9 April 2010

The Jesuits’ Encounter with Chinese Scholars: A Meeting of East and West


This year marks the fourth hundredth anniversary of the death of Matteo Ricci (which occurred on May 11, 1610). To commemorate his contribution to East-West cultural exchange and reinforce its commitment to its public service ideals, the National Central Library of Taiwan along with the Taipei Ricci Institute organize events such as the conference of Professor Nicolas Standaert, S.J. (Leuven University): "Sino-European Displacements: The Circulation of Prints between Europe and China" which will be held on April 16th in Taipei, at the briefing room of the National Central Library. Professor Standaert is one of the world’s foremost expert on cultural exchanges between Europe and China during the Late Ming and Early Qing dynasties, and will give a richly illustrated conference – do not miss it!

Also, by attending this conference you will have the opportunity to be among the first to visit the exhibit around Matteo Ricci held at the aforesaid Library: The Jesuits’ Encounter with Chinese Scholars: A Meeting of East and West -- An Exhibition Commemorating the 400th Anniversary of Matteo Ricci. The Institute has been associating with Taiwan National Central Library and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for organizing this exhibit which includes images of pieces held in the treasured collections of the Vatican Library, the headquarters of the Society of Jesus in Rome, the Archives of the Society of Jesus, and the Pontificia Università Gregoriana. The exhibit takes place in a new research room into which the library of the Institute has now been transferred. This research room is also dedicated to the new research focus of the Institute: the development of Pacific studies in Taiwan. (More information here).

Also, on April 20 at 2.30pm, Gjon Kolndrekaj, the director of the documentary film “Matteo Ricci, a Jesuit in the Realm of the Dragon,” and Prof. Antonella Tulli of the Department of Italian Language and Literature at Fu Jen Catholic University have been invited to hold a symposium on the film.

We hope that you will join us for one or all these events, register here or contact Meifang Tsai (mei _at_erenlai.com) !

Sino-European Displacements: The Circulation of Prints between Europe and China
by Nicolas Standaert (moderator: Pr. Ping-yi Chu, Academia Sinica)
Time: Friday, April 16, 2010, 16:00-17:30
Place: National Central Library, Taipei city, Zhongshan South Road, N.20 1F, Briefing Room
MRT: CKS Memorial Hall

The Jesuits’ Encounter with Chinese Scholars: A Meeting of East and West -- An Exhibition Commemorating the 400th Anniversary of Matteo Ricci
The exhibit will be opened half an hour before the starting of the conference.
The exhibit formally starts on Saturday 17 and will run till May 16, 2010,
9:00 -17:00 (Closed on Mondays)
Place: NCL, 6th Floor, Matteo Ricci Pacific Studies Research Room

A Meeting with Gjon Kolndrekaj, Film Director: Matteo Ricci, a Jesuit in the Realm of the Dragon
Time: Tuesday, April 20, 2010, 14:30-16:30
Place: National Central Library, 1st Floor, Briefing Room


11 March 2010

Asian religions in dialogue


eRenlai's March Focus explores the state of inter-religious dialogue within various countries, cultures and grassroots communities in Asia.

We commence our Focus interviewing the Jesuit Jerry Martinson who talks about meditating with Buddhist monks and the dynamics of interfaith dialogue in Asia through his experiences during and after filming the documentary Pilgrims in Dialogue in 1991. Benoit introduces the concept of 'dialogue' and the current discourse interpreting religions as languages, whilst Elise DeVido narrates religious dialogue in an East Asian context. eRenlai's specialist on new religions Paul Farrelly, writes on religious tensions within the family and how religious leaders can affect dialogue within the wider community. Sara Husseini introduces her thesis research, evoking examples of Christian and Muslim scholars sharing ideas in Basra and Baghdad eleven centuries ago.

This is also an opportunity to highlight the recent founding of the Xu-Ricci Dialogue Institute at Shanghai's Fudan University. The centre is named after the Shanghai-born scholar and statesman Xu Guangqi (1562-1633) and the Jesuit sinologist Matteo Ricci (1552-1610), whose friendship pioneered the dialogue pursued between China and the West in modern times.

And in January, the Taipei Ricci Institute signed an agreement with Taiwan National Library creating a "Matteo Ricci - Pacific Studies Reading Room" within the premises of the library. At the same time (with the support of the library, the Council for Aboriginal Affairs and individual scholars) the TRI is working towards the creation of a "Taiwan Society for Pacific Studies" that will become its main research outlet and focus.

