Introductory session.

We will begin our exploration of the question of boundaries.
Two readings will be proposed:

– Stéphane Corcuff, « Les frontières de l’insularité taïwanaise. Étude géopolitique d’un cas de non-coïncidence entre frontières légales et frontières réelles », in Paul Bacot et Albane Geslin, Insularité et sécurité. L’île entre sécurité et conflictualité, Bruxelles : Bruylant, 2014.
– Régis Debray : Éloge des frontières, Paris : Gallimard (collection folio), 2010.

Meeting with Beatrice Zani for the discussion of her book Women Migrants in Southern China and in Taiwan. Mobilities, digital economies and emotions (Routledge, 2022).

We will continue to explore the theme of boundaries through two texts:

– Stéphane Corcuff, « Les frontières de l’insularité taïwanaise. Étude géopolitique d’un cas de non-coïncidence entre frontières légales et frontières réelles », in Paul Bacot et Albane Geslin, Insularité et sécurité. L’île entre sécurité et conflictualité, Bruxelles : Bruylant, 2014.
– Régis Debray : Éloge des frontières, Paris : Gallimard (collection folio), 2010.

Summary session

Off-premises event: reflections on the border based on Samia Ferhat’s documentary film “Le Temps des mots” (2015). The session will take place at Paris-Nanterre University in the Ida Maier building from 16:00.
Information and registration: https://mdl.parisnanterre.fr/ateliers/presentation-film-documentaire-le-temps-des-mots

Continuing the exploration of the boundary issue, we will look in particular at the question of affect in the context of field research. This “methodology” session will be chaired by Aurore Dumont, ATER at EHESS, an anthropologist working on the Tungus and Mongolian populations of north-eastern China. The discussion will be based on two texts:

– Favret Jeanne, « Être affecté », Gradhiva : revue d’histoire et d’archives de l’anthropologie, n°8, 1990, p. 3-9. https://www.persee.fr/doc/gradh_0764-8928_1990_num_8_1_1340.

– Laurence Kaufmann and Marine Kneubühler, Introduction du Dossier « Affecter, être affecté. Autour des travaux de Jeanne Favret-Saada », SociologieS, 2014 ; http://journals.openedition.org/sociologies/4707 ; DOI: https:// doi.org/10.4000/sociologies.4707.

Judicaël Perigois

PHD student EPHE – CRCAO

King Cheng in ancient sources: the construction of a commemorative character

The Western Zhou dynasty (1045 to 771 BC) is considered a golden age in Chinese historiography. Confucius, in particular, made many references to this period, mentioning Kings Wen and Wu, the founders of the dynasty, as well as the Duke of Zhou, King Wu’s brother. Thanks to his virtue, King Wen is said to have received the Mandate of Heaven, the right to rule. As for King Wu, he overthrew the Shang dynasty and formally established the dynasty. After his death, the Duke of Zhou acted as regent to King Wu’s heir, King Cheng, and was from then on regarded as the person who had enabled the consolidation of dynastic power. The figure of King Cheng, who reigned for several decades, remains somewhat less prominent. My research aims to show how King Cheng was evoked as a historical figure in ancient sources, especially from the time of his reign up to the Han dynasty (2nd century BCE-2nd century CE), in different ways depending on the context in which these sources were produced. My study aims to reassess the significance of King Cheng’s reign in the memory of ancient China.

Discussant : Alexis Lycas

Associate professor and Researcher (EPHE – CRCAO )

session cancelled

We continue our reflections on the themes of borders and affects. Specifically, we will consider the question of representations and imaginaries linked to mainland China through images and discourses. Suggested reading for this session:

Hui-Ching Chang and Richard Holt, « The mainland (dalu,大陸) the nostalgic never-land », in Language, Politics and Identity in Taiwan – Naming China, Routledge, 2015, p. 86-123.