Research master thesis | Asian Studies (research) (MA)
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Contrary to the stereotype that Zhang Shi 張栻 (1133-1181) always followed Zhu Xi’s 朱熹 (1130-1200) ideas, this thesis, by examining Zhang’s social origins, socio-political thoughts, and disciples,...Show moreContrary to the stereotype that Zhang Shi 張栻 (1133-1181) always followed Zhu Xi’s 朱熹 (1130-1200) ideas, this thesis, by examining Zhang’s social origins, socio-political thoughts, and disciples, argues that Zhang represents a transitional Neo-Confucianism, which is based on exiled bureaucrat and emphasizes military-fiscal skills and state activism. Zhang Shi learning provides an alternative to statism Wang Anshi 王安石 (1021-1086) learning in the Northern Song (960-1127) and typical Neo-Confucianism represented by Zhu Xi and Lu Jiuxuan 陸九淵 (1139-1191) in Southern Song (1127-1279) , which is based on local spontaneous elites and emphasizes the role of society and local volunteerism. The social origin and foundation of this transitional Neo-Confucianism was the former (potential) capital bureaucratic family who were exiled due to the fall of the Northern Song. They took the northern expedition to return to the capital as their goal and gave up the run of their hometowns and the local communities in which they lived. They were skeptical of Zhu Xi’s social program, such as the community compacts (xiangyang 鄉約), the community granaries (shecang 社倉) and private commercial publishing, which later became the typical behavior of Neo-Confucian. Based on the ideas of Mencius (Mengzi 孟子), Zhang Shi developed the theory of “spontaneous disinterestedness” (wu suowei er ran 無所為而然), which underpinned his ideas on the distinction between righteousness/public/king and profit/selfish/hegemon. Though Zhang learning relied on the state, it cut sharply with Wang learning in the aspect of “motivation”. For Zhang, the power of the state was not an end in itself, but rather the state should be consistent with the spontaneous disinterestedness from the heavenly principle. With a particular emphasis on military-fiscal skills, Zhang and his disciples sought to take over the state apparatus left behind by Wang Anshi’s reforms and to make this state act out of righteousness in the hands of Neo-Confucianism gentlemen. Zhang and his disciples proposed and participated in all the northern expeditions during the Southern Song period. However, the northern capital could never be returned, and the number of exiled bureaucrats who were the social base of Zhang learning (and of the Huxiang 湖湘 school in general) dwindled over time. Zhu Xi, who came from a family of low-ranking exiled bureaucrats, found a new world in the local community in the south, and endeavored to transform himself into a member of the local elite, stepping out from behind Zhang Shi. After Zhang’s death, the local students he left behind in Hunan 湖南 and Sichuan 四川 were eventually aborted by the emerging typical Neo-Confucianism (Zhu Xi and Lu Jiuyuan school) that spoke for the local elites. Zhang as a kind of transitional Neo-Confucianism eventually faded from history, completing the transition from the Northern Song learning to the later typical Neo-Confucianism. By reframing this transitional and alternative Neo-Confucianism, this thesis refines the Hymes-Bol’s localism paradigm about the explanation of why and how Neo-Confucianism raised.Show less
Research master thesis | Asian Studies (research) (MA)
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This thesis is a study on how leisure industries operated under semicolonial circumstances in Republican China (specifically between 1919 and 1941). Taking place in Yantai, a medium-sized treaty...Show moreThis thesis is a study on how leisure industries operated under semicolonial circumstances in Republican China (specifically between 1919 and 1941). Taking place in Yantai, a medium-sized treaty port in China’s Shandong province, this study analyzes how leisure, in the form of sex work, was both “sought” and “provided” by different actors. This study specifically zooms in on two of these actors. Firstly, sailors of the United States Asiatic Fleet are analyzed, as this research explores how their intertwining pursuits of drinking alcohol and visiting sex workers impacted Yantai and its inhabitants. Secondly, this study delves into the lives of Yantai’s sex workers, and how their role within Yantai’s sex work industry operated during an era of semicolonial presence. This study reveals that Yantai provided sailors the opportunity to indulge themselves in vices without being judged by their surroundings in a way that they would back home. Furthermore, although their behavior was certainly not appreciated by both locals and nonlocals in Yantai, their pursuits were also tolerated by some, as they contributed to both the economic and military interests of those that interacted with them. Sex workers, on the other hand, were a demographic that underwent significant changes throughout Yantai’s Republican period, which can largely be attributed to the increasing demands for sex work by foreign sailors. Yantai’s sex work industry became notably more internationally-oriented, as shown by both international sex workers flocking to the city and the general services offered by sex workers gradually revolving more around sexual intercourse. Overall, this study reveals how demands for new forms of sex work reshaped the hierarchies of Yantai’s overall sex work industry. As a result, the industry became more asymmetrically skewed towards a foreign clientele under semicoloniality. Furthermore, Yantai’s smaller size and the relatively large number of visiting sailors made these developments more contrasting than in other cities, resulting in heavier contention, discourse and conflicts arising from these developments.Show less