6 January 2010

Nous sommes tous des junkies

Ce mois-ci, la version en chinois de eRenlai/Renlai est consacrée à l'addiction et aux diverses formes qu'elle prend. En préparation de l'article que l'on m'avait commandé pour ce numéro sur la drogue et l'addiction dans la littérature, j'ai (re-)découvert les classiques: Les Paradis Artificiels de Baudelaire, et quelques ouvrages de la Beat Generation - difficiles, d'ailleurs, à trouver à Taipei -: Junky et The Naked Lunch de William Burroughs (de fait, je n'ai obtenu ces livres qu'après ma deadline et n'ai pu les citer lors de la rédaction de mon papier) et surtout Requiem for a Dream de Hubert Selby Jr. que j'ai relu avec beaucoup de curiosité sans toutefois revoir le film dont, malgré les ans, je garde un souvenir aigu (Qui n'a pas été traumatisé par ce film?!).


Cet article et ces diverses lectures ont été pour moi l'occasion de réfléchir sur le statut de la drogue dans nos sociétés et surtout sa signification politique (au sens des liens et des lois qui régissent la cité). Pourquoi criminalisent-on tellement le commerce de la drogue d'abord et ses usagers ensuite? Et, surtout, cette criminalisation à outrance est-elle la meilleure façon d'affonter et de combattre les crimes et les problèmes liés au trafic de drogue et à l'addiction? Sans toutefois céder à la facilité de la légalisation totale, il y a peut-être un juste milieu à trouver qui implique forcément la responsabilité et le devoir civique de chacun. Un gouvernement éclairé et, qui plus est, doté des moyens financiers de le faire, devrait avant tout instruire et éduquer, plutôt qu'interdire et punir aveuglement, voire écarter encore davantage des populations qui vivent déjà dans les marges de la société. Culturellement et médicalement, nous avons pléthore de raisons pour rejeter les drogues: certaines personalités peuvent être affectées de telle manière qu'elles deviennent dangereuses (bien que le danger soit souvent seulement envers soi-même), les drogues nuisent à la productivité (bien que certaines semblent l'accroître au contraire, tout du moins sur le court terme) et surtout ces substances semblent nous transformer d'une manière qui n'est jamais totalement élucidée, elles relèvent aussi en quelque sorte de notre part d'ombre enfouie dans les connexions chimiques de notre cerveau, mais pas seulement.

Je tiens ainsi à citer l'initiative du Département de la Santé de New York qui vient de faire publier un fascicule de 16 pages à l'intention des héroïnomanes. Intitulé "Take Charge, Take Care", c'est à la fois un guide de prévention et d'information qui donnent 10 conseils et mesures contre les risques d'overdose ou de contamination dues aux mauvaises manipulations des seringues, aiguilles, produits, etc... Ce livret fait l'objet de lourdes critiques car il est perçu par certains comme une incitation à prendre de l'héroïne. En effet, certaines pages ne sont surement pas à mettre entre les mains les plus jeunes, on sait combien les gosses sont aptes aux expérimentations les plus crétines et dangereuses mais il me semble tout de même que c'est mieux que de fermer les yeux sur des pratiques qui existent et qui sont nuisibles car clandestines. Je vous laisse alors exercer votre seul jugement car j'ai confiance en votre capacité à raisonner et à ne pas croire qu'une telle page vous donne envie de vous shooter. 12 pages de la brochure sont disponibles ici.
A lire également sur le site eRenlai: Les Hauts et bas de la cocaïne en français

5 January 2010

Goodbye 2009. Hello 2010!

(Photo by F. Kersante)
We have now entered 2010, the last of the "Lost Decade" as it has been termed by the German weekly Der Spiegel. At eRenlai, we also ponder over the failures and the successes of the last ten years, and - despite the disappointment caused by the Copenhagen Summit - we are not so pessimistic. What about you? How would you evaluate the decade? Do not hesitate to share with us your reflections and your stories.

In our editorials section, Chu-Joe Hsia, an architect, explains the contribution of city-dwelling Aborigines to urban development in Taiwan, and Pinti shares a documentary shot during her visit to the Rukai tribe in Southern Taiwan. Also, we welcome a new member in our team -Paul Farrelly from Australia. Paul offers us his interpretation of the movie Avatar by James Cameron. As for myself, I examine the relation between drugs, addiction and literature.

Whilst A/H1N1 flu is still rife in the world, we dedicate this month’s Focus to the colloquium jointly organised with the French Institute for International Relations (IFRI) on the best practices for the management of global health outbreaks which was held on November 28 in Taipei. Watch video excerpts and read accounts of the debate led among academics, practitioners and civil servants:
- K.U. Menon exposes the Singapore experience in managing uncertainty in a pandemic.
Saifullah Khan shares his experience of health communication within a big pharmaceutical company.
- Steve Kuo, the Director of Centers for Disease Control in Taiwan, explains the strategies of communication with the Mass Media in order to strike the balance between alert and panic during a pandemic.
- Alain Vandersmissen, from the Directorate General of the External Relations for the European Commission, introduces the roles and limits of communication, in the context of global health crises in the European Union.
 
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