CSAA Newsletter 25
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Chinese Studies NEWSLETTER Association of Australia (CSAA) CSAA Newsletter Editor: Jon Eugene von Kowallis email: [email protected] The University of New South Wales, Sydney 2052 Number 25, July 2002 Message from the English, but so do our competitors, interested in the details and in and we have to maximize our particular the recommendations of President advantages and give mainstream the report can purchase it in book students a chance to learn about form from ASAA or find the text on 8th Biennial CSAA Conference in Asia. Dealing with corporate giants the ASAA website. in China, Japan, and other Asian 2003 at UNSW Among the most useful The 8th Biennial Conference of the countries cannot be left only to our local Asian communities. The major recommendations, in my view, is Chinese Studies Association will be the suggestion to upgrade student held from Thursday, 10th July to national newspapers have written and editorialized against these exchange facilities with Asian Saturday, 12th July 2003 at the countries. The existing UMAP University of New South Wales. funding cuts, the Tourism Task Force and the Australian Tourism exchange program is small in scope The Conference Secretariat is now and not always easy to handle for in operation. This newsletter Export Council have made a joint protest and we add our voice, to the Chinese partner universities, not includes a call for papers and panel least because it is modeled on a organisers. Please contact the many other who are concerned about this trend. European exchange scheme. Conference Secreatriat as early as Sending our students to often possible to facilitate planning. As The new ASAA Report responds to unfamiliar environments in Asian for previous CSAA Conferences, this feeling of crisis. It overviews countries is quite different from the there will be no specific conference the situation of Asian Studies at situation of students in Europe. theme. We are planning to follow Australian universitites during the They can study for their degrees in ANU in making the 2003 CSAA last decade and documents different European countries, where Conference a low cost conference developments since the epoch- no expenses were spared to train for participants. making 1989 Ingleson Report, generations of students in European ‘Maximising Australia’s Asia which prepared the ground for a community languages. Knowledge: Repositioning and boom in Asian Studies. The good news is that demand for Chinese Renewal of a National Asset’ is the (continued on Page 2) title of a report commissioned by and Japanese has been fairly steady and demand for Chinese language the Asian Studies Association of CONTENT Australia. One could add a question and Chinese studies subjects is still increasing in some universities. This mark, as its recent launch coincided Jocelyn Chey; "Dai Zhen: A Key report is more modest in scope and with an announcement by the Thinker in Chinese Philosophy" 2 in its recommendations. It warns Federal Government that it would ASAA Report 5 that Australian Asian expertise is withdraw funding from a program Senior Appointments at ANU 9 now in the danger of declining and to support the teaching of Asian Campus Roundup 10 recommends measures to prevent languages in Australian schools. New Publications 16 this from happening. This is a matter of concern, because HSK 2002 17 it sends the wrong signals For the information of our member CSAAMembership 18 domestically and to our Asian we include the Executive Summary Call for Papers 19 neighbours. Australia needs as and the sections that refer directly to Forthcoming Conference 20 much Asian expertise as we can Chinese Studies at Australian muster. Of course it is true that our universities in this issue of the Asian trading partners all speak Newseletter. Members who are CSAA website: www.mcauley.acu.edu.au/csaa/ 1 Chiense Studies Association of Australia Newsletter - July 2002 (President's Message cont'd) left UNSW to take up a research purchasing their books. For details, position at Academia Sinica, Taipei. please see the insert in this issue. On the UMAP issue, I would be We thank her for her work for the Members might even use some of the grateful for feedback from members Association and wish her all the best savings to renew their CSAA on the positive and negative aspects in her new position. Like Teri, Jon membership with Mobo Gao who, that they might have experienced will also be supported by our able after organising a successful ASAA with the present program. editorial assistant, Betty Pun, Conference in Hobart, has kindly UNSW. agreed to stay on as our Treasurer for The CSAA meeting in Hobart another year. welcomed Dr. Jon Eugene von Finally, I am pleased to inform our Kowallis from UNSW as the new members that Cambridge University Hans Hendrischke CSAA Newsletter editor. He is