LUCC News, September 2025
The September 2025 edition of LUCC's newsletter is out.
You can receive our newsletter via the mailing list - just send an email to china.centre@lancaster.ac.uk
LUCC News: September 2025
After a terrific series of summer events (pictured above), the new academic year has arrived, with a fascinating set of events lined up for the coming Michaelmas Term. The series starts with American University Professor Joseph Torigian, author of a widely acclaimed new biography of Xi Zhongxun, the father of Xi Jinping, who will visit on October 7. The book provides unique insights into both the family story of Xi, one of the world's most powerful people, as well as the workings of the Chinese Communist Party.
The program continues on November 4, with visiting researcher Shangzhen Zhu presenting her work on China's discursive power in international organisations, particularly the WTO, and a visit from the University of Exeter's Andrea Ghiselli, who has co-authored a terrific new Cambridge Elements volume on China's complex role in the Middle East.
Lunch will be served and places are limited so be sure to RSVP to reserve your place.
Read on for all the latest research and engagements by LUCC fellows, profiles of new fellows, and more.
Research Seminars
7 Oct 2025
The Party's Interests Come First: The Life of Xi Zhongxun, Father of Xi Jinping
Joseph Torigian (American University)
Time: 12:00pm to 1:00pm
Place: County South D72
Lunch provided – please register if you intend to come by 2 Oct: china.centre@lancaster.ac.uk
~
4 Nov 2025
Discursive Power in the WTO: China and the Case of Investment Facilitation
Shangzhen Zhu (Xi'an Jiaotong University)
Time: 12:00pm to 1:00pm
Place: County South D72
Lunch provided – please register if you intend to come by 31 Oct: china.centre@lancaster.ac.uk
~
25 Nov 2025
Narratives of Sino-Middle Eastern Futures: In the Eye of the Beholder
Andrea Ghiselli (Exeter University)
Time: 4:00pm to 5:30pm
Place: County South D72
Coffee and snacks provided – please RSVP if you intend to come by 20 Nov: china.centre@lancaster.ac.uk
~
This email was sent by Lancaster University China Centre, a platform bringing together researchers across all disciplines working on, in, and with China and the Global Sinosphere.
http://www.lancaster.ac.uk/LUCC
LUCC gratefully acknowledges the support of the LU Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences and LU Global Engagement Team.
Follow us on Twitter @LancasterChina
To unsubscribe, simply send an email to
with UNSUBCRIBE in the subject heading.
People
LUCC is delighted to welcome Associate Professor Shimin Li as a Visiting Scholar, and Tim Zikan Yang and Shangzhen Zhu as Doctoral Fellows. Read more about their research below, and look out for upcoming seminars with them this year.
Shimin LI
Li Shimin Li is an Associate Professor in the School of Marxism at Southwest Jiaotong University. As a Visiting Scholar in 2025-26, Dr Li is investigating the construction and dissemination of China’s image in the international public sphere, with a particular focus on the perspectives of the United Kingdom and Europe.
Zikan (Tim) YANG
Zikan (Tim) Yang's research interests are in the Buddhist epistemology and its emotion theories. Tim is also interested in its aesthetic domain.
Shangzhen ZHU
Shangzhen Zhu is a LUCC Doctoral Fellow and Visiting PhD Researcher working on China’s discursive power in international organizations (especially the WTO), political discourse in China, discourse on Chinese social media, and platform feminism in China.
Daria Bogolyubova
Daria Bogolyubova is a LUCC research consultant on global public opinion on China. A graduate of the BA International Relations at Lancaster University, she is currently pursuing an MSc in Contemporary Chinese Studies at the University of Oxford. In 2025 she was a visiting student at Ewha Womans University in Seoul, South Korea, where she conducted research for her dissertation on China’s role as a mediator in the North Korean nuclear crisis.
Profiles of all LUCC’s fellows are available at our People page.
Research News
Structural Eurocentrism in philosophy: An argument for sociometaphilosophy
- Philippe Major
This article has three main aims. First, it argues that the question of the inclusion of “non-Western” thought in philosophy cannot be resolved by appealing to definitions of philosophy, as such definitions are an integral part of the epistemically hegemonic practices responsible for the exclusion of non-Western thought in the first place. Second, it argues that philosophy is structurally Eurocentric. It makes this argument first by looking at metaphilosophy. It argues that metaphilosophy is primarily performative and that its performativity is a form of boundary work that is engaged in hegemonic practices of the epistemic type. It then argues that philosophy as a whole is inescapably engaged in boundary work and hegemonic practices, some of which partake in structural Eurocentrism. Finally, it promotes sociometaphilosophy, an approach that draws from the new sociology of knowledge to identify illegitimate mechanisms of exclusion inscribed in the rules that codify philosophical practice.