Research master thesis | Asian Studies (research) (MA)
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The thesis aims at situating "The Coconuts", one of the first Sino-Indonesian Chinese language works of fiction published in book form, by Zheng Tufei, in the history of Indonesian and Chinese...Show moreThe thesis aims at situating "The Coconuts", one of the first Sino-Indonesian Chinese language works of fiction published in book form, by Zheng Tufei, in the history of Indonesian and Chinese literature, by analyzing the main themes approached, the typologies of characters, the language and style, and the ideas promoted, in comparison with different bodies of literature (Malay, Indonesian, Sino-Malay, Sinophone, Chinese). The thesis also makes an account of all the biographical and bibliographocal data about Zheng Tufei available so far.Show less
Research master thesis | Asian Studies (research) (MA)
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This thesis researches whether the apparent similarity that seems to exist superficially between divergence in Chinese ancient character shapes and phonological split holds up upon closer...Show moreThis thesis researches whether the apparent similarity that seems to exist superficially between divergence in Chinese ancient character shapes and phonological split holds up upon closer examination. It concludes that it does not, since it is not possible to frame Chinese character divergence in terms of the straight-forward, systematic patterns found in phonological split. Instead, Chinese character evolution appears to be rather unsystematic and capricious.Show less
Research master thesis | Asian Studies (research) (MA)
open access
For the past two decades, states have been engaged in negotiations concerning acceptable state behavior in cyberspace. Many states have submitted their views on the matter and most recently, cyber...Show moreFor the past two decades, states have been engaged in negotiations concerning acceptable state behavior in cyberspace. Many states have submitted their views on the matter and most recently, cyber norms negotiations have been opened up to the entire membership of the United Nations through the Open Ended Working Group. Chinese representatives have been an active participant in these negotiations since their inception, with their own preferred cyber norms to promote. The success of this promotion, however, has been limited due to several factors. In this research, this attempted norm promotion is examined in detail through primary documentation to assess what these limiting factors entail.Show less
Research master thesis | Asian Studies (research) (MA)
open access
This thesis focuses on a fluid genre of glorificatory literature called Māhātmya. I critically edit, translate, and analyze a selection of Sanskrit Māhātmyas to increase our understanding of how...Show moreThis thesis focuses on a fluid genre of glorificatory literature called Māhātmya. I critically edit, translate, and analyze a selection of Sanskrit Māhātmyas to increase our understanding of how these kinds of texts come to being and how we can understand their processes of composition and transmission. I use a fourfold typology – which in itself is a result of the research – to point out different aspects of intertextuality found in the selection of texts. Analyzing these Māhātmyas contributes to a more nuanced understanding regarding issues of textual reuse, and sheds light on the concept of authorship, especially regarding the authorless religious literature of Hinduism.Show less
Research master thesis | Asian Studies (research) (MA)
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In the midst of the 2019 UK general election, a story broke that an affiliate of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), India’s ruling Hindu nationalist party, was openly campaigning for Conservative...Show moreIn the midst of the 2019 UK general election, a story broke that an affiliate of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), India’s ruling Hindu nationalist party, was openly campaigning for Conservative Party candidates in forty-eight marginal constituencies. The ideology of the BJP and its affiliates in the Sangh Parivar, Hindutva, has often been treated by scholars as a siloed entity that only affects India and the Indian or Hindu diaspora. Instead, this paper argues that Hindutva has become a transnational, right-wing populist vernacular that is grounded in the UK as a local political discourse through the principal Hindu nationalist organisational network, the Sangh Parivar. So, this paper asks; How has the organization and discourse of the Sangh Parivar vernacularised in the UK and affected the discourse of British politicians? Events such as Modi’s 2014 ascent to power and Brexit (2016) in the UK have facilitated the move of right-wing populist repertoires into the mainstream. This shift simultaneously enables the Sangh Parivar and Hindu nationalists’ growing confidence and organisational visibility. Thus, this paper updates previous scholarship's mapping of the multifarious network of the UK Sangh Parivar, highlighting the importance of identifying the component organisations of the Sangh Parivar to understand the discourse of global Hindutva. Moreover, this paper highlights how right-wing populist and far-right discourses intersect with Hindutva