Press has offered a twenty per cent CSAA President taking over from Teri Silvio, who has discount to CSAA members Jocelyn Chey, Visiting Professor at University of Sydney, has given a lecture in the Key Thinker Lecture Series (5 June 2002) on Dai Zhen (1724 – 1777), a seminal figure in the history of Chinese philosopy. Professor Chey’s lecture focussed on the contributions Dai Zhen brought to the school of ‘evidential research’, also known as the Kaozheng school, in Chinese philosophy, scientific exploration of natural sciences, as well as the relevance of Dai Zhen’s thought to social harmony and cohesion in contemporary society. Professor Chey has kindly edited the original lecture paper and given us permission to reproduce it in this issue of the CSAA Newsletter. - The Editor Dai Zhen – A Key Thinker in Chinese Philosophy Jocelyn Chey Dai Zhen 戴 震 (1724-1777) may be and would assist good government. Neo-Confucian ethical system which called a key thinker in the history of Zhu Xi and his successors advocated was built on the concept of Chinese philosophy because he self-improvement, beginning with “goodness” shan 善. He extended attacked the orthodoxy of the time application to study. Eventually a the meaning of goodness to include and those who abused power in the scholar could perfect his nature concepts such as propriety, name of “principle” or “Heaven”. through fully expressing the higher benevolence, wisdom and His work marks the beginning of the principle of the Way of Heaven and righteousness. end of state-supported Confucianism. thus become a sage. Dai criticised Neo-Confucian Neo-Confucianism regarded the Chinese thought was a virtual “obsessions” and condemned the human and natural worlds as one monolithic orthodoxy until the 17th harm their theories inflicted on interdependent and related whole. If century when opposition began to society. He saw no separate spiritual any part of the system was disrupted gather, based on philological realm apart from this material-based the effects would flow throughout research into classical texts. This universe and therefore no possibility society. Zhu Xi 朱 熹 (1130-1200) “evidential research” 考 证 学 of appealing to a superior maintained that there were two active Kaozheng School did not directly disembodied “principle”. He spoke elements in the system: principle li attack Neo-Confucianism but up for small people against 理 and ether, breath or matter qi 气, criticised its emphasis on self- hegemonic rulers and opened up co-existent and interdependent but, cultivation at the expense of possibilities of alternative belief of the two, principle was greater than government and politics. Dai Zhen systems and reform ideas. qi, having moral qualities which lifted their argument to the political determined human and social and philosophical level. His main Dai Zhen’s most outstanding behaviour. Understanding principle objectives were to criticise orthodox personal characteristic was the would help men regulate their lives understanding of principle li and the breadth of his intellectual interests. 2 CSAA website: www.mcauley.acu.edu.au/csaa/ Chiense Studies Association of Australia Newsletter - July 2002 As a young man he built himself an astronomical observatory. His first published work was on the use of In 1775, after a last unsuccessful Kaozheng scholars and encouraged Napier’s rods Ce suan 策 算. He attempt at the jinshi examination, Dai expansion of work in the natural also wrote on the chapter on was awarded the degree by special sciences. technology in the Rites of Zhou Zhou decree and made a member of the Li 周 礼, on the Er ya 尔 雅 and on Imperial Hanlin Academy. He Dai’s study of Mencius expounded the works of Qu Yuan 屈 原. Later continued to work on the Imperial his view of principle li and was a he explained that in his youth he Manuscript Library project for two comprehensive attack on Neo- wanted to understand every aspect of years until his untimely death at the Confucian orthodoxy. He defined Zhou culture in order to grasp the age of 53. Dai had few friends and principle as something abstract, the original meaning of the canonical only one formal disciple, Duan Yucai pattern of things, something that was texts and ultimately “to unravel the 段 玉 裁 (1735-1815). Unfortunately so of necessity – as it were, scientific Dao 道”. To achieve this he had to Duan did not continue his work after law. Like Xunzi, Dai believed the work on “the many difficult aspects his death. Dai’s ideas were only mind was simply a bodily organ. By th of the Classics – things other rediscovered in the late 19 century. expanding his knowledge, a man Confucians chose to disregard”. He could improve himself until he believed that eventually his studies Dai Zhen elaborated his perfected his moral state. Neo- would lead to a vision of “the Great philosophical system in An Confucians described principle li as a Source” Da Ben 大 本 .