Academia Letters, 2021

The field of Chinese studies is developing in Brazil. It is reasonable to assume that, barring serious academic and political setbacks, the teaching of Asian history will take a definitive place in the university in the years to come, as has happened recently with African and indigenous history. Some research groups have emerged, albeit scattered, and have begun to present their bibliographic productions. In this short text, we will present three possible paths for the construction of a Brazilian sinological strategy. Our proposal is neither exhaustive nor conclusive, but is intended to provide a framework with broader perspectives on which to work. China as a model The first sinological proposal is the model conception of China, which understands this civilization as a reference to be copied or refuted by Brazilian society. This theory is the most traditional in Brazilian culture and has developed since the 19th century [Bueno, 2021]. During the time of the Brazilian Empire, there was an intense debate about Chinese immigration to the country; although the project did not materialise, it marked the beginning of an ideological attitude towards China: would it be similar or antagonistic to Brazilian civilization? Many Brazilian intellectuals considered China a model of civilization to be refuted, backward, poor, and non-Christian. But in the 1950s, with the victory of the communist revolution and the founding of the People's Republic of China, this image would change radically. In a few years, China would resume its place among the world powers, and the paths it had travelled

What follows now is the script of our interviews carried out in Brazil, seeking to gather experiences, impressions and opinions about Sinology in Brazil and its participation in this field. This structure was adapted from the oral interview script-a modality that unfortunately we could not perform at that time for health and logistical reasons, among other reasons. We seek an overview of the personal and educational trajectory; next, what led to the study of China, and from what aspect; finally, some of the academic and personal opinions about Sinology in Brazil and its future. It was not necessary to answer all the questions, but if possible, to form a scenario of the personal trajectory, academic performance and vision of Sinology. We allow for less formal language, telling personal stories and expressing opinions. There was no set size for each answer, you could use as much space as you want.

Academia Letters, 2021

A topic widely debated among specialists is whether Sinology would have-or not-influence from 19th century Orientalism. Authors such as Simon Leys[2] categorically refuted this idea, while Adrian Chan[3] identified how the colonial and imperialist agenda profoundly influenced the strategies of research on China. In this brief article, we will discuss how Sinology and Orientalism were connected in 19th century Brazilian thought. Asians on the Brazilian scene To begin this analysis, it is necessary to understand that Brazil has an old relationship with Asian civilizations, since the time of the Portuguese empire. There was an intense population transit within the colonial world, with profound reflexes in the Brazilian scenario. The studies by Gilberto Freyre[4], José Leite[5] and Júlio Bandeira[6] reveal subsidies of a remarkable Chinese presence spread in the most diverse expressions of Brazilian art, such as the sculptures of Baroque from Minas Gerais. Recently, Paulina Lee[7] made a more complete list of these transits and appropriations in our culture. In especial, Freyre even argued that Brazil would not exist without Arab, African and Asian influences, and that European culture only effectively entered the country with the arrival of the Portuguese court in 1808. The silencing of Asian influences was perceived by this author before Edward Said launched his critique of Orientalism: "[Freyre] created a kind of Orientalism in reverse, in that he reversed the signs of Orientalist discourse, associating the positive value with the Orient and the negative value with the West. After making this inversion, Gilberto Freyre associates the Brazilian conformation-in its roots, trends and characteristic values-with the Orient, a term that in the symbolic economy of the author of Sobrados e Mucambos involves everything that is or means 'non-European' or 'anti-European"'.[8]

Currently, Brazil considers China an ideal partner. The economic achievements of Chinese inspired the Brazilians. The Chinese social and political model is regarded with admiration. However, Brazilians are also apprehensive about China. Do not understand the Chinese culture. Do not understand their habits. Do not know about their philosophies, and ignore the concept of a millenary and ancient history. The Brazilians, therefore, has defiance ahead. If they want China as a partner in the future, need to understand their ways of thinking. On the other hand, the Brazilians have great difficulty in absorbing what does not come from Europe or the United States. The Brazilian society is usually receptive to foreigners, but at the same time, is very afraid to cultural innovations. This question applies to the Chinese case. The Brazilians alternate between admiration and rejection, curiosity and fear. What are the reasons for this behavior? And as the study of Chinese philosophy could help solve this problem? It is that we will see in our text. [Paper prepared for the CRVP International Conference “Philosophy Today”, 21-23, December, Xian, China.]

