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.]

Research, Society and Development

We examine academic exchange between Brazil and China, specifically the case of the Confucius Institutes (CIs) in Brazil, through the experiences of UNESP and UNICAMP. The aim is to understand how the CIs contribute to academic exchange in the context of economic and cultural cooperation between Brazil and China. Bibliographic and bibliometric research was carried out, through a multi-method methodology, which unites quantitative and qualitative research. The justification is found in the political, cultural, and economic movements that foment Brazil-China relations through the BRICS. Brazil has twelve CIs and no one from them seeks to indoctrinate through Confucianism, rather their aim is to spread the Mandarin language.

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.

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

2013

In this heavily annotated article the provocative thesis is submitted that there is something fundamentally wrong with Western Sinology, or 'Chinakunde', or 'Zhongguoxue' (as distinct from 'Hanxue', which is a kind of old-fashioned philology). 'China experts' either pretend to be knowledgeable about everything related to China, in which case they cannot be taken seriously, or - eventually - admit not to be scientific all-rounders with respect to the country, in which case they cannot be called 'China experts'. The author, who graduated in Sinology from Leyden University and in economics from Erasmus University Rotterdam, not only believes that the study of China has to be taken to a higher level (a belief he expects few tenured professors of Chinese Studies/History will share); he also explains how this long overdue task can be accomplished. Sinologists should take the complexity turn. They should treat China as a 'Ganzheit' (not: 'Gesamtheit'), as a territory-bound, history-moulded and culture-soaked totality of identifiable yet interdependent (f)actors, as a whole intimately interconnected with its numerous parts, as a hypercomplex system of complex, adaptive and non-linear systems of political, military, legal, economic, financial, social, medical, educational, artistic or other nature. Firmly distancing itself from multidisciplinary research (which in practice is a matter of juxta- rather than composition), the new study of China requires a well-thought-out, balanced division of labour. Close collaboration with ICT-driven, China-oriented experts in the natural, social and human sciences willing to co-operate with each other is a sine qua non for comprehending the country that seems to be moving to the centre stage of world politics. The study of China should be mile-wide and mile-deep. The heyday of Sinology is yet to come! An earlier version of this highly critical but undeniably constructive paper was rejected out of hand by the editors of leading 'Chinese/Asian Studies' journals. The author claims to have reason to suspect them (and other so-called China experts) of being 'bought by China'!

Journal of China and International Relation, 2018

This paper focuses on Brazilians' perceptions of China. Its central argument is that Brazilians' general perception of China can be well described as conflicting. It also argues that democracy and access to information are the issues that damage China's image the most, while the BRICS, culture, sports, and education are the topics that benefit China in the way it is seen in Brazilians' eyes. The work is divided into two parts. First, it explains the methodological tools used to develop and treat data tracked by this original survey of Brazilians' perceptions of China. Second, it presents the empirical findings gathered from the survey. In this section, the paper shows indexes related to twenty-two topics, eleven issues, and an index for the aggregate Brazilian perception of China. In addition to its empirical findings, this study claims its relevance based on its methodological process to turn qualitative measures into a quantitative index, and then turn it back into newly elaborated qualitative standards.

The China Quarterly, 2010

China from Where we Stand

What is Comparative Sinology? China from where we stand brings together powerful, diverse voices to define the boundaries and possibilities of this new field. In today’s global academic landscape, there are National Studies in China, and then China Studies (Sinology) abroad. Here, we are bridging this gap. We are bringing perspectives together: insider, outsider and in-between, with China as our center. This approach exemplifies a new China: progressive, outward-looking, yet reflective. In the last forty years, great strides have been made by movements that were first marginal, but then gained ground at the center of academic thought and research, such as women’s rights, civil rights, and postcolonialism. All of these advocated for acknowledging the subject position. They argued that the neutrality or universality claimed by dominant scholars is an illusion. Focusing on how people study China differently depending on their own background, and the way Sinology differs from country to country, sheds light not only on China, but also on other countries, on individual and national subjectivities, and on interactions between China and the world.

Revista Relaciones Internacionales - Universidad Nacional de La Plata, 2018

Abstract: This paper critically analyses the case study of Chinese international relations theory through the lens of a non-Western International relations theoretical framework. There should be an attempt to democratise the existing international relations discipline because societal interactions among the countries across the globe cannot be judged by the yardstick of Western experiences. Non-Western international relations theories can be also generated under the post-positivist methodological framework, as it is equally important to include the localised voices and experiences of Asian, African and Latin American countries by reactivating their local historical traditions and ancient philosophies , sociological perspective and ontological, epistemological and axiological dimension of international relations theories. Resumen: Este artículo analiza críticamente la teoría china de las relaciones internaciona-les, como estudio de caso, desde la perspectiva del marco teórico de las relaciones inter-nacionales no occidentales. Debe haber un intento de democratizar la disciplina existente de las relaciones internacionales ya que las interacciones sociales entre los países del globo no pueden ser juzgadas desde la perspectiva de las experiencias occidentales. Las teorías de las relaciones internacionales no occidentales también pueden ser generadas dentro del marco metodológico post-positivista ya que es igualmente importante incluir las voces y experiencias localizadas de los países asiáticos, africanos y latinoamericanos a partir de la reactivación de sus tradiciones históricas locales y sus filosofías antiguas, la perspectiva sociológica y la dimensión ontológica, epistemológica y axiológica de las teorías de las relaciones internacionales

Asian Studies, 2014

In this paper the thesis is submitted that there is something fundamentally amiss in Western Sinology (Zhōngguóxué, as distinct from Hànxué, which is a kind of old-fashioned philology): ‘China experts’ either pretend to be knowledgeable about everything related to China, in which case they cannot be taken seriously, or–– eventually––admit not to be scientific all-rounders with respect to the country, in which case they cannot be called ‘China experts’. The author expects no tenured professor of Chinese Studies/History to share this view. Having exposed the weakness, indeed the scandal of old-style Sinology, he also points out the way junior Sinologists should go. The fork in that road is two-pronged: translating or collaborating.