I’m Passive yet devoted': reconstructing fan identity and hierarchy in the transcultural landscape
- Shiyu Sharon Zheng
Fan identity is a subject of extensive discourse in the academic community without a conclusive definition. This research delves into the intricate realm of Chinese Sherlock fandom, situating the discussion within the broader context of transcultural fan studies, which uncovers the entanglement among fan identity, gender dynamics, state power and transcultureness. Through an exhaustive exploration of 45 interviews from 2019 to 2022, this article meticulously examines fan identity and its hierarchy construction within the communities. I argue that intertwined dynamics such as masculinist sentiment, internalisation of homosexuality fantasy, state power, and transcultural barriers, shaped and disciplined fan identity construction, introduced new metrics of recognising fans, and triggered the creation of alternative types of fans, followed by an updated multi-layered pyramid of fan hierarchy. This research therefore makes a noteworthy contribution to existing fan culture literature by offering a wealth of empirical insights and shedding light on fans’ self-contradiction regarding identity construction intertwined with gender, ideology hegemony, cultural legitimacy, and state power.
The efficiency paradox: A temporal lens into online dating among Chinese immigrants in Canada
- Yang Hu
Online dating is widely assumed to enhance the overall efficiency of relationship formation through expanding the pool of potential partners. Yet little is known about how this presumed efficiency plays out beyond the initial search stage. Although temporal compression (i.e., saving time) is considered central to the notion of efficiency, individuals’ lived realities of time and efficiency in online dating remain understudied. Adopting a grounded theory approach to analyzing 31 in-depth interviews with heterosexual Chinese immigrant online daters in Canada, we reveal how time-related expectations and experiences shaped their perceptions of (in)efficiency throughout different stages of online dating. Specifically, our participants started with an efficiency expectation of temporal compression, expecting online dating to save time. As the dating process unfolded, however, they experienced inefficiency through diverse temporalities, including temporal suspension and simultaneity in mediated communication and temporal reconfiguration during modality switching. These experiences contradicted our participants’ initial efficiency expectation, prompting some to reevaluate their expectation and develop a preference for temporal slowdown in dating. Our findings highlight an “efficiency paradox” whereby the promise of efficiency not only runs counter to online daters’ lived realities but also amplifies perceptions of inefficiency. Foregrounding the voices of racial minority immigrants, our study challenges the commonly envisioned efficiency of online dating and provides new insights into how digital technologies mediate intimate lives through shaping individuals’ temporal experiences.
Do Examiners and Test-takers imitate each other? Dialogic resonance in second language testing
- Vittorio Tantucci & Aiqing Wang
This study is centred on the role played by verbal imitation in second language (L2) learning and language testing. It fills an important gap in the literature on L2 pragmatics, language learning, and language testing: the lack of a systematic index that accounts for how Examiners and Test-takers influence each other’s speech in language tests. We focus on dialogic resonance (Du Bois 2014; Tantucci 2023), the way speakers re-use one another’s utterances, often creatively, to express something new. We are interested not only in whether Test-takers resonate with Examiners across different tasks and topics, but also in whether Examiners verbally imitate what is said by Test-takers. We analysed and annotated 2,564 turns from the Spoken Dialogues of the International Corpus Network of Asian Learners of English (ICNALE). We fitted a mixed-effects linear regression of resonance between Examiners and Test-takers and controlled for illocutionary force (IF), learners’ language background (LB), their L2 proficiency, task type, task topic, gender, and other socio-demographic variables. We found that verbal imitation plays different roles in language testing. This study produced three key findings informing research in second language learning and language testing:
- Test-takers and Examiners resonate with one another during L2 spoken tests. Test-takers do it to engage and learn from what is said by Examiners. The latter do it to engage with what Test-takers have said but also to motivate them to continue the ongoing interaction and provide feedback (e.g. re-cast).
- Resonance increases with L2 proficiency levels (PLs). The more proficient the learners, the higher the degree of resonance with what the Examiners say.
- Examiners’ resonance boosts Test-takers’ performance. The more Examiners resonate with learners’ speech, the higher the Test-takers’ word count in subsequent turns.
