Mantsjoe-cultuur in de vergetelheid zou raken. Fresco Sam-Sin pakt de
onderwerpen en objecten op van Jo De Baerdemaeker en Peter Dekker, en
zet ze voor de Spiegel.

26 November: SVS Symposium on China’s international relations

SVS presents: Symposium on China’s international relations

Date: 26 November 2014
Location: Lipsius 2.27 (Leiden, Cleveringaplaats 1)

15.15 – 16.00 (in English)
Jue Wang:
China’s role in global governance

16.15 – 17.00 (in Dutch)
Frank Pieke:
Charme-offensief van de CCP en het terugkerende gebruik van buitenlandse vrienden

17.15 – 18.00 (in English)
Lindsay Black:
Economic integration and security in Northeast Asia – the role of business in Sino-Japanese relations

Drinks afterwards in the Arsenaal.

All welcome!