The Sino-Australian High-level Dialogue Forum on Culture and Humanities Held

Published：2023-01-15 Author：Translated by SUN Chengping, HE Ning

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Australia, Centre for Australian Studies at Shanghai Jiao Tong University and Centre for Australian Studies at Tsinghua University co-organized the Sino-Australian High-level Dialogue Forum on Culture and Humanities on Dec. 21st, 2022. The conference was held online between renowned scholars from many institutions and universities in China and Australia, including Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Tsinghua University, Peking University, Renmin University of China, East China Normal University, Beijing Foreign Studies University, Shanghai Foreign Studies University, University of Melbourne, University of Sydney, University of Adelaide, University of Western Australia, Monash University, etc., aiming to enhance academic exchanges and cross-cultural dialogues between Chinese and Australian humanities scholars, to deepen and extend bilateral cooperation in multiple dimensions such as teaching and research, social exchange and mutual cultural appreciation, and to explore the common values pursued and practiced by China and Australia from the humanistic, social and cutting-edge perspectives.

Luo Peng, Director of International Affairs Division of Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU) and Peng Qinglong, Distinguished Professor of School of Foreign Languages of SJTU， delivered opening speeches respectively. On behalf of Vice President Xu Xuemin, Director Luo Peng extended a warm welcome to the scholars, saying that SJTU attached great importance to the extensive cooperation with Australian universities in many fields, and had established various cooperation projects from faculty level to university level with the University of Melbourne, the University of Sydney, the University of Adelaide and the University of Queensland. Director Luo also affirmed the excellent achievements of SJTU's Centre for Australian Studies in academic research and degree training, and hoped that the cooperation could be further strengthened in the future to continuously promote China-Australia humanities exchanges and mutual cultural appreciation.

As the initiator of the conference, Professor Peng Qinglong pointed out that since the formal establishment of diplomatic relations in 1972, exchanges between China and Australia in the political, economic, cultural and educational fields had been developing rapidly and had made remarkable achievements. Against the background of an international situation full of uncertainties, the Sino-Australia High-level Dialogue Platform injected humanistic wisdom into bilateral mutual trust and appreciation, mutual learning and coexistence, and helped to reacquaint ourselves with our own history and culture from an internal perspective, to understand the unique differences between civilizations from an external perspective, and to contemplate the construction of a pluralistic civilization, common values and a community of human destiny from a holistic perspective.

The keynote speeches were co-ordinated by Professor Zhou Xiaojin, Professor Bi Zhoupin and Professor Zhan Chunjuan.

Examining the Starting Point: A Re-exploration of Chinese and Australian History and Culture

Alexis Wright, a renowned Australian Aboriginal writer, reflected upon the damages caused by colonization in the environmental climate and critiqued the threats posed by the modernization process from the Aboriginal perspective. This notion turned her literary creations to the ancestral settlements of the Aboriginal people, focusing on the inner world of the Aboriginal people and speculating how to respond to the crisis of modernity faced by the Aboriginal people.

David Carter, an Academician of the Australian Academy of Humanities, analyzed the process of constructing history in Australian literature, reflected on the conflicts and debates in Australian history, and argued that literary history can create an open-minded dialogue for historical research.

In his presentation entitled "The Heart and Sovereignty", Philip Mead, an Academician of the University of Western Australia, noted the growing interest in Australian Indigenous writing as Indigenous groups became more politically engaged. Contributing to this context were the works by contemporary novelists Kim Scott, Alexis Wright, and young Indigenous poets critiquing Australia's colonial past and articulating their collective demands for political and social change.

Professor Wang Guanglin from the School of English at Shanghai International Studies University analyzed the linguistic style in A Difficult Case: The Autobiography of a Chinese Miner in the Goldfields of Central Victoria from the perspective of cross-cultural translation, arguing that the autobiography shaped a literary discourse that transcended tradition with a unique Chinese expression, creating a form of world literature of locality across borders.

Professor Liang Zhongxian, former president of Mudanjiang Normal College, dissected the national thought and identity in the Miles Franklin Award-winning works from three aspects: national sentiment and identity, advocating for Australia, telling Australian stories in native languages, and highlighting national consciousness; the ideal characteristic of heroic sentiment, shaping the spiritual leader of Australia and reflecting the national pursuit of independence; the appeal to the subject status of Australia, taking Australians as the subject of narrative and native life as the theme, and pursuing a national culture independent of the world.

