The Han Chinese funeral ceremonies and burial manners

The theme of this paper is death and its ethnographic image. The presented data shows the results of long-term regional fieldworks and analysis of the collected data about the burial, cemeteries and post-mortem ritual in China (among the Han Chinese). I discussed the beliefs about ancestors, the soul and the afterlife, which are hidden deep in the minds of the Chinese people. The research aims at analyzing the symbolism and actions related to the death of the Han Chinese living in the southeastern regions of China. In this paper, I discuss the double funeral custom. First, the temporary hiding of bodies in the grave for a few years and later collecting the bones, cleaning them and re-burying. After 1949 as a result of top-down imposed by the government cremation, formerly cherished beliefs and customs had to be transformed. Nowadays, cremation is first, then the temporary burial, and putting an urn with ashes into the grave becomes a form of a proper burial.

Geostrategy of Xi Jinping: from low profile to global assertiveness

People’s Republic of China (PRC), especially after 2010, partially in response to its unprecedented growth, and partially as the answer to the global crisis of 2008, has recently started to change its internal model of development (crucial, but not in focus of this study), as well as its external strategy, which is the center of research here, and which in the form of One Belt, One Road (OBOR) vision is already a classical geostrategic case. The current leadership of the fifth generation with Xi Jinping as paramount leader has a blueprint: 1. To create a middle class until 2021, 2. Of peaceful reunification with Taiwan; 3. Of the “great rejuvenation of Chinese nation” until October 2049. If successfully implemented, this strategy will definitely change not only China, but also the global landscape. This study is trying to explain what really has happened recently in PRC, why it has happened, and what is the meaning of those strategic changes in the Chinese leadership’s approach both to PRC itself, and to the global arena.

China Heads West: “One Belt, One Road” Initiative

With the fall of the Soviet Union, the economic landscape of central Eurasia fell into disconnected shards. However as soon as the Soviet Union disintegrated, the countries of Central Asia and especially the Caucasus started considering new strategies to reconnect. An inspiration was quickly taken from history – from the “Silk Road”. During the days of the “Silk Road” countries of Central Asia acted as land bridges that connected China with those countries in Europe to strengthen trade. Ancient cities like Aleppo, Baghdad and Xi’an became major transshipment and manufacturing hubs. Now, Eurasia stretches from the west of Europe to the eastcoast of China, making it a huge market with 60 countries covering 60% of the world’s population, 30% of GDP and 75% of the world’s energy sources.

The development of the Chinese economy in the period of real socialism: an analysis of basic macroeconomic indicators

China, after years of an international isolation, begins to play a more extensive role in the world. It becomes the main world player in every branch of a single nation’s activity, starting from economy through military to social and culture areas. One of the probes of the international rebirth of this great nation is its diplomatic relations  with Vatican. The reason diplomatic relations with the state of Vatican were for some time out of discussion was the Chinese ideology. After it was abandoned, it appeared there are only two issues implicating those relations: Vatican’s diplomatic relations with Taiwan and the Chinese Catholic Church’s wish to remain independent from the Pope.
The last few years show the meaningful change of the Chinese and Vatican’s approach to the problem: it appears that the, so called, border issues are defined. Vatican expects China to acknowledge the Pope as the head of the universal Church, whereas Vatican is supposed to revise its diplomatic relations with Taiwan – Vatican is now the only state in Europe to maintain the diplomatic links with Taiwan. In the research, the author has traced back the tangled relationship between the Holy See and the Middle Kingdom starting with the first footprints of Christianity in China to the current situation, when the significant thaw in bilateral relations takes place. Concluding, the article shows the signs of the real reestablishing of diplomatic relations between those two very specific states.

Religious diplomacy: China and Vatican (now and then)

China, after years of an international isolation, begins to play a more extensive role in the world. It becomes the main world player in every branch of a single nation’s activity, starting from economy through military to social and culture areas. One of the probes of the international rebirth of this great nation is its diplomatic relations with Vatican. The reason diplomatic relations with the state of Vatican were for some time out of discussion was the Chinese ideology. After it was abandoned, it appeared there are only two issues implicating those relations: Vatican’s diplomatic relations with Taiwan and the Chinese Catholic Church’s wish to remain independent from the Pope.
The last few years show the meaningful change of the Chinese and Vatican’s approach to the problem: it appears that the, so called, border issues are defined. Vatican expects China to acknowledge the Pope as the head of the universal Church, whereas Vatican is supposed to revise its diplomatic relations with Taiwan – Vatican is now the only state in Europe to maintain the diplomatic links with Taiwan. In the research, the author has traced back the tangled relationship between the Holy See and the Middle Kingdom starting with the first footprints of Christianity in China to the current situation, when the significant thaw in bilateral relations takes place. Concluding, the article shows the signs of the real reestablishing of diplomatic relations between those two very specific states.

