Professor Wang Xiaolu will interpret for you "Ghosts, Foreign Devils and Foreigners - The Evolution of China's Western Views"

Professor Wang Xiaolu will interpret for you "Ghosts, Foreign Devils and Foreigners - The Evolution of China's Western Views" At the invitation of the Confucius Institute and the School of International and Liberal Arts at Arizona State University,...

Professor Wang Xiaolu

Professor Wang Xiaolu is very close to Arizona. He was in 2007 and 2011 respectively. He gave several wonderful lectures at Arizona State University in 2011, such as "Antique Streets and Contemporary Tourism Cultural Landscapes in Mainland China" and "Looking at China through Clothing: Changes in Contemporary Chinese Social Life", which aroused heated discussions among students and was deeply respected and loved by all walks of life in Arizona. He had the following considerations when choosing the topic of this lecture: The Evolution of China's Western Views:

First of all, regarding the reasons for studying this topic, Professor Wang said that in the long history, with the changes in society, the relationship between China and the West has mainly gone through several processes, from being entrenched in self-reliance to being forced to open the country, from gradually facing the West to re-examining the West, from actively entering the international community to playing an increasingly important role in international affairs. Ordinary people still have some misunderstandings about the West. By sorting out some central concepts of China's Western views, it will help to think more rationally on China's Western views, promote cross-cultural mutual understanding and exchanges, and help Chinese people better understand themselves from different perspectives.

Secondly, China's various names for the West are historical, and there are also differences among officials, academia, private citizens and the media. There is no lack of imagination or rejection of the West, and contemporary times are inextricably linked to factors such as economic development, international trade, and the importance of geopolitics. Therefore, cultural misunderstanding and cross-cultural communication is an important area. The question itself is equally important as the way and angle of looking at it and providing the answer to the question.

In addition, Professor Wang hopes that the mass media should play a good leading role in China's view of the West and give the audience room to think. The media should promptly introduce the modern management concepts of these international brands and the professional process of establishing good reputation. In short, it is hoped that through changes in daily life, the cultural issues behind the phenomenon can be revealed, and a single economic success can be transformed into a developmental orientation in which culture must face the modern spiritual openness.

Finally, in this lecture, Professor Wang will mainly sort out "ghost" and related concepts in Chinese culture, focusing on the cognitive relationship between self and non-self culture. From some of the key words, such as "barbarian", " The changes in titles and expressions such as "Di", "Barbarian", "foreign devil", "devil" and "foreigner" show China's gradual migration of the external worldview, indicating the transformation process of Chinese culture from the inside to the outside, and that Chinese culture is becoming more tolerant and open in the process of actively entering the international community.

This lecture is an opportunity for the Confucius Institute at Arizona State University to provide the local community with an in-depth understanding of cross-cultural research. Professor Wang Xiaolu will give a lecture in Chinese. This lecture is scheduled to start at 4:30 pm on February 21, 2014, and will be located in Classroom 60, Language and Literature Building, Arizona State University. There will be a small reception with exquisite snacks after the lecture. The Confucius Institute at Arizona State University sincerely invites friends from all walks of life in Arizona to participate in this exchange.