- Andrew Sweetman
Understanding the behavior and fate of PAHs in karst systems is crucial, as their distinctive geological features could facilitate rapid pollutant transport and complex source-sink dynamics. Previous studies have predominantly concentrated in PAHs transport at the sediment-water interface using fugacity theory, but these lack an integrated approach that couples multiple environmental factors to further quantify the source-sink transformation processes of PAHs. In this study, PAHs in sediment and water of a typical karst wetland were determined during both wet and dry seasons. Results suggested that average PAHs concentrations increased by 10.6 % in water and by 46.0 % in sediment from wet seasons to dry seasons. A significant difference was also observed between the two seasonal source apportionments, suggesting that transport processes of PAHs in multiphase media should be integrated with source estimates. Increased secondary release potential of PAHs (3 rings and 4 rings) at the sediment-water interface was captured in dry seasons by linear mixed effect models. PAHs transport was strongly affected by seasonal effects and the presence of labile organic carbon. From wet to dry seasons, PAHs in sediment shifted from acting a “sink” to “secondary source” as suggested by a Bayesian Gaussian regression and Bayesian network modeling. This study provides valuable insights into the source - sink dynamics processes of PAHs in a typical karst wetland.
Memoirs of a Confucius Institute Director
- Jinghan Zeng
Professor Jinghan Zeng was Director of the Lancaster University Confucius Institute until his recent move to City University Hong Kong. In this book, he provides the first insider memoir from a Confucius Institute director during a time of growing global controversy, chronicling a personal journey of building an award-winning Institute while facing existential and political challenges. The book combines personal experience with a critical examination of controversies and accusations surrounding Confucius Institutes.
- Baihui Duan
Korea experienced a severe mortality crisis under Mongol rule during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. Scholars have examined the high death toll during the Mongol Invasions of Korea (1231–1259), arguing epidemics exacerbated the wartime conditions. By closely scrutinizing historical documents on epidemics and pests, this article situates epidemics within a broader environmental context that encompasses not only Korea but also Song China, Japan, and Vietnam in the thirteenth century. Although there is no direct evidence to suggest the same pathogens for the parallel of epidemics across East Asia, these countries shared the similarities of being invaded by the Mongols, and such vulnerable wartime conditions and the climate anomalies of the thirteenth century could be the main environmental variables to precipitate these widespread outbreaks in these regions.
A key question remains regarding the type of wartime infectious diseases. This article adopts environmental perspectives to explore whether the thirteenth-century outbreaks in East Asia, especially Korea, might be connected to the Black Death or could potentially be typhus-commonly seen in warfare or something else. Without ruling out the possibility that the Mongol invasions may have transported new pathogens to the Korean peninsula, I argue that the environmental legacy of these invasions was to create a new cultural disease environment in Korea. Korean historical records frequently mention the presence of rodents and lice, likely transported by the Mongol cavalry, which posed a threat to daily Korean life during the prolonged Mongol invasion periods, suggesting the possible outbreaks of plague or typhus. Furthermore, the Mongol nomadic culture, with its affinity to livestock like horses, cattle, and sheep, also created another environment conducive to bacteria transmission. Even after the invasions ended, the established disease environments and continuous movements of people continued to affect the Korean peninsula and its animal and human inhabitants during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries.
Outreach & Engagement
China is Testing Trump in the South China Sea and the Region is Watching
Andrew Chubb wrote for Channel News Asia about a series of China-Philippines incidents in the South China Sea, arguing Trump's commitment to its Southeast Asian ally was not seriously tested in his first term, but this time things are different.
Not So Neatly Divided: Global Public Opinion on China
China’s expanding global footprint has increasingly made it a factor in everyday life around the world. Expanding economic influence, an increasingly hostile rivalry with the United States and General Secretary Xi Jinping’s ambitious global governance agenda continue to raise China’s international political profile. These developments are prompting citizens the world over to reflect on how they perceive China. What is the overall global narrative? On balance, has China convinced global audiences that its rise is a positive development? Is the world's view of China divided along north-south lines, or is China-skepticism in the United States and Europe part of a broader global backlash? This Global Public Opinion on China (GPOC) brief unpacks these questions using 25 years of aggregated global public opinion survey data from diverse sources across 159 countries.
Culture & Community
Chinese (Mandarin) Language classes
The Lancaster University Confucius Institute runs a range of Chinese (Mandarin) classes for staff, students and members of the public at different levels.
For more information visit: https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/confucius-institute/events/chinese-mandarin-language-classes-2025-05-22-18-15-2/
Chinese Calligraphy Classes
A 9-week Chinese calligraphy course (taught in English).
Open to beginner and advanced level learners to learn and practice calligraphy together.
For all the details see: https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/confucius-institute/events/chinese-calligraphy-classes-2025-05-14-18-15-2/
Back to News