Reflecting on Muslim Diversity in China

[:fr]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. Continuer la lecture

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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La perception et l’enseignement des caractères chinois

WANG Su

Le samedi 25 mai 2019, l’Institut Confucius de l’Université de Genève a organisé sa dixième formation destinée aux enseignants de chinois langue étrangère. Celle-ci a été consacrée à la thématique de  « La perception et l’enseignement des caractères chinois ».

Les deux formateurs, la professeure XU Caihua 徐彩华 et le professeur SONG Lianyi 宋连谊, venaient respectivement de l’Université Normale de Beijing 北京师范大学 et de l’Université de Londres 伦敦大学. Continuer la lecture