Current Announcements

Youth in Chinese History: Educational Practices and Representations of Children and Young People Between Tradition and Modernity, edited by Giulia Falato and Renata Vinci, Routledge, 2026.

Youth in Chinese History brings together a series of interdisciplinary studies exploring educational practices and representations of children and young people in China from the Tang dynasty (618–907) to the Republican period (1912–1949). Drawing on a wide range of textual, historical, visual, and pedagogical sources, the volume examines how concepts of childhood and youth were constructed, transmitted, and transformed across different historical periods and cultural contexts. Particular attention is devoted to the intersections between education, literature, religion, visual culture, and social change, offering new perspectives on the role of young people in Chinese history.
The volume is one of the main outcomes of the international research project Youth in Chinese History, coordinated by Giulia Falato and Renata Vinci and supported by the British Academy and the Leverhulme Trust.… Read more ⤻

Shu-Li Wang, In Search of National Ancestors – Heritage, Identity and Placemaking in China, Cambridge University Press, 2025.

This Element examines how international heritage discourses are internalized and reshaped in China, using the Yellow Emperor cults as a lens to explore broader themes of intangible heritage, religious resurgence, and identity construction. The central argument is that cultural heritage serves as a powerful tool for shaping new religious expressions and enabling Chinese localities to assert their uniqueness while redefining historical narratives. Through case studies of several localities across China, this research illustrates how these regions engage in heritage competition by branding themselves with Yellow Emperor culture to shape their identities. This study argues that the cult of the Yellow Emperor-a legendary figure-is empowered by nationalism, a local search for tradition and religious revivals, and is further amplified by international discourses that reinforce national identity through heritage-making. Together, these forces drive the resurgence of ancestral cults and contribute to cultural identity formation in contemporary China.… Read more ⤻

Julie Yu-Wen Chen, Global Knowledge Production about China, Leiden University Press, 2026.

Julie Yu-Wen Chen’s new book Global Knowledge Production about China (Leiden University Press) illuminates how China-watching has evolved over the decades. China-watching is not the realm of intelligence agencies alone; diplomats, journalists, and scholars, among others, also play an important part. Although global attention has been focused on conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, perhaps nowhere is there a greater potential for serious conflict between the major powers than in the Indo-Pacific. China-watching plays a vital role, yet until now, except for China-watchers themselves, there has been little appreciation of who is undertaking this work, why, where, and what shapes the perspectives of China-watchers and hence the information they present. Chen’s book will fill the gap. The book completely free to download online here: https://www.jstor.org/content/oa_book_monograph/jj.36512724

Julie Yu-Wen Chen (BA, National Taiwan University; MA, Leiden University; PhD, University of Konstanz) is Professor of Chinese Studies at Department of Cultures at the University of Helsinki in Finland and visiting professor at the Research Institute for Languages and Cultures of Asia, Mahidol University in Thailand.… Read more ⤻

Gotelind Müller, “Patriotic Education Bases in China. Modes of Citizen Formation between Nationalism, Local Identities, and Tourism”, Heidelberg: Heidelberg Asian Studies Publishing, 2026.

Heidelberg Asian Studies Publishing (HASP) Open Access publication: The ‘patriotic education campaign’ is the most long-standing of all campaigns in the history of the People’s Republic of China and is notable for the breadth of tools it applies. Among these, the system of so-called ‘patriotic education bases’, the number of which has increased massively, stands out in particular. These sites dot the whole country and are aimed at Chinese citizens of all ages.

This book is based on printed and visual materials collected over many years across China, and combines them with personal on-site observations. It explores systematically how narratives and framings have evolved over time, and where the interplay of narrative, visual, and material elements opens up possibilities for divergent readings.

Gotelind Müller-Saini is Full University Professor of Sinology at the Institute of Chinese Studies of Heidelberg University.… Read more ⤻

Renata Vinci. Il sinologo che non c’era: Alla riscoperta delle opere di Giuseppe Barone (1861–1924).

Giuseppe Barone (1861–1924), a brilliant and versatile Neapolitan scholar, devoted himself to the study of Chinese civilisation, culture, and literature. Although he produced a remarkable body of essays and translations on China, his work has long remained largely overlooked within the historiography of Italian sinology. This volume brings together a selection of Barone’s writings, the result of extensive research conducted in Italian libraries and archives. By recovering and contextualising these largely forgotten texts, the book sheds new light on the early development of Chinese studies in Italy and highlights Barone’s original contribution to the interpretation and dissemination of Chinese literary and cultural traditions. Through a combination of essays and translations, the volume reconstructs the intellectual profile of a remarkable yet neglected figure, restoring Giuseppe Barone to his rightful place within the history of European sinology. The book will be of interest to scholars of Chinese studies, intellectual history, translation studies, and the history of sinology.… Read more ⤻