The ombudsman in Macau

An ombudsman is a very important institution which protects citizen’s rights and freedoms. The appropriate actions taken by this person guarantees the human rights’ protection and contributes to the strengthening of the legal authority. An ombudsman in Macau (Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China) functions within the framework of the Commission Against Corruption. This institution receives complaints against the central government bodies. The article presents some cases examined by the ombudsman. The analysis of the above-mentioned examples presented in the ombudsman’s report lead to the conclusion that this institution fulfils more significant legal functions. There are still some challenges behind this authority. Especially, the civil and political rights should be guaranteed. It is indispensable to undertake further activities in order to update such fundamental principles as the equal and universal suffrage and the freedom of speech.

Issues in teaching Chinese characters and strategies for foreign learners outside the Chinese character culture circle

Learning Chinese is far from an easy task and acquiring Chinese characters is probably the greatest challenge. Many foreign students outside the Chinese Character Culture Circle, beginners in particular, give up learning Chinese characters because of the ideographic system. This system embraces phonology, glyphs and semantic meaning, which are completely different from alphabetic writing. What makes things worse is that TCCF has been ignored for a long time in TCFL. TCFL started to develop in China in the early 1950s, and that involved teaching some simple characters including strokes, the order of strokes and structural analysis. There were no independent character textbooks for foreigners. The content concentrating on teaching characters did not play a leading role in materials for teaching Chinese. Furthermore, most teachers paid little attention to, or neglected character teaching and training, due to the lack of linguistic knowledge.

Shaolin kung fu/wushu: a treasure of the Chinese Nation

The history of Chinese martial arts is both turbulent and interesting as the history of China itself. They played a crucial role during turning points on many occasions. This treasure of national importance almost vanished due to the events of the Cultural Revolution. The article presents a shortened history of the traditional Shaolin kung fu. The role of Bodhidharma – an Indiam Buddhist who settled in a temple is also explained. Additionally, there is an attempt of explaining the terminology, precisely kung fu or wushu, what is correct? Also the characteristics of Shaolin martial arts are given. All is concluded with the description of imitative boxing and its technical principles. Namely, they are the Five Animals style including the crane, tiger, leopard, snake and dragon, mantis, monkey and others. A very peculiar example of this kind of styles is the drunken one. This technique is explained in details. When dealing with traditional wushu one must be aware of the fact that it is an endless and hard way of self-improvement and development. And the final success is not only connected with sport achievements.

The Japan Self-Defense Forces as the guarantee of safety: the Navy and the Border Guard

During the Cold War, the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Forces didn’t play an important role in the region. The situation has changed along with the fall of the USSR, increasing the political-military activity of the PRC and an unpredictable policy of the DPRK. The current situation in Southeast Asia is unstable. The greatest  threat to the sovereignty of Japan is the aggressive actions of the People’s Republic of China, North Korea and Russia. China, conducting a very military strategy, still stakes a claim to the Senkaku Islands in order to impose dominance upon neighboring countries – it is a considerable risk for that area. Another military threat to Japan is the unpredictable North Korea, which has powers and means, including ballistic missiles with nuclear warheads able to strike the whole Japanese territory. The Russian Federation which is staking a claim to the Kuril Islands, still remains a threat to Japan. The changes in the region influenced the changes of the Maritime  Self-Defense Forces and the armament policy. Among others, the Maritime Self-Defense Forces increased its action and started to cooperate actively in the interest of peace in the world.

Transformation of the family model and the situation of elderly people in Japan at the beginning of the 21st century

The changes that took place in post-war Japan created a new family model. Pre-war Japanese families had generational character. The stem family structure incorporated a support network for elder people in households where at least three generations lived in a single house. Young people looked after parents after their retirement. It was strictly connected with the vision of the Japanese social welfare system (or with the lack of it). In the post-war period all fields of Japanese life were radically changed. The fast industrialization and the move of rural population to the cities, caused the change of the model of the family, from generational to nuclear. The progressing atomization of families influences the situation of the elderly. They are left without the care of children and government, and forced to form a new outlook on life after their retirement. However enjoying life after retirement is not yet a lifestyle appreciated by Japanese. Many man find it difficult to manage free time after their retirement. The unaccustomed fulltime presence of husbands at home often has a negative impact on family life. The martial stress, economic and health problems are causes by the Retired Husband Syndrome (RHS).

