Digital Lecture Series – The Assimilation of Foreign Cultures in New China

Digital Lecture Series “Chinese Perspectives: China and the World through the Eyes of Scholars”

The series is jointly organized by Confucius Institute at Freie Universität Berlin and Confucius Institute Metropolis Ruhr, in cooperation with Confucius Institute at Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Confucius Institute at Milan State University and Confucius Institute at University of Rome La Sapienza.

The digital lectures are hosted via Zoom phone and video conference.

Friday, 10 January 2025, 12.00 h (CET)

Prof. Dr. Li Xuetao 李雪涛, Beijing Foreign Studies University

The Assimilation of Foreign Cultures in New China

This lecture explores the impact of foreign cultures on Chinese society since the founding of New China. It is divided into several stages, beginning with the foreign cultural influence from the establishment of New China in 1949 to the pre-Cultural Revolution period, marked by Soviet cultural aid and literature, as well as the contributions of overseas intellectuals returning to build the nation. The lecture then describes the interruption of foreign cultural exchanges during the Cultural Revolution and the subsequent restoration of cultural interactions in the later years of the period. The report further analyzes the large-scale introduction of foreign cultures after the Reform and Opening-up in 1979 and its profound influence on China’s modernization. The speaker argues that the development of New China’s culture has been shaped through the collision and integration with foreign cultures, with the absorption of foreign cultures becoming a crucial driving force for the self-renewal of Chinese civilization.

Li Xuetao is a Chinese historian, sinologist, Buddhologist, and scientific translator. His research focuses primarily on the interplay between different cultures: How can a foreign culture be integrated into the existing local culture? How do the two cultures influence each other? Key research topics include the influence of German philosophy on Chinese thought (Karl Jaspers), the history of Buddhism in China with reference to various traditions of translation, the mutual influence of Chinese Studies in Germany and in China, as well as the history of intellectual migration and knowledge transfer. These topics are investigated from the perspective of and using the methods of global history.

Lecture in Chinese with English translation Registration for the event: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEldO2oqjwrHt0NviSLLQCogOJm60CWbo7c