• 2019-11-20

In aneffort to further promote international exchange concerning Sinology, theCenter for Chinese Studies (CCS) and the Research Center for Chinese CulturalSubjectivity in Taiwan, National Chengchi University (NCCU), co-organized the 2019 Sinophone Studies in Europe andAmericas–International Young Scholars Conference, which successfully took placefrom November 19-21 of this year.

The coresubject matter of the conference was Sinophone studies, with added emphasisplaced on developing methodologies which will further our understanding of anincreasingly globalized Sinology and Chinese, or huaren, culture. ConsideringTaiwan’s unique historical experiences, Taiwan is seemingly in an advantageousposition to not only face these challenges, but also introduce new paradigms forinternational Sinophone studies. Over the course of the three days, aside fromlistening to the keynote address “The ‘Natural Rhythm’ of Chinese Poetry:Physical and Linguistic Perspectives since 1919” delivered by Cheng Yu-Yu,chair professor, National Taiwan University, and academician, Academia Sinica, 31young scholars from Europe, the Americas, and East Asia reinterpreted Sinologyand related studies from trans-cultural perspectives and compared differingdevelopmental trends across different countries and regions. The topicsincluded (1) perspectives on trans-national thought, (2) psychology and societyunder Sinological contexts, and (3) religion and culture under Sinologicalcontexts.

In order to further discussion, the conferenceand related activities all centered on dialogues and exchange betweenparticipants. In addition, activities were organized to introduce theco-organizers, to exhibit the National Central Library’s (NCL) collections, andto visit both the National Palace Museum and Daodecheng. Being a platform foracademic exchange both in Taiwan and internationally, NCL has selectedimportant universities and institutions abroad to establish Taiwan ResourceCenters for Chinese Studies. In this way, NCL is able to strengthen cooperativerelationships and disseminate Taiwan’s academic works and achievements. Todate, NCL has established 33 cooperative partners. Finally, CCS acts as along-term platform to facilitate the cooperation between institutions here inTaiwan by organizing Lectures on Global Chinese Studies, gathering anddisseminating news on Chinese studies, assisting with scholarships, hostinginternational conferences, participating in international book exhibitions,purchasing relevant materials or databases, and being an active proponent ofdigital humanities.