Focusing on Dialogue: Rethinking China-Australia Humanities Exchange

Nicholas Jose, a renowned Australian novelist, reviewed the development of Australian studies in China over the past half century from both Chinese and Australian perspectives, and suggested that academic exchanges of "gathering" and "mutuality" played a crucial role, and that interdisciplinary and cross-regional Australian studies should be promoted with the goal of mutual benefit.

Professor Zhang Yongxian from the School of Foreign Languages of Renmin University of China analyzed the changes in China's perception of Australia in recent years, in the light of China's social and cultural trends, in an attempt to reveal the reasons for the changes in the perception of the younger generation and to provide possible solutions for improving bilateral relations.

Professor Wang Labao from the School of English Studies of Shanghai International Studies University discussed the features of cross-cultural reading in the case of Les Murray, and claimed that both Australian poets writing about China and Chinese readers reading Australian poems demonstrated the perception of cultural framing in communication. Chinese readers sometimes misinterpreted Murray's poetry, which reflected the negative effect of cultural framing that required a further exploration in the intercultural context.

Professor Chen Hong of the School of Foreign Languages at East China Normal University held that the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Australia was the result of geopolitical prudence, a consensus based on common interests and shared values, and had shown vigorous dynamics in practice. China's Australian studies were conducive to a mutually beneficial and stable relationship between the two countries and will play a greater role in the future.

Professor Li Jianjun, Director of the Center for Australian Studies at Beijing Foreign Studies University examined Australian writer and socialist Ralph-de Boissiere's journey to China through a reading of photographs and related materials from the National Library of Australia, with a microscopic look at the historical process of Sino-Australian cultural exchange.

Towards the Future: New Possibilities for the Mutual Existence and Mutual Understanding of Multiple Civilizations

Terry Flew of the University of Sydney spoke on "Trust and Cultural Difference in the Age of Digital Platforms", pointing out that in the 50 years of Sino-Australian relations, nationalism and globalization had gone hand in hand, and the anxiety about cultural identity and cultural recognition had escalated in various countries and regions, while digital platforms may provide new forms for transcending differences and bridging communication.

In his keynote speech on "The Function of Literary and Cultural Communication of English", Academician Wang Ning from the School of Humanities of Shanghai Jiao Tong University discussed the important media functions of language for cultural communication in the era of globalization, suggesting that English as a universal language was not only demonstrated in the communication between individuals, but also in the literary and cultural exchanges, emphasizing English as an important tool for Chinese scholars to converse with their international counterparts on an equal footing.

Professor Wang Jinghui of the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures at Tsinghua University employed the book token released in the 1890s as a starting point to trace the formation of cosmopolitan Cole's worldview, suggesting that Cole's exchanges with his Chinese friends and his desire for a federation of the world led him to reject the yellow peril mentality of animosity towards Asians that once prevailed in Australia, and through his works he strived to build a non-ethnocentric cosmopolitanism that can serve as a reference for contemporary cultural exchanges.

Professor Liu Shusen from the School of Foreign Languages of Peking University focused on humanities traffics between China and Australia and their modernization process, pointing out that despite their historical, social and cultural differences, both countries had undergone the transition from an economy of agriculture, animal husbandry and handicrafts to an urbanized society characterized by industrialization and modernization. Professor Liu believed that bilateral humanities exchanges played an important role in this process and will also help the two countries move towards a cooperative, complementary and win-win future.

Professor Greg McCarthy of the University of Western Australia argued that Australia's studies of its homeland examined issues such as colonial legacies, Aboriginal narratives, migration histories and political tendencies through a diversity lens, valuing diversity but lacking subjectivity, while China's studies of Australia looked at historical and cultural processes, ethnicity and multiculturalism, economics and trade, from translation and literary perspectives. Environmentalism, education, theater, and media, among others, constructed a unique cognitive framework. The dialogue between scholars from both countries can provide insights into the civilizations.

In the closing ceremony, Professor Wang Jinghui declared that the Sino-Australian Joint Communiqué fifty years ago started the journey of bilateral cooperation, exchange and dialogue, and today, fifty years later, we proved it by actions. People-to-people friendship was the key to maintaining friendly relations between countries, and heart-to-heart communication helped to reach deeper understanding and friendship. Professor Wang called for a look forward to a more interactive, cooperative, prosperous and harmonious Sino-Australia relationship together.

Technical support: Weicheng Interconnection