On Sept. 6, the fourth World Conference on Sinology took place in Beijing.   

 

On Sept. 6, the fourth World Con­ference on Sinology took place in Beijing. Co-hosted by the Confucius Institute and Renmin University of China (RUC), the conference re­viewed academic exchanges be­tween the East and West in the past four centuries, with an emphasis on transcending traditional disciplinary boundaries and furthering Sinology research in the new era.

 

Diversified Sinologist research

 “Contemporary Sinological re­search is characterized by integra­tion and localization”, said Jiang Yi, director of the College of Philosophy and Sociology at Beijing Normal University. Contemporary Sinology research not only focuses on the his­tory and current situation of Chinese culture but also includes the holistic study of various fields in China, and therefore it has become a common field for all scholars interested in China studies. While it has long been regarded as something exported from abroad, Sinology has become increasingly localized, coinciding with a revival of Chinese culture.

 

“If we see the Confucius Institute as part of overseas Sinology in which Chinese participate, then one dis­tinctive feature of overseas Sinology is that it is getting more accessible to the masses,” said Fang Weigui, a professor from the School of Chinese Language and Literature at Beijing Normal University.

 

“Contemporary Sinological re­search is unprecedentedly open, open-minded and diversified,” said Ben Hammer, a young American scholar and lecturer at the Advanced Institute of Confucian Studies at Shandong University. Western Sinol­ogists once analyzed Chinese classics through the lens of Western religious beliefs and doctrines, but now they have made a clean break from their former perspectives by studying Chi­nese history and thought in the local context of Chinese culture, Hammer said.

 

Shan Jigang, a research fellow from the Institute of Philosophy at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, elaborated on the three distinctive changes of contemporary Sino­logical research. First, the focus has shifted to in-depth research as well as greater international exchange, and studies are increasingly utilizing more translations of original Chinese literature.

 

Second, there has been a transition from constructive research to experi­mental research. Overseas Sinology has been enriched by experience and become more scientific, and in doing so it has made a departure from par­tially normative and utilitarian re­search. Third, it has developed from parochial research to panoramic research.

 

In terms of time period, Sinology once focused on ancient China, while its contemporary research also includes modern China. In terms of research fields, it has expanded its perspectives of language, literature, philosophy, history and archaeology to include Chinese politics, economy, ethnic groups, religion, military af­fairs and foreign affairs. In terms of research subjects, Sinology for­merly emphasized theoretical and academic problems, but it now also addresses realistic problems and policies.

 

Boundary between China and the world

 “We Sinologists also have a ‘Chinese Dream,’ which is to say that scholars need to communicate more so that foreigners can know more about Chi­na,” said Ezra Feivel Vogel, a Harvard professor, who lamented that many people still do not know about China’s long history, ancient culture, and the Chinese worldview as well as the na­tional approach to solving problems. Therefore, the essential duty of Sinolo­gists is to help foreigners understand China better, Vogel added.

 

“Given the current circumstances, Sinological research needs to bridge the bridge between China and the world that we observed in the 1950s- 1970s, integrating new knowledge on both sides,” said Zhang Longxi, a professor from the City University of Hong Kong. In the era of globaliza­tion, connecting the two will help the world and China understand each other better. Sun Yu, director of Ren­min’s School of Liberal Arts, echoed Zhang’s comments, saying that we will be able to have more dialogues and broaden the scope through profound knowledge of the tradition, methodology, problems and thinking of Western Sinology.

 

Tian Chenshan, director of the Institute of East-West Relations at Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU), said that by interpreting the modern continuity of Chinese cultural traditions, Sinology will help mend the fracture between tradi­tion and modernity while correcting Westerners’ misconceptions of Chinese culture. It can also promote interactions between Chinese culture and global culture, so that the world may see an ac­curate picture of China, and Sinological research may be utilized to create more exchanges and a mutually beneficial situation between the East and West. “Sinological research has contributed to world civilization,” said Li Xu, associate professor from the School of Humani­ties at Jiangxi University of Finance and Economics, who noted that Chinese culture has a lot to offer for the sound development of modern society. Advanc­ing Sinology in the era of globalization and thinking about China’s development from a broad and far-sighted view will help China learn from the achievements of world civilization so that it will make fewer detours and grow faster.

 

‘Grand Sinology’

RUC President Chen Yulu said that as China gradually comes to the world’s central stage, it has become an appar­ent trend to establish neo-Sinology and grand Sinology. As such, we need to expand traditional Sinological research fields and approaches by integrating Chi­nese and international academia, tran­scending disciplinary boundaries, and getting involved actively in global trends. Chinese scholarship needs to exchange more with the world, facilitating plat­forms for exchange and training young generations of sinologists to know both sides well.

 

“When interacting with overseas Sinology, we need to have academic con­fidence and self-awareness, and correct their wrong understanding of China. This is a process of Chinese academia “going global” and reconstructing and elevat­ing discourse power in the international arena,” said Zhang Xiping, director of the Institute of Overseas Sinology at BFSU. We need to analyze overseas Sinology from a trans-cultural perspective, learn­ing from its empirical research approach while paying attention to its academic and political background.

 

Vladimir Myasnikov, a fellow from the Russian Academy of Sciences, said that Chinese Sinology analyzes the achieve­ments China has made in various fields as a global power while Western Sinol­ogy observes China as a bystander, and the two need to integrate and exchange. “Sinologists need to work out a holis­tic research approach and integrate various disciplines into an organic one, which should be a guiding principle of Sinological research, ”Myasnikov said.

 

The Chinese version appeared in Chinese Social Sciences Today, No. 644, Sept.10, 2014      

The Chinese link is: http://sscp.cssn.cn/xkpd/xszx/gn/201409/t20140910_1321991.html

Translated by Feng Daimei