The Confucius Institute Free Public Talks on China 2012
This year's Confucius Institute public talks will continue to be held in The Kanaris Theatre, The Manchester Museum, Oxford Road between 1pm and 2pm.
The first Chinese books in London: the collection of Sir Hans Sloane
Dr Frances Wood, Curator of Chinese Collections, The British Library
Wednesday 25 April 2012, 1pm - 2pm
The collections of Sir Hans Sloane (1660-1753), physician to QueenAnne and the man who introduced chocolate to a grateful British public, were used to found the British Museum. He collected everything from natural history specimens (stuffed alligators from his time in Jamaica) to fine editions of the Bible and his printed book collection included a fine range of Chinese books from the late Ming and early Qing periods. Many collectors of the time had single Chinese volumes as 'specimens' but Sloane's recently re-discovered Chinese collection ran from Buddhism and Confucianism through geography to literature and painting manuals, most collected for him in China by members of the East India Company who did not know a word of the language.
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Past talks
Sweet Mandarin: A Family History
Ms Helen Tse, Sweet Mandarin Chinese Restaurant,
Wednesday 29 February 2012, 1pm - 2pm
Helen Tse’s debut novel Sweet Mandarin tells the story of three generations of Chinese women making their mark in Manchester, beginning with her grandmother, Lily Kwok, the first woman to set up a restaurant in Manchester, before Chinatown was established. When Sweet Mandarin was published in 2008 it became the first ever novel by a British-born Chinese author to be published in the UK.
The Confucius Institute at the University of Manchester is delighted to welcome Helen to talk about her incredible family story and read extracts from her novel for this special event in conjunction with Manchester Histories Festival.
Public talks in 2011
Bond markets, revolutions, and the Chinese Maritime Customs Service
Professor Hans van de Ven, Professor of Modern Chinese History, Cambridge University
Wednesday 02 November 2011, 12.30 - 1.30pm, The Kanaris Theatre, The Manchester Museum, Oxford Road
This talk will address the emergence of bond markets in China, their links with London, and their importance during the 1911 Revolution and the rise to power of the Chinese Nationalists. The Maritime Customs Service was important in this series of events as its revenues served as security for China's international and national bonds and because the Inspector General of the Service was responsible for issuing and managing China's bonds.
Precious Litter: Qing imperial craft production and intangible cultural heritage
Professor Dagmar Schaefer, Director of the Centre for Chinese Studies, University of Manchester
Wednesday 26 October 2011, 12.30 - 1.30pm, The Kanaris Theatre, The Manchester Museum, Oxford Road
When we think of the treasures of the Forbidden City, we imagine white porcelain, intricately carved woodworks and lucent jades. In this talk, however, the focus is the more obscure treasures of the archives of the Forbidden City, Beijing: the sketches, models, samples, and tools the Qing empire used to communicate needs and desires in fields of material production. Qing rulers assigned great importance to the circulation of technological knowledge as a political means, giving their era a distinct cultural complexity. These objects, once lingering in the darkened corners of archives are revealed as evidence of living communities, traditional handicrafts and culturally defined skills, helping to create a sense of continuity with previous generations, while safeguarding cultural diversity and the varied creativity of humanity.
Fu Manchu and the construction of Oriental villainy
Dr Jenny Clegg, Senior Lecturer in Asia Pacific Studies, University of Central Lancashire
Wednesday 28 September 2011, 12.30 - 1.30pm, The Kanaris Theatre, The Manchester Museum, Oxford Road
The fictional character of Dr Fu Manchu, epitomising the Oriental villain, was created by the popular author Sax Rohmer in the early years of the twentieth century at the height of the 'Yellow Peril' scare. This talk will explore the background and highlight the images and themes which so caught the Western popular imagination on both sides of the Atlantic at the time, making the stories and films such a sensational success. The question to be asked is: to what extent do such negative stereotypes remain alive in Western discourse today and with what effect?
