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Brush-talk (漢文筆談) in the Sinographic Cosmopolis: How East Asian literati of Sinitic engaged in silent conversation

To people with no shared spoken language, could writing be an alternative mode of communication? In cross-border encounters between Chinese and Japanese, they may improvise some hànzì / kanji (漢字) for clarification, e.g., when soliciting travel information. For hundreds of years until the 1900s, Sinitic brush-talk (漢文筆談) was a salient communication practice between East Asian literati of Classical Chinese from today’s Japan, Korea, Vietnam, and China. Sinitic-based texts were spread from China since ancient times; their written forms, pronunciations and meanings of 漢字 were adapted to the local languages and learned by those with the means to do so. The ‘Sinographic Cosmopolis’ (漢字大都會) gradually emerged as regional texts composed in 漢字were comprehensible by other literati within Sinographic East Asia, where translation seemed unnecessary. Paradoxically, recited in speech, Sinitic texts would be incomprehensible as spoken languages were mutually unintelligible. Quite a lot of brush conversation datasets have survived, allowing us to research who communicated with whom, where and when, and for what purposes.   This hybrid seminar aims at introducing brush conversation as a historically salient but almost forgotten practice. Three 30-minute presentations outlining the historical background will be followed by the premiere of a 22-minute animation, ‘The Brush is Mightier than the Sword’,《鋒芒「筆」露》(accessible in multiple languages, including some Chinese ‘dialects’) and a 90+ page multilingual manga. They tell the story of a 5-month drifting ordeal of Chosŏn (Korean) scholar-official, Ch’oe Pu 崔溥 (1454–1504) in 1488, whose boat carrying 42 other Koreans was blown off course and stranded off the coast of Zhejiang province in China. Ch’oe Pu’s excellent command of Classical Chinese helped him dispel allegations of his crew being Japanese pirates in disguise while ascertaining their Korean identity, allowing them eventually to express gratitude to the Ming Emperor in an audience before returning to Korea. Thus is a fascinating story how the lives of 43 boat-drifters were saved by the resourceful brush of a Korean scholar-official through conducting brush conversation in alien land.  

非遺文化工作坊 - 制香工坊

香港孔子學院非遺工作坊——制香工坊   日期：12月9日（週六） 時間：下午3：00至5：00 活動地點：PolyU A204 名額：15人（名額有限，先到先得）

Specialist Lecture on Chinese History and Culture (7)

講座概要： 中法戰爭（1883-1885）作為近代中國與西方列強之間唯一沒有割地賠款的戰爭，涉及中法越三國，產生了一系列重要的政治後果。這場戰爭同樣產生了豐富的圖像文化，包括因此創刊的《點石齋畫報》和諸多繪製發行的戰爭宣傳畫，還有歐美畫報同樣跟蹤報導戰事進展。本研究將通過對中法兩名將領馮子材和孤拔（Courbet）兩張肖像畫/照的超細讀，顯示熱帶植物在不同圖像傳統中的再現差別，“帝國之眼”與山水程式的差別，令“熱帶的發明”無法在中國戰事圖中顯現。

港澳珠三角地區研究生中國歷史文化研修系列 (秋季) 下午

Abstract: What is intellectual history? How does one do intellectual history? In this presentation, Vincent S. Leung will explore these questions in the context of the study of early China from antiquity to the third century CE. He will first introduce major paradigms in the field of intellectual history in the long twentieth century, followed by a discussion of classic works on early Chinese thought by scholars such as Marcel Granet, Fung Yu-lan, and A. C. Graham. Then, he will present the arguments and methodology of his monograph The Politics of the Past in Early China (Cambridge University Press, 2019), and reflect on the challenges and pleasure that he experienced as an intellectual historian of early China

港澳珠三角地區研究生中國歷史文化研修系列 (秋季) 上午

內容介紹: 二十世紀以來，尤其是過去五十年間，中國已邁入了考古學的時代。在此新的時代，先秦兩漢的出土簡帛材料，一年比一年豐富，而且新的發現已為中國古代歷史、文學、哲學、法律、政治各領域都劃了全新的界線。這些材料，不但有助於揭露古代日常生活和早期帝國的行政管理，而且對於思想史、文本形成以及經學的發苗，都能帶來新的見解。本次演講將利用一些《老子》寫本，早期《詩》本、詩集以及前所未見的失傳文本，來審視古代人文研究領域的演變。此外，這次演講還將討論一套新的方法，如簡帛材料的保存和拼接、文獻學、互文性 （intertextuality）和結構分析等方法，並探究這些新的方法和材料如何在重寫中國文化核心遺產的古代史上發揮作用。

Distinguished Lectures on Chinese Culture and Religion (6)

Abstract: Zhao Puchu (趙樸初，1907-2000), a Buddhist layman (居士), was a leader of the Buddhist Association of China(中國佛教協會, BAC) since the 1950s. He had been active in Buddhist social welfare activities beginnng the 1930s and became one of the founders of the BAC in 1953. Zhao was also a poet and calligrapher of considerable renown. By the 1980s, he was much involved in international diplomacy, primarily in Buddhist countries in Asia, especially Japan; and in social and political reform in China, including the revival of Buddhism. Through his participation in Chinese social and political life, Zhao became strongly committed to enhancing the policy of religious freedom, strengthening religious participation in social service, and advocating social reform more generally.  

非遺文化工作坊 - 碑刻拓印

中國碑刻拓印藝術源遠流長，始於西漢，發展成型於東漢，大放異彩於唐代，並在明末清初達到鼎盛。作為碑刻衍生物的拓印技術，起源於魏晉，是雕版印刷術的前身，沿襲至今，為中國傳統文化的傳播做出了不可磨滅的貢獻。 本次我們有幸邀請到非遺手工藝傳承人陳小英老師現場教授碑刻拓印及拓片裝裱技藝，並帶您完成一幅文字拓印作品，更配以木質相框裝裱（26*32釐米），提升作品質感！ 快叫上您的好友，一起把古風字體帶回家吧！

Specialist Lecture on Chinese History and Culture (6)

講座概要：本次講座將重點討論20世紀上半葉創作於香港的兩幅主題性壁畫的關聯。一幅是1939年落成於銅鑼灣的嶺英中學的《建國》，由洋畫家梁錫鴻、何鐵華繪製，壁畫採用超現實主義手法，描繪了一個在戰爭廢墟中重建文明的中山裝巨人形象； 1949年10月間，在九龍旺角一棟舊樓裡，人間畫會集體繪製了七層樓高的《中國人民站起來了》。這兩幅壁畫，提示我們重新思考香港在中國現代美術轉型過程中的特殊位置。

Distinguished Lectures on Chinese Culture and Religion (6)

題目：民國初期的大眾文化和視覺藝術：以丁悚為例 講者：顧錚教授 日期：06/10/2023(星期五) 時間：16:30-18:00 地點：PolyU TU103 平台：Zoom 語言：普通話

Distinguished Lectures on Chinese Culture and Religion (5)

內容簡介:       本次講座主要介紹了《如何閱讀中國詩歌》系列由構思階段到出版的歷程，從紙質書籍到視聽媒體的跨越，以及相關衍生物如何產生的故事。蔡宗齊教授會結合自身經歷，講解《如何閱讀中國詩歌》如何克服語言、文化、音韻等鴻溝，教導外國人正確閱讀中國文學，以及分享他多年來致力於在西方世界推廣中國詩歌與文學的心得。