The annual meetings of the World Association for Chinese Studies every August gather 100 to 150 speakers at two places in Europe and one place in China. One of the two places in Europe is a sinological institute at a university - in 2023 and 2024 the Oriental Studies Institute at Adam Mickiewic University Poznan/Poland -, the other a host in a European capital. In 2022, 2023 and 2025 one of the capitals was Berlin. Other capitals included Vienna, Paris, London, Brussels, and Prague.
The meetings breathe a unique spirit, bringing Chinese and international scholars together in discussions, showing different approaches and attitudes like in a magnifying glass. The experience for both, mainland Chinese scholars and international scholars is rewarding. Several young Chinese scholars, reflecting on their participation in recent years, called the variety of critical perspectives life changing.
The idea arose from the desire to save Chinese and American colleagues half the flight distance so that they do not have to spend half a day each time to meet in the USA or in China. It also saves energy costs and reduces pollution. In addition, such a meeting in the summer in Europe has the very special charm of exploring the old world: Some scholars extend their stay to enjoy a visit to different places in Europe. Scheduling in August enables US colleagues to combine their participation with a summer vacation and Chinese colleagues to take a deep breath before the start of the semester.
Association Information
English name: World Association for Chinese Studies e.V.
Chinese name: 世界汉学研究会
Inaugural meeting: September 24, 2016 online
Date of Registration: Court registration certificate states: "Bylaws of Association October 26, 2016. Registration approval completed January 16, 2017".
Place of registration: Bochum, Germany
Mission
The purpose of this Association is to foster academic dialogue and exchange among sinologists from all over the world, e.g. on international academic forums, cooperation in international research projects, publication of research results and promotion of the development of Sinology / Chinese Studies in the world.
The principles are: evidence-based research ('respect for facts'), quality assurance, academic freedom, and internationalization. The purpose is to enlarge the cooperation within Chinese Studies and with other disciplines, to enhance its quality, and to disseminate its findings more comprehensively into the world.
Global Chinese Studies shall be enhanced and be better integrated with domestic Chinese Studies (guoxue). Guidelines: Inclusiveness, tolerance, innovation, and multi-disciplinary cross-border communication are the fundamental guidelines of the World Association for Chinese Studies. Nature: It is both a platform for academic exchange and a classroom for Chinese Studies.
Officers and Leadership
Officers 2022-2026 as (re-)elected on August 12, 2022 by the General Assembly:
- President: Prof. (HNU) Dr. Martin Woesler (legal representative, from October 26, 2016 on, first elected on August 19, 2017 by the General Assembly)
- Vice President: Professor Dr. Daniel A. Fried, Alberta University
- General Secretary: Professor Dr. Sam Crane, Williams College
- Treasurer: Professor Dr. Richard Trappl
- Board Member: Assistant Professor Dr. Tiffany Tsai, The Citadel
- VP for Outreach: former Assoc. Prof. Dr. Margaret Chu, appointed honorary VP in 2024
Former Board Members 2018-2022:
- Vice President and Secretary: Prof. Dr. Richard Trappl (elected on August 21, 2018, by the General Assembly)
- Vice President and Cashier: Dr. Thomas Weyrauch (accepted the invitation by the President on September 25, 2018)
Honorary Presidents:
- Professor Dr. Dr. Harro von Senger from Switzerland (accepted the invitation by the President on August 18, 2017)
- Professor Shang Wei from the United States
- Professor Edward L. Shaughnessy from France
- Professor Helwig Schmidt-Glintzer from Germany
- Professor Louise P. Edwards and Professor Kam Louie from Australia
- Professor Oldřich Král from the Czech Republic (died in 2018)
- Professor Marián Gálik from Slovakia
- Professor Rao Zongyi from Hong Kong (died in 2017)
- Professor Ye Jiaying from Canada
Management Board:
Presidents of National Associations for Chinese Studies:
- Alena Pavlova (Russia)
- Yevhenii Hobova (Ukraine)
- Martin Woesler (Germany)
- Rommel Banlaoi (Philippines)
Additional Management Board Members:
- Xu Jianping (China)
- Prof. Dr. Karl-Heinz Pohl
- Dr. Yu Hong
- Professor Zhou Wenye
- You Tianwei
Note: Former management committee (from August 19, 2017 to September 24, 2018): Mu Zhai (also known as Wang Hong), Park Jae-Woo, Wang Zhaopeng.