Public engagement practice in Contemporary Chinese Arts
Ying Kwok (The Chinese Arts Centre)
Tuesday 19 July 2011, 12.30 -1.30pm, The Kanaris Theatre, The Manchester Museum, Oxford Road
Many contemporary Chinese artists have become increasingly interested in engaging the public in their practice. Their works encourage the public to touch, participate, or even shape it from the beginning, providing a new kind of interactive experience. Ying Kwok, the curator of the Chinese Arts Centre, will share examples of some playful and provoking interactive projects from Chinese artists in the UK and China. Artist featured will include the following:
- Utopia Group (China) – Live art engaging the city and its inhabitants
- Foreign Investment (UK) – The work includes public involvement from inception; the success of the projects depend on the level of public engagement
- Household (UK) – Interactive sculpture
- Arrow Factory (China)- Artist-led organisation whose work always involves the surrounding neighbourhood.
The Chinese Arts Centre is the leading organisation for the promotion of contemporary Chinese art in the UK. Working with the best creative talent they run a lively programme of exhibitions, residencies, engagement projects, festivals, international projects and events which support innovation and that reflect the dynamism of contemporary Chinese art.
Chinese Migration
Jiaqi Hou (University of Manchester)
Tuesday 14 June 2011, 12.30 -1.30pm
The talk will briefly introduce the Chinese presence in the UK in terms of multiple waves of immigration in the past; to highlight cultural, social-economic, and political activities of the British Chinese community. Through analyzing different levels of social integration among the Chinese population, the aim is to try to reveal and evaluate the contribution of the British Chinese towards society in a wider sense, and the improvement of Sino-UK relationships.
Ethnicity in China
Dr Elena Barabantseva (University of Manchester)
Tuesday 03 May 2011, 12.30 -1.30pm,
Until recently, the People’s Republic of China has been largely perceived and studied as an ethnically homogenous society. With the recent ethnic clashes in Xinjiang in 2009 and in Tibetan areas in 2008, ethnic diversity and ethnic relations in China have been increasingly high on the political agenda of China's leadership and captured the attention of the audiences worldwide. However, popular accounts rarely take notice of China's ethnicities beyond the Tibetans and Uyghurs. If they do, the Uyghur and Tibetan cases often serve as the lenses for perceiving other ethnic minorities' lives in China. The prevailing popular accounts present ethnic minorities as suppressed and marginalized people who struggle to express their non-mainstream identities beyond the child-like or rebellious portrayals imposed on them by the Chinese state. In contrast, this talk will highlight some of the many complex facets of ethnic relations in China which often remain unaccounted for in the Western public discourse
Travel Within China
Helen Machin (Wai Yin Chinese Women Society)
Monday 21 March 2011, 12.30 -1.30pm
Are you considering travelling to China? Maybe you would like to learn more about what to expect. Helen Machin has travelled extensively in China and will elaborate on the finer points of making your way around big cities (Beijing, Shanghai, Xi'an), travelling in villages and the countryside (Guilin, Henan) and travelling in the wild (Tibet, Mongolia and Xinjiang).
This talk will combine Helen's own experiences of travel in China, some practical considerations and issue regarding Chinese language and cultural practice.
Helen's presentation slides are available for download via the link below:
- Travel in China (MS Powerpoint 6.02 Mb)
China and Its Neighbours
Professor William Callahan (Politics/SoSS)
Tuesday 22 February, 12.30 -1.30pm
While many talk about China as a new global power, the PRC is most active with its neighbours in East, South East and Central Asia. This talk will explore China's historical relations with its surrounding countries to see how that is shaping China's new leadership in the region. This talk is for members of the general public as well as students and those with an interest in China and International Politics.
Professor William Callahan is Professor of International Politics and China Studies at Manchester and Co-Director, of the British Inter-university China Centre, Oxford
Chinese Society
Dr William Schroeder (university of Manchester)
The Margins Within: What Gays and Lesbians Can Tell Us about Contemporary Chinese Society
As westerners have begun to interact with a globalizing China, we have become more curious about what the country is really like. Although we may generally be familiar with the Han people (China’s majority), many of us may not know about the rich complexity of China’s multi-ethnic, multilingual, and multicultural society. And even if we have been lucky enough to hear about the Tibetans, to learn about the Uighurs, or to tour minority areas in the southwest, there are less visible groups we may never encounter but who are a vibrant part of today’s China. In my work with one such group—the gay and lesbian community in Beijing—I have learned that people on the margins of society can teach us a lot about mainstream culture and values.
This talk will focus on the daily lives and experiences of urban Chinese gays and lesbians, discussing what their attempts to fit in, to get away, and also just to have fun can tell us about contemporary Chinese society and culture.
