Professor Wang Xiaolu of Sichuan University: Ghosts·Foreign Devils·Foreigners - The Evolution of China's Western Views

Professor Wang Xiaolu of Sichuan University: Ghosts·Foreign Devils·Foreigners-The Evolution of China's Western Views 2014 Arizona State University…

2014 Arizona State University Confucius Institute Academic Exchange Project

” Confucius’ 72 disciples, University Some of them are just bad guys. There are only a few knowledgeable people walking around. They are just like you. The professor is giving lectures while you are playing with your mobile phones below. . This is the first academic exchange project of the Confucius Institute at Arizona State University in 2014. Professor Wang Xiaolu from Sichuan University narrated in "Ghosts, Foreign Devils, Foreigners-The Evolution of China's Western Views". At 4:30 pm on February 21, 2014, Professor Wang Xiaolu gave this wonderful lecture to more than 100 professors, master's and doctoral students, undergraduates and members of the public in Lecture Room 2 of the Literature and Language Building. Dr. Stephen Bokenkamp, ​​professor in the College of International and Liberal Arts at Arizona State University, hosted this lecture. Professor Wang gave this lecture in Chinese. He discussed the various names used by Westerners in China and analyzed that Chinese culture has always been a process of mutual understanding, blending, collision and absorption with foreign cultures. Professor Wang first started with the image of "ghost", reviewed the history of "ghosts and Chinese culture", and said that before the introduction of Buddhism, the image of ghosts coexisted good and bad. He also listed and introduced the names used by foreign peoples in ancient China, such as "Dongyi, Beidi and Nanman", and then introduced the concept of "foreign devils" and believed that this name changed with the crisis of Chinese national culture. Then, Professor Wang used the images of ghosts and foreigners described by officials and folk in the Qing Dynasty as an entry point, and detailed the strange and weird images of foreigners in various records, which greatly surprised the audience. He further demonstrated that Chinese culture is a history of continuous interaction with other cultures. Finally, he focused on the modern concept of "Chinese learning as the body and Western learning as the application", and talked about the beginning of modern education in China and the fact that with the development of the times, the Chinese people have affectionately called foreigners "foreigners", which proves that Chinese traditional culture is opening up to the modern spirit. Professor Wang's speech style is relaxed and humorous, and the content of his speech is profound and simple. On the one hand, he skillfully inserts popular domestic topics and jokes into his speech, whether it is "The Legend of Zhen Huan", "Brother from Beijing", "Sensational Talent Show" or "Nike Shoes" or " "WeChat", Professor Wang picked it up at his fingertips, allowing the audience to understand the key points with knowing laughter; on the other hand, Professor Wang's lectures were very "down-to-earth", and his precise grasp of the life and mentality of contemporary international students amazed the audience. Everyone was very interested in Professor Wang's lectures, asked questions, and had a heated discussion. After the lecture, the Confucius Institute also organized a small reception so that the audience could communicate with Professor Wang more directly. At the reception, everyone continued to discuss topics of culture and literary criticism with Professor Wang while enjoying sumptuous food. The lecture was well received, received widespread attention and discussion from all walks of life, and achieved good results. Professor Wang is on a two-week exchange visit this time. During the period, three theme lectures were held and many talks were held with professors from Arizona State University to enhance mutual understanding and discuss the promotion of further teaching and research cooperation between the Confucius Institute and Sichuan University in the future. In the future, the Confucius Institute at Arizona State University will further organize and expand such projects to contribute to increasing the American public’s understanding of Chinese culture on a larger scale and to better promote cultural and academic exchanges between the two countries.

>Wang Xiaolu’s lecture

Photos of the lecture

Onsite Q&A