2022-03-09

The Office of Library and Information Services at NSYSU in collaboration with the College of Liberal Arts jointly organized the exhibition Explorations in Trans-Cultural Sinology, which was accompanied by the production of a short animated film “The Transcultural Sino-Island: The Global Sinologist Forum at National Sun Yat-sen University” to promote the Global Sinology platform and the library resources related to Sinology on campus. The exhibition is available to visit till April 30, 2022, and the books on display are available for NSYSU students and faculty to borrow; off-campus visitors are also welcome to visit.

Last year, Assistant Professor Mark Frederick McConaghy of NSYSU Department of Chinese Literature received the donation of 1636 Chinese and foreign-language books and personal publications for the University collected over 30 years from Charles Horner, a top Sinologist from the US. The collection of over 1,500 books, covering the Chinese history, society, economy, philosophy, culture, art, and other fields, is now part of the NSYSU Library.

Dean of NSYSU College of Liberal Arts Professor Hsi-San Lai expressed his gratitude to Mr. Horner for donating this collection of Chinese and foreign-language books related to Sinology to NSYSU Library. Sinology is the study and analysis of the history and culture of 1.5 billion Sinitic people, their language, thought, cognitive models, and family ethics, spanning over thousands of years. Global Sinology puts Sinology into the international and intercultural exchange and the global context to reevaluate the traditional and the modern, technology and humanities, the Eastern and the Western in a bilateral dialogue organized around creative transformation. Many international Sinologists over the age of 50 around the world came to Taiwan in their youth to learn the Chinese language, learn about Chinese culture, experience Taiwan’s freedom and democracy, enjoy the warmheartedness of the local people, generating fond memories and friendships. Taiwan still preserves its Chinese heritage for Chinese people all over the world that is both classical and innovative, local and international. This is not only an asset in terms of preserving the cultural heritage of the Chinese people around the world, but may also contribute to the future innovation of all human civilizations.

“Mr. Horner's decision to donate the books to NSYSU came from his deep appreciation of Taiwan as a democratic, free, and open society and the richness of Chinese culture on the island.” Assistant Professor McConaghy emphasized that Sinology is a pluralistic academic field that embraces different ways of thinking and epistemologies. Organized around studying the Chinese world’s literary-philosophical-historical tradition, Sinology does not belong to any political regime, nor can be confined by simple boundaries of a nation or ethnicity. It is a cultural practice. 

NSYSU Vice President for Library and Information Services Wei-Kuang Lai said that in the past years, the Library has introduced important resources related to Sinology, including book research projects by the Ministry of Science and Technology – "East Asian Sinology III: A Study of Korean Chinese Literary Tradition" and "European Sinology". Last year’s donation by a US Sinologist enriched the cross-cultural map of library resources in Chinese Studies, adding American Sinology to the already collected East Asian and European publications. Professor Lai said, “it is important to share quality collections with more readers." When planning the exhibition, he also planned the production of an animated film - "The Transcultural Sino-Island: The Global Sinology Forum at National Sun Yat-Sen University" to be shown at the book exhibition to introduce the Sinological research resources in a form that is easy to understand.

The “Explorations in Trans-Cultural Sinology” exhibition is available to visit on the 3rd floor of NSYSU Library until April 30. The books on display are available for NSYSU students and faculty to borrow.