Dynamic China British Postgraduate Network for Chinese Studies Annual Conference 2016 23-24 June 2016 Strand Campus, King’s College London Organisers: Partners: FOREWORD Dear participants, We are pleased to welcome you to ‘Dynamic China: British Postgraduate Network for Chinese Studies Annual Conference 2016’, which aims to gather postgraduate researchers with a particular interest and research focus in Chinese Studies. You will find enclosed in this brochure some important information regarding the conference, including: (1) General information about organisers, conference venues, and social events; (2) A full agenda of the conference; (3) Biographies of our invited speakers and abstracts of panel presentations; (4) A list of participants, including affiliation. If you have any additional queries during and after the conference, please feel free to get in touch with our organising team ([email protected]), who will be more than happy to assist you. We hope that this conference will give you all an inspiring and rewarding experience. Organising Team 1 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS On behalf of the British Postgraduate Network for Chinese Studies, I would like to thank the generosity of King’s College London, our sponsor, for granting financial support to this international conference. I would also like to thank the Lau China Institute, and especially Dr. Konstantinos Tsimonis, who secured funding from the Faculty of Social Science and Public Policy, and PhD students Agatha Kratz, Linxi Li and Chunsen Yu for their help in organizing the conference. Let me extend our gratitude to Mr. Shi Lei, the First Secretary of Education Section, who will be joining our conference on behalf of the Embassy of China in the United Kingdom, and to our partners: the British Association for Chinese Studies, the China Daily, the Chinese Weekly, Combined Academic Publishers, Cypress Books, Mother’s Bridge of Love, the Society for Anglo-Chinese Understanding, and the Young China Watchers, who have all contributed to this conference in their own way. Finally, I would like to thank our keynote speakers Prof. Kerry Brown (King’s College London), Prof. Barend ter Haar (University of Oxford) and Prof. Julia C. Strauss (SOAS, University of London) for sharing their research and knowledge during this conference, as well as all of you for your participation and valuable insights on China, from a broad range of academic disciplines. Gabriel F. Y. Tsang President, British Postgraduate Network for Chinese Studies 2 DIRECTIONS TO AND FROM KING’S COLLEGE LONDON The conference will take place at the Strand Building, Strand Campus of King’s College London: King’s College London Strand Campus Strand London WC2R 2LS Tel: +44 (0)20 7836 5454 There are a number of ways to travel to King’s College London’s Strand Campus, including: Underground Temple (District and Circle lines): 2 minute walk. Charing Cross (Bakerloo and Northern lines): 10 minute walk, Embankment (District, Circle and Bakerloo lines): 10 minute walk, Waterloo (Jubilee, Northern, Bakerloo, Waterloo & City lines): 12 minute walk, Holborn (Central and Picadilly lines): 12 minute walk, or Chancery Lane (Central line): use exit 4 - 15 minute walk. Train Charing Cross: 9 minute walk. Waterloo: 12 minute walk. Waterloo East: 10 minute walk. Blackfriars: 12 minute walk. Bus Buses stopping outside the university: 1, 4, 26, 59, 68, 76, X68, 168, 171, 172, 176 (24 hour), 188, 243 (24 hour), 341 (24 hour), 521, RV1. Car Note that there is no public parking at King’s College London, but a pay and display parking system operates in nearby streets including Surrey Street. 3 Conference venues: A (King’s Building): Anatomy Museum B (Strand Building): Lucas Theatre, S-1.04, S-1.06, S-1.08, S3.40 4 WIFI King’s College London provides access to Eduroam. It allows users at any participating organisation to log on to the wireless network using the same username and password that they would use at their home organisation. (You may use the email address of your home institution as the username.) Eduroam technical support is provided by your home organisation. Therefore, you must ensure that you are able to connect to eduroam at your home organisation before travelling. King's College London is unable to provide technical support to visitors. SOCIAL EVENT (UNOFFICIAL) Plan A (good weather): A City Walk (guided by local students; visiting Trafalgar Square, Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, etc.) A light picnic (at St. Jame’s Park) Plan B (in case of rain): A City Walk with umbrellas A Drink at a café Time: 2:00pm-6:00pm, 25th June, 2016 Meet at the reception of the Strand Campus, King’s College London Free of charge, but you have to pay for any food and drink you bring or order. 