Koreans have existed as a single united ethnic group for more than 2000 years. Following the terrible division of Korea (after the end of the Korean War, 1950–1953), some North Koreans have managed to flee for the following reasons: political, religious and economic. Why? This is due to the fact that both Koreas emerged through different ideological and economical models. Regarding South Korea, this country has evolved into a capitalist industrial society being open to foreign countries. On the contrary, North Korea has remained a very closed society centered completely on the leader of this country: Kim Il Sung (and then his son: Kim Jong Il). North Korean people cannot leave their country without any permits. If they are caught abroad without this permission, they are then treated as “traitors” and are very often incarcerated in re-education camps. An increasing number of North Korean defectors4 and their difficulties to settle in South Korea has created a new flow of migration for North Koreans. An augmenting number of these people are moving to other countries and other parts of the world. A relatively small number of North Koreans in China have managed to reach South Korea, Japan, or the United States via other countries in the region, including Mongolia and Thailand. Why a relatively small number? Because it’s estimated that 200 thousand of North Koreans are still illegally living in China, trying to reach their final (South Korea or another country) destination. South Korea accepts all North Koreans as citizens under its constitution. As of 2012, South Korea has admitted more than 22,000 North Koreans, Japan has accepted more than 100, and the US have accepted a few dozen so far. Canada, Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom, and a few other European countries have granted refugee status to several hundreds of North Koreans in recent years. Concerning EEC, some are living in Poland, Hungary and Czech Republic.

Abortion law in South Korea: between tradition and democratization

The issue of legal regulation of abortion is one of the main challenges facing modern law. The bioethical problem of abortion has led to the emergence of many legal solutions in the world. Although in South Korea, since 1953, the termination of pregnancy is prohibited, the problem of illegal abortion still occurs. On 22 September 2016, the South Korean Ministry of Health proposed a project to change the legal status, tightening the penalty for terminating pregnancy, also specifying this act as an unethical medical act. The social reaction to the announced regulation of the law was a spontaneous protest – the equivalent of the Polish Black Protest. The Seoul protest took place on October 19, 2016, when hundreds of women went out into the streets of Seoul demonstrating their opposition. The purpose of this paper is to try to answer the question of how the proposed reform of the abortion law improves the social attitudes towards abortion law and the emergence of the “black protest” in South Korea.

For a long time, one of the main problems in modern Russia has been the decline in population of the Far Eastern Federal District (FEFD).
Despite the fact that the Far Eastern Federal District is the largest federal district of the Russian Federation (its area is 6,169,329 square kilometers, accounting for 36.08% of the area of the whole country), it’s also the most poorly populated federal district of the country (a population of 1,946,969 people, that is only 1.2 people per square kilometer). What makes it the most sparsely populated federal district. However, the socio-economic changes of the 1990s have significantly changed the dynamics, directions and scope of migration flows in the far East, and most importantly – the motivation of migratory behavior. Natural losses of demographic potential was amplified by the significant outflow of the population, which not only reduced the level of the population, but have significantly reduced the share of the region in the total population of Russia (1989 to 5.4% in 1997 to 5% in 2007 to 4.6%).

Chi Liu, Sto niekonwencjonalnych strategii. Zasady sztuki wojennej, komentarzami opatrzył R.D. Sawyer, tłum. A. Romanek, Wydawnictwo Helion, Gliwice 2009, ss. 362 (Krzysztof Gebler)

International Cultural Exchange School, East China University of Political Science and Law, 29 lutego – 1 lipca 2016 r., 9 września 2016 r. – 1 stycznia 2017 r. (Monika Godecka, Natalia Ordon)

2. edycja konferencji „Dzień Azji i Pacyfiku” w Sejmie RP, Warszawa, 5 października 2016 r. (Magdalena Łągiewska)

2. Międzynarodowa Konferencja Naukowa „The Educational Value of Traditional Karate-do”, Centrum Japońskich Sportów i Sztuk Walki, Dojo Stara Wieś, 13 października 2016 r. (Joanna Kamień)

Pobyt naukowy na China Youth University of Political Science w Pekinie, 15 października – 12 listopada 2016 r. (Anna Dobaczewska)

Międzynarodowa Konferencja „Painting and History”, Chinese Academy of Art, Hangzhou, 4–5 stycznia 2017 r. (Aleksander Świeszewski)

Działalność Centrum Studiów Azji Wschodniej Uniwersytetu Gdańskiego w latach 2012–2016 (Kamil Zeidler)