Sounds of Ink / 水墨的声音, Luo Qi and 30 Years of Calligraphyism / 洛齐与书法主义30年

The volume documents and provides an in-depth analysis of the Chinese contemporary calligraphy exhibition entitled “Sounds of Ink: Luo Qi and 30 Years of Calligraphyism” (INKiostro di voci: Luo Qi e 30 anni di calligrafismo) held from October 12 to November 5, 2023, at the International Museum and Library of Music in Bologna. This exhibition brought an international experience to Bologna thanks to the incredible works – some exhibited as world premieres – of the master Luo Qi, one of the most important living Chinese calligraphers and professor at the Hangzhou China Academy of Art, the most prestigious in China.
The exhibition celebrated the 30th anniversary of the foundation of one of the main currents of contemporary Chinese calligraphy called “Calligraphyism”, of which Luo Qi is the founder. Through his revolutionary works, the artist aims to establish a genuine visual and sonic dialogue between his music-inspired calligraphy and the International Museum and Library of Music—a dialogue between the art of calligraphy and music, as well as between Eastern and Western cultures.… Read more ⤻

Kieser, Annette. Sekundäre Zentren Der Sechs Dynastien : Untersuchungen Zu Gräbern Am Yangzi-Mittellauf. Harrassowitz Verlag, 2025.

Maurizio Paolillo (ed.), China and the West on the Silk Roads. Perceptions of the Other and Encounters from the Warring States to the Modern Era, Edizioni dell’Orso, Alessandria 2025.

The term “Silk Road” (Seidenstrasse), coined by F. von Richtofen in the 19th century, refers to the network of land routes that, since ancient times, have facilitated not only the circulation of goods from one end of Eurasia to the other, but also, and above all, the movement of ideas. The need to refer to the “Silk Roads” in the plural has been repeatedly emphasised, including not only the continental routes but also the maritime routes that connected the southern coast of China with the Mediterranean.
The essays collected here, ranging from the Warring States period (4th century BCE) to the present day, present the often overlooked reality of contacts between China and the West from different angles: linguistic, literary, historical and religious.… Read more ⤻

The editors of the EACS Journal are pleased to announce the publication of Volume 6.2 (2025). The contents are accessible, as always, via https://journals.univie.ac.at/index.php/jeacs/issue/view/745

We thank our authors and reviewers for their work and wish all a happy new year.

The Editors
journal@chinesestudies.eu… Read more ⤻

Katherine Ngo & Kelly Ngo, eds., Traditional Chinese Children’s Primers: A Sourcebook, Lever Press.

This Open Access book is the first anthology of traditional Chinese children’s textbooks in a European language. The selection of eleven primers, spanning over two thousand years of Chinese education history, remains well-known in East Asia and the global diaspora of Confucian heritage cultures. These texts represent an important genre of children’s literature and education materials that were employed to teach basic vocabulary, develop cultural literacy, and start students on their journey toward greater fortunes in the imperial examinations. This sourcebook covers texts from the second-century BCE to the late twentieth-century, and a range of subject areas, including etiquette instruction, literacy training, character education, and Confucian and Daoist thought. The Classic of Family Reverence (Xiaojing), for example, opens a window onto early Confucian thought in ancient China, while the Extended Wise Sayings (Zengguang xian wen) represents the eclectic worldviews and beliefs of the seventeenth century, and Lord Wenchang’s Essay on Quiet Merits (Wenchang dijun yinzhi wen) introduces readers to the tradition of popular morality books.… Read more ⤻

Walden, Lauren. Surrealism and the People’s Republic of China : From Mao to Now. Routledge, 2026.

Chapter 4 ‘Chinese Surrealism in the 1980s’ is available open access and the introduction is available as a preview pdf. See here: https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/mono/10.4324/9781003382393/surrealism-people-republic-china-lauren-walden.

The attached flyer contains further details and a discount code valid for both the hardback and ebook versions. Please do consider ordering a copy for your library.

Luo Maodeng (罗懋登) The Epic Tale of Palace Eunuch San Bao Voyage to the Western Ocean, 三宝太监西洋记通俗演义, Borevskaia Nina (Transl.).

In October 2025 the full Russian translation of the Chinese classical novel by Luo Maodeng （罗懋登） “The Epic Tale of Palace Eunuch San Bao Voyage to the Western Ocean (三宝太监西洋记通俗演义, for short “西洋记”, 1597) made by the EACS’ member Nina Borevskaia was published by Shans publishing house in Moscow in 3 volumes: each about 600 pages with almost 1000 comments and references, colourful illustrations and an appendix on Ming era army organization and arms. This travelogue describes Zheng He expeditions in the first half of the XVth century by combining the documentary notes and mythology. Not counting an English translation of the final fifteen chapters (Laurie Bonner-Nickless: To the Gates of Fengtu, 2017) which in fact describe only the voyage to the Other World, the novel as a full has never been translated into any language before now.… Read more ⤻