Fang Weigui Explained

Native Name:方维规
Native Name Lang:zh
Discipline:Literary scholar

Fang Weigui (; born 1957 in Shanghai) is a Chinese comparative literature scholar, sinologist, and literary translator.[1]

Early years

Fang graduated from Shanghai International Studies University where he subsequently taught at the German Department before enrolling in a cooperative academic program of Beijing Foreign Studies University and Humboldt University of Berlin.

At the time he wrote a thesis on Bertolt Brecht and Lu Xun that was published by a West German publisher in 1991.[2]

Subsequently, he obtained a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from RWTH Aachen University. His doctoral dissertation on the image of China in German literature 1871–1933 was published 1992.[3] This book was inspired by the theoretical work of the Aachen-based Belgian comparatist Hugo Dyserinck that was focused on what Dyserinck called "imagology".[4] Dyserinck demanded critical research of mutually existing (ideological) auto-images and hetero-images current in "national literatures" like the French and the German that influenced each other.[5]

Career in Germany

Since 1992, Fang worked as research fellow at the University of Trier. While teaching courses on Chinese literature and being engaged in research at the university"s Institute of Chinese Studies, he also wrote a Post-doctoral thesis on Chinese literature of the post-May 4th or Republican period (1919–1949).

From 1996 to 2000, Fang was a senior research fellow at the Department of East Asian Studies of the University of Göttingen. He was engaged in research on "new knowledge" in Late Qing China. Professor Michael Lackner advocated acceptance of Fang's post-doctoral thesis as a thesis of habilitation at the time.

In 2001, Fang was employed as a senior research fellow at the Department of Chinese Literature and simultaneously at the Department of Communication Theory of Trier University. He worked in a media-focused research project initiated by both departments.

In 2002, a slightly revised version of his post-doctoral thesis was accepted as his "Habilitationsschrift" by the University of Erlangen (Erlangen Umiversität, today the Erlangen campus of the University of Erlangen–Nuremberg). This work, entitled Selbstreflexion in der Zeit des Erwachens und des Widerstands – Moderne Chinesische Literatur 1919-1949 (Self-reflection in the Period of Awakening and Resistance – Modern Chinese Literature, 1919–1949), was published by the Harrasowitz publishing company as a volume of a well-reputed series (Lun Wen: Studien zur Geistesgeschichte und Literatur im China, Vol. 7) in 2006. The book was positively reviewed by Prof. Wolfgang Kubin.[6] The book was also positively reviewed in the renowned scholarly journal Weimarer Beiträge.[7] [8]

Since 2002, subsequent to his habilitation (or professorial, postdoctoral qualification), Fang Weigui was an Associate Professor (Privatdozent) lecturing at the Department of Middle Eastern and Far Eastern Languages and Cultures of Erlangen University (Universität Erlangen).[9]

As a Privatdozent, and simultaneously, until 2006, a senior research fellow, Fang was not only permanently engaged in research while also teaching courses at the Dept. of Chinese Literature. As noted already, he was likewise very active at the Department of Communication Theory in Trier.[10] This work led to Fang's book Das Internet und China that was discussed in the Swiss daily Neue Zürcher Zeitung, mentioned by Der Spiegel, and reviewed in the Swiss journal Der Bund.[11] Fang's book was also referred to by many other authors, for instance by Nele Noesselt.[12]

Career in China

When Fang returned to China in 2006, Professor Wolfgang Kubin saw "a good scholar" leaving the country (i.e., Germany) and regretted this very much.[13]

Subsequent to his return to his native country in 2006, Fang soon became a professor at the School of Chinese Language and Literature of Beijing Normal University, and a researcher at the Center for Literary and Art Studies. Since 2012, he has been a Chiangjiang Scholar and Distinguished Professor.[14]

His main research focus is on comparative poetics, comparative literature, history of concepts, sociology of literature, and Chinese literature written abroad.

