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SESSION 1A
International Relations (I)
CHAIR:
HABOVA Antonina, Assoc. Prof. Dr.
University of National and World Economy, Sofia
VENUE:
Aula Magnum
1A: Int. Relations
HABOVA Antonina, Assoc. Prof. Dr.,
University of National and World Economy, Sofia
China and Russia: Intersection of Integration Projects in Eurasia
Eurasia is one of the most important regions for contemporary geopolitics. It is a key component in the process of building a new global order. China and Russia are two of the actors that define the regional order in Eurasia. Russia turns to the East and China "Marches West" through the Silk Road Economic Belt project. The interests of the two countries intersect in the heart of Eurasia. The paper argues that this doesn’t mean a full coincidence of their geostrategic interests and goals. Both countries have their own vision, ambitions and projects in the Eurasian space which are important elements in their global strategies. Hence, the study is focused on evaluating the integration projects of both China and Russia in the Eurasian space and the correlation between them. The paper builds on an interdisciplinary approach with a careful application of the tools of the geopolitical analysis, as well.
KATRANDZHIEV Valentin, Dr.
Bulgarian Diplomatic Institute
China as a ‘Game Changer’ in the Evolving International System
The study will begin with an analysis of the current status, dynamics and trends in development of the international system. It will then focus on China’s rise in the international system from a point of foreign policy, security, geopolitics, geo-economics and culture. China’s vision on reforming the global order will be given due attention (incl. creation of ‘multilateralism with Chinese characteristics’). It is in this context that the Chinese driven terminology ‘win-win cooperation’, ‘community of common destiny’ and ‘community of shared future’ will be looked at. The study will try to provide an answer on the extent to which Chinese vision of the global connectivity and shared development (embedded in the Belt and Road Initiative) may form the contours of a new ‘Beijing Consensus’ as opposing or complementary to the existing ‘Washington Consensus’ in international relations.
PAVLIĆEVIĆ Dragan, Assoc. Prof.
Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University
Structural Power and the China-EU-Western Balkans Relations
Narratives about the challenges and dangers of China’s growing involvement with Central and Eastern Europe are exponentially proliferating and have already effectively monopolized the understanding of this relationship among scholars, analysts, media, as well as policy-makers in western European capitals. Western Balkans, as a sub-region of CEE, is thought of as particularly prone to Chinese influence – the countries in this geographical area have not gained the EU membership nor are fully integrated in the EU’s policy and legislative frameworks and initiatives, yet are interested in maximizing economic benefits of their relationship with China. China’s alleged “cash-for-influence” strategy is hence understood to have, or is well on the way to achieve, profound impact in Western Balkans. This paper focuses on three policy areas perceived to be both the most important channels and the clearest expressions of China’s influence in Balkans - foreign policy, physical connectivity and investment. It finds that while attention has been on China, however, the extent to which the EU has since moved to re-assert its position in Balkans has gone under the radar. The paper concludes that in response to China’s growing involvement in the Western Balkans, Brussels has reformulated its agenda so as to bind the Balkan states to its own policies and objectives and put constraints on their ability to independently shape their relationship with Beijing.
1B Language
SESSION 1B
Language (I)
CHAIR:
TSANKOVA Antonia, Assoc. Prof. Dr.,
Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”
VENUE:
Yaitseto Hall
ZYGADŁO Paweł, Assoc. Prof. Dr.
Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University
The role of euphemism in everyday communication in China
The proposed paper is intended as an analysis of one of the most distinctive features of Chinese culture that is a prevalent tendency towards applying euphemisms in everyday communication. It aims to understand the historical and socio-cultural factors involved and the main functions of euphemistic expressions. It will then first provide an analysis of the up to date research, linguistic and anthropological regarding the meaning and functions of euphemism. Subsequently, the notion of Chinese politeness will be put under historical scrutiny with a special focus on the notion of li, ‘proper ritual behaviour’ or ‘etiquette’. The main body will consist of the excerpts from everyday communication as it happens in public space and as it occurs in mass media. All the acquired through participating observation, media content analysis and in-depth reading material will be re-analysed with discourse analysis as the main research method.
TSANKOVA Antonia, Assoc. Prof. Dr.
Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”
On Conceptualizing the Notion of Space
in the Chinese Linguistic Worldview
|The paper explores the formation of the basic terms, related to the semantic domain of space in Modern Chinese, that emerged at the archaic state of establishment of Chinese language and its ideographic system, and thus reflect the Chinese traditional linguistic worldview on the category of space. For the purpose of the study, we examine the etymology of 48 spatial morphemes that contain in whole 93 ideographemes (basic semantic elements), observed in characters in Jiaguwen and Zhuangwen style. By classifying the core semantic components of the studied symbols we observe that although the category of space may seem to represent objective, static properties of the physical world, in the process of formation of the relevant morphemes in the archaic Chinese hieroglyphs the predominant part of the semantic elements (app. 75% of the studied components) represent anthropomorphic symbols. They usually denote human activities that are dynamic and self-oriented in meaning (also proposed by Tan; Koutsarova). Among symbols from the natural world (around 25% of all components) we observe that more than 60% of them are connected to the notion of Earth, and less of them are semantically linked to Heaven, which corresponds to the traditional perception of Earth as a domain of space and Heaven as a domain of time. Nevertheless, the archaic conceptualization of the semantic category of space as reflected in the Chinese linguistic worldview is obviously based on the experience of exploring and building the surrounding space through the activities of the human kind, i.e. it is in nature a category of anthropomorphic and dynamic semantics, among other linguistic categories.
KOUTZAROVA Teodora, Asst. Prof. Dr.,
Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”
Unfolding the Web of Semiosis for the Radical ‘Dog’ quǎn 犬
The paper aims to develop an alternative approach to Chinese script acquisition based on tracing the infiltration of a given Chinese radical as a sign in the process of semiosis on lexical, morphemic, phonemic, etc. levels. We choose the radical ‘dog’ quǎn 犬 to serve as an example and typify all the meanings it can generate, e.g. ‘types of dogs’; ‘types of animals’; ‘mythical animals; ‘family/personal names’; ‘toponyms’; ‘ethnic groups’; ‘dog characteristics’; ‘dog behaviour’; ‘human activities involving dogs’; ‘human dog-like behaviour’; ‘lianmian-binomes’, etc. The semantic fields of the most frequently used characters with the radical ‘dog’ are outlined and the more specific cases that involve “signification leaps” or drastic change in the modern vs. ancient meaning are discussed. The semiotic interchangeability in the variant forms of the characters of the ‘dog’ with other radicals for animals, e.g. ‘hourse’ mǎ 馬, ‘fierce animal’ zhì 豸, etc. is taken into consideration.
NAUMOVA Ksenia
Saint-Petersburg State University
The Concept of 'Optimism' (乐观 lèguān) in the Chinese Linguistic Worldview
As the title implies the article describes optimistic attitudes of the Chinese as a part of their national character. To illustrate that, a detailed linguistic analysis of the keyword 乐观 'optimism' and 积极乐观的人 'an optimist' were performed with the help of lexicographic and corpora data, accompanied with the results of the psycholinguistic experiment among the native speakers. In conclusion the author says that 乐观 is a cultural-specific concept for the Chinese and gives a brief cross-cultural comparison with the same notion in Russian and American lingvocultures.
1C Culture
SESSION 1C
Culture (I)
CHAIR:
VAMPELJ SUHADOLNIK Nataša, Assoc. Prof.
Department of Asian Studies, Faculty of Arts, University of Ljubljana
VENUE:
Hall 1
WOODS Paul, Dr.
Oxford Centre for Mission Studies
Meeting in the Middle: Nomadic Theory and the Daodejing
Interaction between Chinese thought and Western philosophies is bringing new challenges and opportunities for thinkers on both sides. Enlightenment modernism has been rejected as passé, while its erstwhile successor, postmodernism, has been found lacking. To find a way forward, this paper constructs a dialogue between Deleuze and Guattari’s nomadic theory and Daoist thought from the Daodejing. Both emphasise becoming rather than being, dynamic rather than static understandings of existence and experience.
Central to nomadic theory is the assemblage, a temporary status quo resulting from complex circumstances. Nomadic theory claims that to define an entity is to render it lifeless. Similarly, the Daodejing tells us that we cannot truly describe the Dao. This paper brings these central notions and associated ideas into dialogue to argue for a hybrid epistemology which facilities engagement, dialogue, and cooperation.
VAMPELJ SUHADOLNIK Nataša, Assoc. Prof.
Department of Asian Studies, Faculty of Arts, University of Ljubljana
Slovenian Collectors of Chinese Objects: Who, Why, What?
While most studies related to individual collections and objects of Chinese origin are based on analysis and interpretation of collections mostly located in the Western European or North American regions, studies of these types of materials in the Eastern European and Balkan regions are still very limited. In this paper we will try to fill in such gaps by examining the collecting history of Chinese objects in Slovenia. We will focus on the historical context of collecting history in the Slovenian territory, the status and identity of individuals - "collectors" and the nature and extent of the items they have collected. In-depth analyses of collecting history in – until now – somewhat overlooked regions will by including the European periphery into the global exchange market between China and Europe certainly re-examine the views so far and thus fill in the gaps in the history of collecting.
