The Confucius Institute for Scotland in the University of Edinburgh

Professor Ian Taylor of the University of St Andrews will give a talk on China`s role in Africa. This is a joint event from the Chinese Studies Group and the department of Politics and International Relations.

Wednesday, 5 May 2010, 2-3:30pm in F61, Edward Wright Building.

For more info on the work of CSG at the University of Aberdeen please click here.

The Glasgow AGM of the Scotland China Association will take place on Tue, 27 Apr 2010 7.15pm for 7.30pm at Garnethill Multicultural Centre,21 Rose St, Glasgow G3 6RE

Following a round up of the year`s work and election of a new branch committee plus AOB, there will be Scottish/Chinese music recital by Eddie McGuire (www.harmonyensemble.co.uk) and Fong Liu (www.fongliu.co.uk).

Afterwards the plan is to for a Chinese meal and all members are welcome to attend - please email f.newham@scotchina.org or speak to a member of the committee on the night.

The next Chinese Studies Group talk at the University of Aberdeen will take place on Wed 14 April. Entitled `Supporting NGOs in China - the experience of The Blackford Trust` the talk will be given by Graham Thomson, chairman of this Scottish charity, which supports a variety of NGO projects in China.

Graham will report on his March 2010 visit to three of the charity`s partners in Sichuan and Shaanxi and discuss the wider issues of the Chinese charity scene.

The talk will take place at 5:15pm in Room F61, Edward Wright Building, Dunbar Street, Aberdeen AB24 3QY

Zhang Longxi, City University of Hong Kong will give a talk on Monday 22 March at 6pm in the Confucius Institute for Scotland.

His topic isThe Complexity of Difference: A Methodological Issue in Cross-Cultural Studies.

ABSTRACT

Difference is a basic fact in life and in our understanding of life, as people are all different as individuals and as social groups and communities. In humanities and social sciences, however, differences are often ignored on the individual level, while emphasized on the collective level. This is particularly true in understanding different cultures. By examining some recent works in East-West cross-cultural studies, Zhang will argue that we should pay attention to the complexity of difference and what Geoffrey Lloyd calls the “multidimensionality” of things so as to avoid the mistake of subsuming individual differences under collective categories, and to go beyond the simplistic claims of universalism as well as the relativist dilemma of cultural incommensurability.


PROFILE

Zhang Longxi is Chair Professor of Comparative Literature and Translation at City University of Hong Kong and Foreign Member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Letters, History and Antiquities.

ZHANG Longxi holds an MA from Peking University and a Ph.D. from Harvard. He taught at the University of California, Riverside, before moving to City University of Hong Kong, where he is currently Chair Professor of Comparative Literature and Translation.

His research area is East-West comparative studies, and his major book publications include `The Tao and the Logos: Literary Hermeneutics, East and West` (Duke University Press, 1992), which won honorable mention for the Joseph Levinson Book Prize; `Mighty Opposites: From Dichotomies to Differences in the Comparative Study of China` (Stanford University Press, 1998); `Allegoresis: Reading Canonical Literature East and West` (Cornell University Press, 2005); `Unexpected Affinities: Reading across Cultures` (University of Toronto Press, 2007), and most recently, 《比較文學研究入門》[`An Introduction to Comparative Literature`] (in Chinese, Fudan University Press, 2008).

He was elected a foreign member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Letters, History and Antiquities in 2009.

To book a space for this talk please email info@confuciusinstitute.ac.uk or call 0131 662 2180.

A special showing of a new documentary on Anna May Wong the first Chinese star in American cinema will run at the Glasgow Film Theatre on Sunday 21 March at 7pm.

The documentary is entitled `Anna May Wong - Frosted Yellow Willows: Her Life, Times and Legend` and this showing is sponsored by the Scotland China Association.

Director Elaine Mae Woo will present the documentary which is narrated by actress Nancy Kwan, star of `The World of Suzie Wong`. Elaine is researching Anna May`s first trip to Glasgow back in the 1930`s and would be delighted to hear from anyone who may remember this.

Elaine can be contacted via the website below

Film Website : www.anna-may-wong.com
Tickets can be bought through the GFT website - click here for GFT website