Eight third-year AMU Sinology students enjoyed a long weekend in China, among other things, getting used to our time zone and relaxing following a highly intense stay in China, rich in new experiences! It happened as part of the second edition of a 10-day language and culture course - the consequence of flourishing collaboration between AMU and Jiangxi Science and Technology Normal University, a university located in the City of Nanchang in southern China. For its participants, the event was the first opportunity to visit and experience directly a country so strongly associated with their field of study.
The exciting excursion began on October 19. The students and their accompanying lecturer, Kamil Burkiewicz PhD, landed in Shanghai after an hours-long air journey. They travelled a distance of over 1000km to the City of Nanchang by high-speed rail, arriving at their destination on the evening of October 20. The costs of arriving in Nanchang had to be covered by themselves. All other expenses were assumed by their hosts, who, as the following days showed, had no intention of economising the resources to make their stay more attractive.
The official course launch fell on Monday morning. The ceremony was chaired by the Vice-Rector of the above-mentioned university, Professor Zheng Pengwu. In turn, the AMU authorities were represented by the Vice-Rector, prof. Rafał Witkowski in the form of a pre-recorded speech. Further on the agenda was a tour of the extensive campus, including a museum dedicated to its history. In the afternoon, the sinology team travelled to another part of the city, where they visited the headquarters of the Federation of Art and Literature Circles of Jiangxi Province. The institution authorities prepared a special lecture on the history of Chinese writing and a Chinese calligraphy workshop for the guests. The meeting also provided an excellent opportunity to reminisce on the highly successful exhibition of contemporary Chinese calligraphy held at the AMU Botanical Garden, the organisation of which was supported by the Federation.
For the next four days, the students attended intense classes. While their mornings were filled with reading and text composition exercises, their afternoons were spent in workshops and lectures devoted to selected aspects of traditional Chinese culture. During these, they could explore the theoretical foundations of the martial arts developed in China, the history of Daoism in the area of today's Jiangxi province, and various trends and varieties of folk songs - several pieces performed on this occasion by Ms. Wu Wenting of the Music Department squeezed, without a shade of exaggeration, tears of emotion from some of the listeners. The workshop, unique in its nature and location, was held in the studio of Mr Wu Yingfang, a master of black ceramics, located a few dozen kilometres from downtown Nanchang. The roots of this kind of art date back several thousand years. Master Wu is trying to reconstruct still not fully understood ancient craftsmen techniques. His passion and achievements, including the handmade unusual vessel, whose walls are only 0.2 millimetres thick, were described in detail to the students, followed by an invitation to work at the potter's wheel themselves.
It proved to be more than just AMU sinology students who had the opportunity to expand their knowledge of China. In return, Dr. Kamil Burkiewicz delivered a lecture for students and faculty of the host university's Department of Tourism, History and Culture on Polish place names in Chinese literature from before the fall of the Chinese empire. The lecture became a contribution to the history of Poland and the circumstances in which Chinese intellectuals gradually began to learn about it.
Saturday, October 26, marked the beginning of a more touristic nature of the stay. Our students were primarily taken to the Jiangxi Provincial Museum, of particular interest due to the Bronze Age artefacts on display and the equally impressive achievements of Stone Age communities. The next point on the agenda included a visit to Nanchang's most renowned monument - the Tengwang Ge Pavilion, a magnificent, repeatedly rebuilt building dating back to the mid-7th century. The pavilion was made famous by the eminent poet Wang Bo (650-676) with his poem, securing its status as one of the greatest achievements of Chinese architecture.
The following days, Sunday and Monday, were marked by a trip to more distant corners of Jiangxi province. The long bus ride was repaid with breathtaking views of the Wangxian Valley, a place, where mining activities were formerly carried out and later transformed into an emanation of a dreamy landscape drawn from Chinese painting. Even more impressive to behold was the landscape of the Sanqing mountain range, treated as a sacred place in the Taoist tradition. It is even more valued nowadays due to its picturesque geological formations and diverse flora, including many endemics.
The authorities of Jiangxi Science and Technology Normal University declare their willingness to organise further editions of the event in the coming years. Last year, they were highly impressed by the language skills of our students, definitely standing out from other groups received from abroad. However, nothing is surprising- the strength of AMU's sinology has foundations as solid as the Chinese Wall!