HO Tammy Lai-Ming
Dr., Hong Kong Baptist University
Poetic Convergences: East and West
This paper is concerned with the convergences—historical, cultural, linguistic, translational, fictional and poetic—of ‘East’ and ‘West’. It discusses the mutual mistrust, misunderstanding, discrimination and at times fascination and admiration between ‘East’ and ‘West’ as represented in various forms of cultural expressions. The main focus of the paper is two recent poetry collections, Sarah Howe's Loop of Jade (2015) and Timothy Yu's 100 Chinese Silences (2016). In both books, one can find poems negotiating and contesting the meaning of 'Chineseness' through responding to other texts, at times creating a space of ambivalence and at others adding confusion to the interpretation of what it means to represent the illusive ‘China’.
HU Xihuan, PhD Candidate
University of Leicester
Cultural Heritage in Globalization, Local Governance, and Nüshu
This paper aims to explain the status of China's intangible cultural heritage from the perspective of globalization and local governance with Nüshu. It explores how governance at the local level accomplish its goals on the protection and development of intangible cultural heritage and the influence of globalization on a heritage community. This paper argues that globalization revitalizes world cultural heritage and gives the governments from national to local levels legitimacy to manage their heritage recourses. Local authorities have become a pivotal player in heritage governance and heritage has become a resource that various departments claim to own the "sovereignty." Under such circumstances, the influence of the folk cultural participants on the culture is weakened.
1D Belt & Road
SESSION 1D
Belt & Road (I)
CHAIR:
KAVALSKI Emilian, Prof.,
University of Nottingham Ningbo China
VENUE:
Conference Hall
ALEXIEV B. Alexander, Prof.Dr.
GATEV Ivaylo, Dr.
Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”
Fuzzy Grandview: The New Global Concepts
behind China's Belt and Road Initiative
As an emerging global power, China has developed a new comprehensive ‘grandview’ (国观) with ‘Chinese characteristics’ (中国特色). The grandview contains many new and fuzzy concepts. Beijing claims that China has ‘the ability, the will, and the responsibility to contribute wisdom and strength to the improvement of the global governance system’ (作为一个新兴大国，中国有能力、有意愿同时也有责任为完善全球治理体系贡献智慧与力量). By envisioning a new ‘symbiotic international system’ (共生型国际体系), with ‘cyber-sovereignty’(网络主权), via innovative foreign investment methods supporting the ‘going out’ (走出去) policy of its enterprises, Beijing proposes a new ‘Chinese solution’ (中国方案) to a world in crisis. This paper examines official Chinese discourse on the Belt and Road Initiative. It focuses on the discursive continuities and discontinuities that mark Chinese foreign policy over the last two decades. It is argued that Beijing’s rhetorical justification of the Initiative includes elements of a grand strategy tempered by tactical concessions to the prevailing liberal international order. This goes some way towards explaining the conceptual fuzziness characterising Belt and Road discourse.
YILMAZ Selim
University of Nottingham
China’s Belt and Road Initiative:
An Offensive Realist Analysis on State Behaviour
China’s significant growth since the establishment of the BRI in 2013 was believed to have challenged the existing world order, since it covers over land and sea infrastructure projects to improve the connectivity between China and the world. Using Mearsheimer’s (2001) offensive realism theory, this research aims to analyse the behaviour of states surrounding China and how they have reacted to the boost by overlooking the interactions of Malaysia and Japan with China and BRI respectively. Malaysia, though considered to be a relatively weaker power, acts strategically to balance while bandwagoning China, whereas Japan was found buck-passing and balancing with the PRC. Results were concluded through an empirical analysis on the Sino-Malaysian and Sino-Japanese relationship, as well as an evaluation of states’ actions towards BRI. Offensive realism was found mostly useful though some updates i.e. technological elements may be considered in military power which may require future research.
RODRIGUEZ Mario Esteban, Asst. Prof.
Autonomous University of Madrid
The Belt and Road Initiative and International Climate Governance
This paper resorts to the Climate Policy Integration framework for exploring the role of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in international climate governance. From this perspective, the paper examines whether there are political commitments to the integration of climate change considerations in the BRI projects considered for implementation or implemented by the Silk Road Fund, the China Development Bank and the Exim Bank. More specifically, it will be determined whether those institutions take into consideration the effects of their managed BRI projects on mitigation and adaptation to climate change; whether climate targets have been incorporated into the design and implementation of these projects; whether there are elements of communication of climate performance in these projects; whether those institutions have undertook organizational reforms to integrate climate criteria into their projects; and whether Chinese authorities have established procedural tools for including climate considerations into the BRI.
KAVALSKI Emilian, Prof.
University of Nottingham Ningbo China
The Unintended Effects of China’s Cooperation
with Central and Eastern Europe
The Central and East European (CEE) part of the Afro-Eurasian landmass is often overlooked in the conversations on contemporary geopolitics. Yet, owing to China’s growing relations in the CEE countries, the region has been subject to increasing international attention. By process-tracing the development of the “17+1” mechanism, this article offers a brief overview of Sino-CEE relations. Situated within the broader Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), the “17+1” has provided a unique regional arrangement for extending Chinese influence in the CEE countries. The study explores whether there is something else than the instrumental economic reasoning for the willingness of CEE countries to partner with China. The analysis detects three distinct (and not always complementary) strategic narratives motivating the participation of CEE states in the “17+1” mechanism. The study concludes with an enquiry on China’s preparedness to respond to such identity geopolitics not only in the CEE region, but throughout the vast expanse covered by the BRI initiative.