5 WELCOME TO KING’S COLLEGE LONDON King’s College London, one of England’s oldest universities and a founding college of the University of London, was established by King George IV and the Duke of Wellington in 1829. King’s College London has a long and established tradition and history of excellence, both in terms of teaching and research, being the third higher education institution in England after Oxford and Cambridge to receive a royal charter to award degrees. Today, King’s is ranked 16th in the world and 5th in the UK and is a five star university according to the QS World University Ranking. 25,000 students currently study at King’s College London, spread across five campuses. About 9,000 of them are international students from over 150 countries. King’s College London’s objective, up until today, is to provide them with a modern education and an inspiring environment, and to help them reach a fulfilling future and make their mark in today’s world. ABOUT THE LAU CHINA INSTITUTE The Lau China Institute at King’s College London is part of a network of Global Institutes dedicated to understanding twenty- first century political, economic and cultural powers in a global context. The Institute focuses on interdisciplinary research into contemporary China and its impact on world affairs. It coordinates and develops China-related research capabilities and China-focused programmes of study, while also building links with Chinese organizations in education, the cultural and creative sectors, business and government. Together with the Brazil, India, North America and Russia Institutes and the International Development Institute at King’s, the Lau China Institute aims to promote understanding, provide a hub of excellence and build connections through study, staff and student exchanges, research and knowledge sharing. 6 ABOUT THE BRITISH POSTGRADUATE NETWORK FOR CHINESE STUDIES The British Postgraduate Network for Chinese Studies (BPCS), previously the China Postgraduate Network (CPN), is an academic network for the growing number of postgraduates, young scholars and early-career researchers in Chinese Studies at British universities. We hope that the BPCS will become your primary source of information on developments in the area of Chinese Studies in the UK, as well as allow you to connect with others working in your field. Membership of the British Postgraduate Network for Chinese Studies is free and open to everyone. To join, simply go to our official website (http://bacsuk.org.uk/bpcs) and subscribe via ‘BPCS mailing list’. Our mailing list includes news on China-related events, funding opportunities, training and jobs. In an effort to create more space for interaction between BPCS members and keep you updated to our events and other academic activities, we set up a LinkedIn group and a facebook page which you are most welcome to join. ABOUT THIS CONFERENCE Under the leadership of Xi Jinping, China have entered a new phase. Widely referred to as the era of realising the ‘Chinese dream’ and building the ‘new normal’, it is commonly characterised by notions of ‘slow growth’, ‘anti-corruption’, ‘middle income status’, and ‘urbanisation’. At the same time, Xi’s push to rehabilitate Chinese culture and traditional Confucian values prompted both the Chinese society and China scholars to rethink China’s ideological, cultural and historical heritage. But what are exactly the changes in politics, economy, culture and society that have taken place under Xi Jinping, and what can be expected in the future? With the 13th five-year plan underway, China is faced with revaluation of its past, complexity of its present, and uncertainty of its future. Now is the time to revisit old questions and develop new lines of academic inquiry. What is the future of China in a changing world? What is the true nature of power in China? How far has popular culture in China been influenced by the proliferation of new media? What impact has China’s popular and literary culture had in the non-Chinese speaking world? Is China’s pre-modern history still relevant today? What is the relationship between urbanisation and a consumption-led economic model? What can China’s foreign relations tell us about its global future? These are some of the questions that ‘Dynamic China: British Postgraduate Network for Chinese Studies 2016 Annual Conference’ explores. 7 Conference Schedule 23/06/2016 (Thursday) - Day 1 9:00 – 9:30 Registration (at the Lucas Theatre [S-2.18], Strand Building) 9:30 – 9:55 Conference Opening – Welcome speeches by the British Postgraduate Network for Chinese Studies (at the Lucas Theatre) 09:55 – 10:55 Keynote Speech 1: Prof. Kerry Brown (King’s College London)– ‘Reading the Political Modern Oracle Bones: Chinese Power Under Xi Jinping’ (at the Lucas Theatre) 10:55 – 11:00 Group Photo 11:00 – 12:30 Panel Session 1 International Relations 1 (at S-1.04) Chair: Dr Konstantinos Tsimonis Culture and Technology 1 (at S-1.06) Chair: Dr Vivienne X. Guo Public Policy 1 (S-1.08) Chair: Agatha Kratz 12:30 – 1:30 Lunch (at the Anatomy Museum, 6th floor, King’s Building) 1:30 – 2:30 Keynote Speech 2: Prof.