Understanding China: Chinese and South Asian Civilizations
Location: (D)Tiered Classroom 阶梯教室 阿里巴巴·上海虹桥(Alicenter,HongQiao) T2-6F
This event is about the storytelling of Chinese and South Asian civilizations - two of the most enduring and dazzling stars of our time.
Rising again in a multipolar world, these two civilizations enter the technological age with profound historical heritages and immense developmental potential. From tea to chai, from Buddhism to Zen, China and South Asia have shared a long history of cultural exchange, shaping each other's spiritual and material lives across centuries.
Both civilizations experienced their own shadow periods in modern history and achieved revival, independence, and renewed cultural confidence. While Chinese civilization is often understood as a continuous and unified historical tradition, the cultural unity and continuity of South Asian civilization is often underestimated.
Together, they stand for the spiritual depth of the Eastern world, while also contributing greatly to global civilization in fields such as philosophy, religion, literature, language, art, science, food, and everyday life.
At the same time, Chinese and South Asian civilizations are deeply different. From the Mahabharata to Chinese classical texts, from Sanskrit to oracle bone script, from food and language to ritual, tradition, technology, humanities, and spirituality, their differences are as rich as their connections.
It would be regrettable if the voices of these two great civilizations remained limited in their understanding of each other - especially at our present moment, a time full of unprecedented changes and opportunities in technological, cultural, and social fields.
In this gathering, Hairuo will guide a free and fluid conversation about the connections between Chinese and South Asian civilizations, reaching into their shared and distinctive depth, abundance, liveliness, and beauty.
This will not only be a speaker-centered event. Through games, talks, and open conversation, everyone will be invited into the storytelling of our epics and everyday lives. From food, languages, and traditions to technologies, humanities, and spiritualities, this event aims to let every participant become a vehicle and voice of our shared storytelling.
Speaker: Hairuo
Let the storytelling go on and on.
Hairo Zhang is a Chinese martial arts instructor and philosophy researcher, currently developing educational and cultural entrepreneurship projects that connect Chinese martial arts with philosophy, embodied learning, wellness, and cross-cultural exchange.