1E Literaure
SESSION 1E
Literature (I)
CHAIR:
LIU Xi, Dr.
Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University
VENUE:
Hall 2
SHEN Rui, Prof.
., Director of the Chinese Studies Program,
Morehouse College
The Politics of Style: The Divorced Woman in Ge Zhi’s Autofiction
Ge Zhi 格致 (born in 1964), a woman writer, is little known to the West, even though she is considered an outstanding essayist and novelist in China. She has been awarded many prestigious literary awards over the last two decades. Many critics appreciate her unique language style and dazzling imagery, but most of them have failed to comprehend the gist of her writing because of her ideological stand. Ge Zhi’s literary originality lies in both her language style and ideological perspective.
Through close reading of Ge Zhi’s autofiction Flowing Water of a Marriage, this paper discusses Ge Zhi’s politics of style, especially in her representation of a divorced woman. It examines how she departs from established representations of divorced women in Chinese literary tradition and consciously deconstructs the male-dominated social order. She subverts patriarchal power through her mischievous humor. A new inspiring image of a divorced woman emerges from her distinctive writing in Chinese literature.
CHOY Howard Yuen Fung, Dr.
Hong Kong Baptist University
Reproductive and Relocation: On Reading Ma Jian’s The Dark Road
Based on firsthand true stories, Ma Jian’s The Dark Road (Yin zhi dao, 2012) is a dark novel about a peasant family fleeing from forced abortions and sterilizations under China’s one-child policy. The problem is: How does a male writer represent the female sufferings? This paper investigates what I call Ma’s “masculine maximalism” in his extraordinary descriptions of the shocking violence of birth control practices in China, especially the excessive cruelty by the family-planning authorities. According to Stefano Ercolino’s 2012 article, the maximalist novel as a genre is defined not only by its length and encyclopedic mode (including environmental concern of the corrosive Yangtze River and food safety matter of fake milk powder in Ma’s work) but also its ethical commitment and hybrid realism, “which strives to relate the complexity of the world we live in and to give a synthetic and totalizing representation of it.”
LIU Xi, Dr.
Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University
“Post-human” and “Post-gender” in Contemporary Chinese Science Fiction
“Post-human”, which means one entity or condition beyond being human, is a critical concept for us to reconsider “human” and “humanism”; “Post-gender”, which is understood as challenges to social constructions on sexual differences, is another important tool of inquiry to look into the masculinist understanding of human being. Both of the two concepts question the essentialist and binarist ways of thinking, serving as the theoretical basis for “posthuman-feminism”, which combines both feminist anti-humanism and anti-anthropocentrism. Anti-humanism focuses on the critique of the humanist ideal of “Man” as the universal representative of the human, while anti-anthropocentrism criticizes species hierarchy and advances ecological justice. Contemporary Chinese science fiction, especially the “new wave Sci-Fi” emerged at the turn of the 21th century, offer rich experiments in writing about “post-human” conditions and “post-gender” identities as serious engagement with social, political and philosophical themes. This paper looks at representative post-human and post-gender situations, images and subjectivities in works by Liu Cixin, Han Song and Chen Qiufan. From the perspective of posthuman-feminism, it examines what kind of post-human and post-gender subjects are imagined and represented in these texts. It asks whether these new subjects support or distort anti-humanist and anti-anthropocentrist visions. It also critically discusses the roles that “gender” play in the presentation of post-human utopia/dystopia and reflection on (post) humanity by looking into the textual politics of these works.
ZHAN Yuelan, Dr.,
Sanjiang College and Nanjing University,
Nanjing, China
A New Way of Human and Technique in the Posthuman Era:
Focusing on the Chinese Science Fiction the Wandering Earth
Posthuman is quite an open question. Science fiction, which precedes philosophy, provides an answer. The Chinese novelist Liu Cixin’s novel The Wandering Earth explores a new paradigm of posthuman, that is, how human and machines unite together to fight against the catastrophe. The Wandering Earth shows us that the posthuman focus on the technic media should be shifted to its focus on inter-subjectivity. We should take the growing trend of AI seriously, and make great efforts to explore the mode of dialogues between human and the new AI subjects, instead of negating the central position of human subject pessimistically. Such a science fiction leads a new way to inspire readers to rethink the significance and value of human in the new era. This fiction provides a valuable and promising perspective to imagine and think over the future (or rather, the near future) that all people on the planet face together.
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