Brasiliana- Journal for Brazilian Studies, 2016

It is interesting to see people's reactions, whether they are academics or not, when they ask me what I do and I respond: I lecture and research in Brazilian Studies. A second question almost invariably follows this response: 'but what is that?' And the surprise moment comes next, when I reply that I don't k now exactly what it is, but that it is this very question that draws me to this area. In academia, we are accustomed to clearly defined areas of knowledge, each plainly displaying their own methods, theories, and objectives-'a principal of science!' When proposing a 'new' area, epistemological definition is necessary; even in purportedly interdisciplinary times, we continue to define areas of knowledge in a Kantian manner. It almost seems like a defence mechanism or a protectionist undertaking; perhaps even an existential endeavour: 'I am' an anthropologist, 'I am' a political scientist, 'I am' a linguist, 'I am' a chemist. Ultimately, these disciplinary labels of themselves evince particular worldviews, methods, and objectives.

2020

Traditional sinology in Spain is facing the contemporary transition of academic research. It has become an important phenomena and trend in the research of humanities studies, which contains and assimilates contemporary China studies. Starting from the historical origin of Spanish sinology, this article summarizes the development of sinology in contemporary Spain, and analyzes the characteristics and trends of these disciplines. It is found that new Spanish sinology is reviving in the form of China studies, which has been extended in more fields of politics, economics, international relations, sociology and anthropology and so on.

Canadian Journal of Latin American and Caribbean Studies / Revue canadienne des études latino-américaines et caraïbes, 2019

Brasiliana- Journal for Brazilian Studies

Academia Letters, 2021

This short article arose from two intellectual provocations; the first is from the researcher Kamila Czepula, 1 who studied Chinese immigration to Brazil in the 19th century. Czepula says that Brazilian scholars tend to analyse the subject from national sources without necessarily attending to the Chinese view of the problem. This attitude is motivated both by language barriers and by the silencing of Chinese voices, as part of an Orientalist mentality, 2 Chinese actions are ignored, treated passively by Brazilian intellectuals. The second provocation was the lecture given by Eric Vanden Bussche at the 1th International Conference for the Study of Chinese Immigration to Brazil: Local Contexts and Global Perspectives [2018] in the city of São Paulo. Bussche showed the existence of Chinese migration projects to Brazil in the 19th century, revealing an aspect almost unknown in Brazilian historiography. 3 The thoughtprovoking aspect of these two reflections has inspired the construction of this small article, and we intend to give some indications for the continuity of the research. First of all, it is necessary to reconsider the situation of Qing Dynasty in the field of international relations. Despite the increasing precariousness of political and economic power, Qing rehearsed several internal reform projects and tried to ensure their continuity. Hun

Research, Society and Development

Este artigo trata do intercâmbio acadêmico entre Brasil e China, especificamente o caso dos Institutos Confúcio (ICs) no Brasil, através das experiências da UNESP e da UNICAMP. O objetivo geral foi construído a partir da ideia de que é preciso compreender como os ICs contribuem para o intercâmbio acadêmico na área de cooperação econômica e cultural entre Brasil e China. Nesta pesquisa, fez-se pesquisas bibliográfica e bibliométrica, através de uma metodologia multi-método, que une pesquisas quantitativas com qualitativas. A justificativa se encontra na movimentação política, cultural e econômica proporcionada pelas relações Brasil-China, através dos BRICS. O Brasil possui 12 ICs e nenhum deles pretende doutrinar o confucionismo, mas sim difundir o idioma Mandarim.