The Locally Rooted Transmission of Wu Family Taijiquan: Seminar on « Internal Skills and Mind Process »

Pierrick PORCHET

This paper was first published in Chinese on the web platform shukanbao[i] as a transcript of a meeting held on September 6, 2020 in Wu Yuxiang Historical Residence Study Room located in Guangfu Township, Handan City, Hebei Province (河北省邯郸市永年县广府镇武禹襄故居书堂). During the meeting, Master Sun Jianguo (孙建国) – fifth-generation master of Wu Family taijiquan – and six of his disciples discussed their personal experience as taijiquan practitioners and more specifically as inheritors of the Wu Family taijiquan.

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To Choose is To Renounce. How is Cultural Diversity Taken into Account in ICT Design and Implementation?

Basile ZIMMERMANN, Amalia SABIESCU and Yan ZHANG

On July 30th, 2020, the Confucius Institute at the University of Geneva co-organised a thematic workshop at the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) Forum, titled “To Choose is To Renounce. How is cultural diversity taken into account in ICT design and implementation?”. The Institute has had a research agenda centered on the study of mundane technological tools in China for several years. This meeting aimed to explore possibilities to further develop existing activities with new collaborations and new directions.

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Green Public Spaces: Unique Satisfiers for Multiple Human Needs in the Cities of South and Southeast Asia

Marlyne SAHAKIAN

The significance of green public spaces towards sustainability is well-documented in relation to social inclusiveness, human health and biodiversity[1], yet the relation to human wellbeing is less understood. The project Green Public Spaces in the Cities of South and Southeast Asia (GRESPA) sought to uncover 1) how green public spaces satisfy multiple human needs in different contexts and cultures, 2) how people use and practice green public spaces in everyday life in relation to wellbeing, and 3) the role of different stakeholders in promoting more inclusive and environmentally-sound public spaces today and in the future.

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Reflecting on Muslim Diversity in China

Pascale BUGNON

The diversity of Islam that we observe today in China has its origins in a centuries-old relationship with Chinese society, which has taken many forms and touched upon various political, institutional, cultural or economic issues. While we tend to posit a global Islam that exists as an abstract ideal, we attempt at the same time to remain mindful of the regional variations that make it impossible to reduce the tradition to a monolith. The emergence of new approaches to the study of religion and / or ethnic minorities has challenged previous research methodologies. In the PRC especially, and for more than thirty years already, the presence of foreign Muslims, new conversions to Islam, ethnic blending, or the emergence of new policies to project Islamic cultural heritage, encompass a complex mosaic of accommodation, adjustment, preservation, and, at times, resistance, which reveal new meanings created by communities who attempt to reconcile perceived disparities between Islamic ideals and changing social realities. This Islamic revival is a new phenomenon that complexifies even further the study of Islam in China. In order to report on this, the Confucius Institute, with financial support from the Academic Society of the University of Geneva and the Swiss National Science Fondation, organised the colloquium Islam(s) in China. Reflecting on Muslim Diversity on Wednesday June 26 and Thursday June 27, 2019.

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An Ethnographic Survey in Guangfu “Taiji Township“

Pierrick PORCHET

This contribution is a short overview of Guangfu’s taijiquan 广府太极拳 practices and the political transformations happening in this town located in the North China region. A first version of this contribution was published in Chinese as an afterword in Sun Jianguo’s taijiquan manual (Sun 2018: 259-261). Master Sun 孙建国­ – a taijiquan master native of Guangfu ­– invited me to write down “what I saw and heard” 所见所闻 during my stay at this site. The original text focused on Master Sun’s views on taijiquan’s recent developments and the political processes framing the local development of Guangfu. Here, I will also share observations of another taijiquan master – Yang Zhenhe 杨振河 – and his group of disciples.

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Culture, Genre et Globalisation

Yali CHEN

Les 11 et 12 octobre 2018, l’Institut Confucius de l’Université de Genève a eu le plaisir d’accueillir un atelier d’études genre intitulé « Culture, Genre et Globalisation ». Cet évènement a réuni des spécialistes internationaux provenant de Suisse, de France, de Chine, d’Autriche, d’Irlande et de Corée du Sud, issus de différentes disciplines comme la sociologie, l’histoire, les sciences de la communication, la sociologie de la culture et bien sûr, des études genre.

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Pluralisme alimentaire et religieux. Comparer la Chine et le monde méditerranéen

Pascale BUGNON

Les vendredi 21 et samedi 22 septembre 2018, l’Institut Confucius a accueilli son deuxième colloque international d’Histoire des religions, organisé en collaboration avec l’Unité d’anthropologie et d’histoire des religions et sous la direction scientifique du professeur Vincent GOOSSAERT (EPHE/PSL). Ce programme, qui se répète tous les deux ans, contribue à une approche transversale et comparatiste du phénomène religieux chinois. Pour ce faire, la thématique choisie et discutée lors de ces deux journées de conférences fut celle du pluralisme alimentaire et religieux en Chine et dans le monde méditerranéen dans une perspective historique longue (de l’Antiquité à nos jours). La notion de pluralisme alimentaire englobe des attitudes et approches diverses vis-à-vis des sacrifices et des aliments sacrificiels, existant tant dans le monde chinois que dans le monde méditerranéen, allant du rejet radical du sacrifice et du végétarisme aux tabous sélectifs sur des animaux et des viandes spécifiques, mais également dans des situations de partage alimentaire ou d’évitement.

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China and the Roman Empire – Archeological Testimonials

Lorenz E. BAUMER

During the academic year 2017-2018, the Unité d’archéologie classique and the Institut Confucius at the University of Geneva organized a series of exchanges in the field of archeology. This short contribution presents some of the preliminary observations of Prof. Lorenz Baumer regarding early contacts between the Roman Empire and the Far East during the First and the Second centuries AD.

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From Technocracy to Citizen Science: The Nature of Expertise and the Place of Experts in our Societies

Ozan SAHIN

This article reports on the 11th annual meeting organised by researchers working in the field of Studies of Expertise and Experience (SEESHOP11). The workshop was hosted by the Confucius Institute of University of Geneva and was held on 20-21 May 2017 and continues a series that has included meetings in Cardiff University (UK), University of California (US), Arizona State University (US) and University of Waterloo (CAN). During the workshop, which was held in the Confucius Institute’s dazzling 19th century villa Rive-Belle, we hosted a total of 19 researchers from social science, humanities and law faculties around the world. This article is a brief report of this event and how it is related to Chinese studies and the works of Confucius Institute.

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L’interprétation des arts martiaux chinois

Pierrick PORCHET

Du 4 au 6 novembre 2016, l’Institut Confucius de l’Université de Genève a organisé une série d’activités autour des arts martiaux chinois que l’on désigne communément, en République populaire de Chine, par le terme générique wushu 武术. Une conférence publique a été organisée, et celle-ci a été suivie d’un stage en la présence d’un maître de bajiquan.

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