The project examines the interplay between two competing claims to power in the political tradition of premodern China: rule by competence and achievement (meritocracy) vs. rule by descent (dynasticism). It explores how these two claims were repeatedly renegotiated and balanced, especially in the course of usurpations of the throne. The project thus aims to shed light on the institutional structure of the Chinese monarchy and to compare it to its European counterparts.
The aim of this project, which is concerned with the history of remonstrance (jiàn 諫, jiànyì 諫議) in pre-imperial and early imperial China, is threefold: Firstly, it explores whether an increasing concentration of Macht at early Chinese courts and the concomitant competitive pressure within their elites led to the development of a particular conception of Macht and Herrschaft. Secondly, it investigates the extent to which the institutionalisation of political criticism in the field of remonstrance served as a technique of governance. Thirdly, it enquires into the development of political censure, its origins, forms and conceptions and the objectives of those who articulated it. The project is itself part of a larger DFG-Collaborative Research Centre (1167) "Macht and Herrschaft – Premodern Configurations in a Transcultural Perspective", situated at the University of Bonn.
The project concerns the 620-volume collection Suwenxue congkan 俗文學叢刊 / Folk Literature: Materials in the Collection of the Institute of History and Philology (Taipei: Shin Wen Feng, 2002–2006), which represents the holdings of one of the most important research libraries for so-called popular literature (including plays, prose narrative, folk songs, broadside ballads, and humorous texts) in the Chinese speaking region. The database will allow quick and convenient access to the titles and authors of all individual texts.
In cooperation with specialists from other centres of research (London, Lyon, Shanghai) data was collected and collated in the Department on the use of pen-names by 20th century Chinese writers:
Raoul D. Findeisen. "Amendments and Additions to the List of Pen-Names of Modern Chinese Authors / Zhongguo xiandai wenxue zuozhe biminglu buyi xubian", typescript, Ruhr University Bochum, Faculty of East Asian Studies, Department of Chinese Language and Literature, 1999, 3rd ed. 2001.
This research project addressed the publishing sector in the Republican Era (1912–1949) as one of the key factors in the ‘literary field’. Using case studies, the study, which was orientated towards the history of mentality, examined the substantive, mental and cultural structures that characterised the Chinese publishing sector in the first half of the 20th century with respect to the production, distribution and reception of literature. One of the objectives was to close the information gap on the social and cultural history of the Chinese publishing industry in the Republican Era and its significance for modern Chinese literature.
Building on an extensive collection of works relating to Taiwanese literature and culture, which was put together under former Department Head Professor Martin, a research project funded by the Chiang Ching-kuo Foundation for International Scholarly Exchange, Taipei, Taiwan R.O.C. was carried out from September 1999 to August 2002. In the framework of this project the Research Unit on Taiwanese Culture and Literature was established and officially inaugurated on November 13, 2002.
The activities of the Research Unit hitherto have involved expanding library resources and and making them available online, organising seminars with visiting scholars from Taiwan and the People’s Republic of China in the summer semesters of 2000 and 2002, holding an international workshop in March 2001, publishing a research bibliography, and cooperating with China-oriented academic institutions in Taiwan, Europe and the USA.
The objective of the project was to identify and evaluate the relations between higher-education and cultural institutions in Northrhine Westphalia and China. Findings were documented in a handbook:
Helmut Martin and Christina Neder (ed.): "Kompendium der deutsch-chinesischen Wissenschafts- und Kulturbeziehungen in NRW". Bochum: Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Fakultät für Ostasienwissenschaften, Sektion Sprache und Literatur Chinas,1999.
The compendium and final report can be purchased through the Department at net cost (15 Euro).
The objective of the project was to document the history of Chinese studies in German-speaking countries and to examine specifically how each individual field of the discipline has developed. It was divided into several subprojects:
1997 saw the publication of the volume Clavis Sinica – Zur Geschichte der Chinawissenschaften: Materialien für die 8. Jahrestagung der Deutschen Vereinigung für Chinastudien (DVCS). The collection contains significant texts on various historical and substantive aspects of China studies. A second edition of the publication is now available through the Department.
A further publication contained the conference papers from the 8th annual conference of Deutsche Vereinigung für Chinastudien (DVCS) which took place in October 1997, the theme of it being "China Studies – Problems and Perspectives of the Development in German-speaking Countries". The conference papers were published by Institut für Asienkunde, Hamburg, as the second volume of Clavis Sinica:
Helmut Martin / Christiane Hammer (ed.): Chinawissenschaften – Deutschsprachige Entwicklungen: Geschichte, Personen, Perspektiven. Hamburg: Institut für Asienkunde, 1999. (Mitteilungen des Instituts für Asienkunde; 303)
Biographical material is a particularly significant aspect of historical research. The first part of Wolfgang Franke’s autobiography (Im Banne Chinas. Autobiographie eines Sinologen: 1912–1950 [edition cathay; 11]) was published in a second edition. The second part of Franke’s autobiographical writings appeared in 1999.
The project report was published in the series edition cathay:
Helmut Martin / Carsten Herrmann-Pillath. Vernetzungen: Wirtschaftlicher und kultureller Wandel in China &ndash. Entwicklungen, Strukturen, Protagonisten. Europäisches Projekt zur Modernisierung in China. Bericht über Forschungsergebnisse und Publikationen 1991–1997. Bochum 1998, ISBN 3-89733-003-2. 206 S.; 23DM, 168 öS, 21 sFr
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Last update: Dec 07, 2023
