Chiang Ching-kuo International Sinological Centre at Charles University in Prague

Searching for Regional Diversities in China: Introduction to the Studies of Local Gazetteers

Dr. Ch´en Hsi-yüan 陳熙遠 (Academia Sinica, Taipei)

May 10 – 14th 2010 (10:00 – 12:30)

This course is intended for students and junior researchers who want to familiarize themselves with the Chinese local gazetteers. The course will comprise of lectures and discussions on selected topics concerning basic forms, common themes, and variation of the local gazetteers, by examining their structures and contents. Emphasis will be placed on the social customs and festivals from a comparative point of view, with special focus on the daily life of the populace and the mechanisms of local governance.

Lecture 1: The Making of Local Gazetteers
Lecture 2: The Structure of Local Gazetteers
Lecture 3: Maps and Illustrations
Lecture 4: Altars, Temples, and Shrines: Official Sacrificial Rites and Popular Religions
Lecture 5: Social Customs and Local Variations
Lecture 6: Festivals and Festivities

The seminar will be held in English language; it will also include reading and interpretation of selected primary sources in Chinese.

About the lecturer

Dr. Ch´en Hsi-yüan graduated in 1991 from the Department of History at National Taiwan University. He obtained his Ph.D. title in 1999 from Harvard University where he studied with prof. Prof. Philip A. Kuhn. Currently he is a researcher at Academia Sinica and also an assistant professor at National Tsin-hua University. He specializes in intellectual history with special focus on religion, as well as everyday life and local governance in Late Imperial and early Republican China.

Students and scholars interested in participation, please register with the Center before Feb. 28, 2010 (cck-isc@ff.cuni.cz). We will arrange accommodation for the participants who are not Prague residents. Financial support will be considered for participants from the countries within the scope of East Europe Committee Programs.