General Assembly
The number of members who participated in the general meeting on August 19, 2017: 108, the number of participants in the general elections: 66. Election results: Martin Woesler was elected as president; Peter Wai-Ming Cheng, Li Xiaohong, Mu Zhai, Park Jae-Woo and Wang Zhaopeng were elected as members of the management committee. The total number of people participating in the association's different WeChat groups is about 2,000 scholars.
History of the Association
On September 24, 2016, the World Association of Chinese Studies (WACS) was founded in an Inaugural Ceremony and live broadcasted to 36 countries.
The World Association for Chinese Studies e.V. was established on October 26, 2016 (including the Bylaws), registered in the Bochum City Court of Germany (Registration No. 4778), and the German North Rhine-Westphalia Tax Office certified the non-profit organization (Tax No.: 350/5702/8186). The Registration was certified for use in China by the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs with certification number 10467.5, legalized by the China Consulate in Düsseldorf, Germany, with certification number A5055685.
As an international organization with famous scholars from China and Harvard scholar Stephen Owen and French Léon Vandermeersch as Vice Chairmen, the World Association for Chinese Studies keeps the balance between the necessary support from and cooperation with China, which is its object and field of study, on the one hand, and the independency necessary to carry out critical research on an international level on the other hand.
The founding member Zhai Mu from Jilin University explains why the Association did not use Chinese terms like [Zhong]guoxue (Sinology) for its name, but the English term "Chinese Studies": "Chinese studies is carried out all over the world, it is not just a Chinese thing any more and our Association will be internationally oriented."
At the General Assembly 2017 in Witten/Germany, the German Martin Woesler was elected President, the Swiss Harro von Senger Honorary President. At the General Assembly Vienna/Austria 2018, Richard Trappl was elected Vice President (Secretary) and shortly after Thomas Weyrauch was elected Vice President (Treasurer).
WACS has been registered in August 2016 as a non-profit Association in the USA and in December 2016 in Germany/Europe and establishes in its Bylaws the freedom and independence of research and teaching as a core principle. The Ceremony was attended by 163 representatives from 36 countries, live broadcasted on the WhatsApp comparable chat service "WeChat" and covered by Chinese media.
Since 2003, the Chinese government through its 'Han'-Office sponsors the export of Chinese culture and language with Confucius Institutes, with sponsorship of Meetings like one of the European Association of Chinese Studies, with scholarships and since recently with the Great Congress of Chinese Studies held annually in Beijing. All of these government-sponsored initiatives are questioned regarding its independency. WACS now puts independency top, specifically rejecting any ideological or political influence. However, as symbolized in its emblem "peace", it is a purely academic association and does neither seek confrontation nor pocketing.
WACS also wants to help combine the efforts of national Associations of Chinese Studies by establishing a longterm-oriented umbrella Association, offering institutional membership to all existing associations in the field and striving for strategic partnerships with established organizations like the Association of Asian Studies and others.
Among the Vice Directors there are US based Edward L. Shaughnessy and Shang Wei as well as French Antoine Gournay. The list of directors from Western countries contains famous sinologists like Helwig Schmidt-Glintzer, Louise P. Edwards, Kam Louie, Oldřich Král and Marián Gálik. Among the (honorary) board members we find Richard Trappl (Austria) and Harro von Senger (Switzerland). Among the Chinese honorary board members there are Rao Zongyi, Ye Jiaying, Jin Xuezhu.
Annual Conferences
An annual "World Conference of Chinese Studies" is held in Europe every August (Europe is located geographically between the United States and China) and publishes conference proceedings.
- The first Annual Conference was held in Germany from August 19 to 20, 2017
- The second in August 18-22, 2018 in Germany and Vienna, Austria
- The third session in August 24-27, 2019 in Germany and Paris, France
- 2020-2023 conferences were held in Berlin, Germany
- WACS 8 was held in Berlin and Prague
Publications
The Association's journal is "Han-Xue", the electronic version (some content) is free. Publication of conference papers is available.