discourses in the UK. Right-wing, far-right and Hindutva discourses are networked in online spaces, such as social media platforms, where the difference between national and international discourses is often blurred. Finally, this paper argues that the activities of the Sangh Parivar have also affected the parliamentary discourse of British MPs. This effect shows the broader impact of Sangh Parivar discourses in the UK, and on other Hindu organisations that seek to represent British-Hindus and Indians. Thus, contrary to what previous research has assumed, the Sangh UK is political. Importantly, the Sangh Parivar UK has also contributed to the development of global Sangh organisations and collaborations. As such, the Sangh Parivar is a multi-polar, multi-directional and diffuse network of organisations that non-Sangh organisations and individuals, such as British-Hindu umbrella groups and parliamentarians, become entwined with. This can best be understood as ‘Sangh International.Show less
Research master thesis | Asian Studies (research) (MA)
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In this thesis, I explore Cantonese language vitality in the Netherlands in the early twenty-first century. Contributing factors shaping language attitude and intergenerational language...Show moreIn this thesis, I explore Cantonese language vitality in the Netherlands in the early twenty-first century. Contributing factors shaping language attitude and intergenerational language transmission are discussed by gaining insights into heritage speakers' attitudes and views on intergenerational language transmission in light of declining numbers of spoken languages, and China's and Mandarin Chinese's growing importance. This study draws on 21 semi-structured online interviews conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic from September to December 2021 and is based on the experiences of the participants, both 1.5 generation and second generation, with varying degrees of Cantonese proficiency. The study applies constructivist grounded theory for its analysis. An analytical model is developed to understand the multivariable factors influencing attitude towards heritage languages. In this model, I distinguish two categories: the heritage speaker's environment and their construction of self-identity. Grounded in the data, I argue that each category has two dimensions, although they are not mutually exclusive. In the former case, necessity and perception of the world may condition the heritage speaker. Concerning the latter, pragamtics and cultural identity also play a significant role in shaping one's attitude towards their heritage language. The findings reveal that a positive attitude prevails amongst the participants and that the majority wish to transmit their heritage language. Yet, due to their limited capacity to transmit Cantonese, the participants were equally pessimistic about the future of Cantonese. Put differently, a positive attitude does not ensure the Cantonese language vitality. As a result, Cantonese as a heritage language in the Netherlands is showing early signs of declining language vitality, prompting researchers, policymakers, Chinese community schools, national school staff, publishers, Cantonese content creators, and, finally, heritage speakers to reconsider heritage languages and seek appropriate ways to safeguard diasporic communities' cultural heritage.Show less
Research master thesis | Asian Studies (research) (MA)
open access
This thesis analyses the legitimation strategies of the Chinese authorities on social media platform Sina Weibo during the COVID-19 epidemic. Through a combination of computational and qualitative...Show moreThis thesis analyses the legitimation strategies of the Chinese authorities on social media platform Sina Weibo during the COVID-19 epidemic. Through a combination of computational and qualitative methods, it first highlights how Weibo’s digital design directly benefits central information control objectives. It then builds upon a theoretical model of disaster legitimacy strategies to demonstrate how official media make use of this design in their legitimation strategies. These strategies include age-old and highly familiar nationalistic frames, a recurring emphasis on positive energy, and strategic engagement and disengagement. This combination not only legitimises the authorities’ actions, but also delegitimises critical discourses. Nonetheless, this power is not absolute, and this thesis also presents instances in which actors “within” the system present challenges for the central authorities and force them to manage and re-frame ambiguous discourses.Show less
Research master thesis | Asian Studies (research) (MA)
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This thesis assesses several 13th- and 14th-century Chinese and Tibetan histories which detail the Mongol conquests of these regions, scanning their contents and form for subjective views by their...Show moreThis thesis assesses several 13th- and 14th-century Chinese and Tibetan histories which detail the Mongol conquests of these regions, scanning their contents and form for subjective views by their respective authors. It finds that Tibetan historians, for several reasons, do not detail fighting or military expeditions in Tibet itself. Chinese authors, on the other hand, use their writing about the Mongols for several historic apologetics, as well as pejorative remarks against the Mongols themselves or other peoples, such as the Jurchen. In all, this topic remains vastly understudied and requires the attention of more scholars.Show less
