Both China and Africa are seen as cradles of mankind and human civilization, and have a long history of relations from ancient times. Also, presently Sino–African economic and political relations develop rapidly and are important to both sides. Therefore, both African studies in China and Chinese studies in Africa are promising fields.
The International Symposium “Encounter of Africa and Chinese Culture: Classics, History, Religion and Images” organized by the Monumenta Serica Sinological Research Center (MSSRC) in June 2024 dealt with the contribution of African Chinese Studies to the World Sinology. Historical and present cultural relations between Africa and China were analyzed, as well as the African experience of Chinese culture, and the image of Africa in China and Taiwan.
This volume contains important contributions of the symposium. In the first part “Beauty and Wisdom” an interesting overview of the field of China and Africa is given by Ross Anthony within the context of institutions of higher education; Justin Nnaemeka Onyeukaziri presents a discourse on “social edification” as the essence of beauty in Chinese and African philosophies; Zbigniew Wesołowski searches for wisdom in China and Sub-Saharan Africa; and Wojciech Rybka writes about translations of an ancient African author’s (St. Augustine) wisdom into Chinese.
The second part “Encounter” introduces problems of relations. Richard Atimniraye Nyelade examines in his both contributions the perceptions and manifestations of Blackness in East Asia, and the role of the “people-to-people” diplomacy in the relationship between Taiwan and Somaliland; and Ferdinand O. Ottoh high-lights the significance of paradiplomacy between Nigeria and Taiwan.
The last third part “Understanding” is focused on the image of Africa in China. Feng-chuan Pan explores the exotic imagination of African animals in the pictures of the Jesuit Michael Boym; Sonja Huang Mei Tin presents the image of Africa in the East-West exchange from the 15th to the mid-19th century; Liu Yue analyzes the spatial understanding of Africa in China; Piotr Adamek writes about the role of religion among African Muslim and Christians in China.
The research on the encounter of Africa and Chinese Culture, including classics, philosophy, history, religion, literature, etc., was highlighted here, in order to promote an exchange of knowledge on the topic, to deepen the dialogue of scholars, and to enhance the awareness of the active presence of Africa and African scholars in the research on China.
Piotr Adamek SVD
Monumenta Serica Sinological Research Center
Fu Jen Catholic University, Taiwan