Among the books written or edited by Fang since 2006, it is necessary to mention Wenxue Shehuixue Xinbian, a new compilation of texts concerning approaches to the sociology of literature, edited and commented by him, and published by Beijing Normal University Press. When this book appeared in print in 2011, it was discussed in the journal China Reading Weekly (Chine lecture hebdomadaire).[15] The Chinese Social Science Journal (中国社会科学报 Zhongguo shehui kexue bao / Journal des sciences sociales chinoises) published an interview with Fang, conducted by two well-known scholars, Ming Haiying and Sun Miaoning, that focused on this book.[16]

Another book by Fang that he wrote in German was published in Germany in 2013. It is entitled Der Westen und das Reich der Mitte – Die Verbreitung westlichen Wissens im spätkaiserlichen China (The West and the Middle Kingdom: the spread of Western knowledge in Late imperial China.).[17] When this book appeared,. Mechthild Leutner commented in her article that was published in Monumenta Serica : "With this volume, Fang Weigui makes an important contribution" to scientific research focused on "cultural exchange and exchange of knowledge between China and Europe.".[18] Wolfgang Kubin valued the book as "a volume of brilliant essays." He also called Fang "a master [in German: Meister] of conceptual history." "The strength of the author is [...] that he can think beyond the Chinese space.".[19]

In China, the journalist Guo Enqiang published an article in the Chinese Social Science Journal that referred explicitly to the ideas and hypotheses regarding the history of concepts that were expressed by Fang in the book reviewed by Leutner and Kubin.[20]

In addition to the books he wrote or edited and his scholarly articles, Fang also organized several international scholarly conferences at Beijing Normal University (BNU) in recent years under the general heading "Ideas and methods" (Sixiang yu fangfa); thus for instance a conference focused on the dialogue between the East and the West that was announced under the heading: Sixiang yu Fangfa: Quanqiuhua Shidai Zhongxi Duihua de Keneng / Idées et méthodes: Possibilités d'un dialogue sino-occidental à l'ère de la mondialisation (Ideas and methods: Possibilities of a Chinese-Western Dialogue in the Era of Globalization). A book published under the same title that presents many contributions by participating scholars was edited by Fang and published by Peking University Press in 2014.

A year later, Fang organized a conference; "Sixiang yu Fangfa: Jindai Zhongguo de Wenhua Zhengzhi et Zhishi Jiangou" (Idées et méthodes: Politique culturelle et construction des connaissances modernes dans la Chine moderne (Ideas and methods : Cultural politics and the construction of modern knowledge in modern China). The contributions of participants were published in a volume with the same title, edited by Fang and published in 2015 by Beijing University Press.

In 2015, a third conference was organized by Fang,s focused on World Literature. This conference, named « Sixiang yu fangfa: Hewei shijie wenxue? / Idées et méthodes : Qu'est-ce que la littérature mondiale ? / Ideas and methods : What is World Literature ? » took place at Beijing Normal University on Oct. 16 and 17, 2015. Marián Gálik,[21] Galin Tihanov,[22] David Damrosch, Bernard Franco, Matthias Freise,[23] Zhang Longxi,[24] and others participated in the debate, contributing to a lively and inspiring debate. Their contributions were published in 2018 by Palgrave Macmillan in the book Tensions in World Literature : Between the Local and the Universal, edited and with a long introduction by Weigui Fang that reveals his dedication to an approach inspired by conceptual history as well as his universalist commitment to the dialogue between nations. In 2018, the contributions of the foreign and Chinese scholars discussing World Literature, world literatures, and global literature were also published by Peking University Press in Chinese, in addition to the English version published by Palgrave Macmillan.

Subsequent to the above-mentioned conference on world literature organized by Fang in 2015, two other conferences have been organized by him at BNU:

- Sixiang yu fangfa: Lishi Zhongguo de Nei yu Wai / Ideas and Methods: Changing Order, Interlaced Civilizations: Inside and Outside of the historical China. October 22–23, 2016.

and

- Sixiang yu fangfa: Meijie Zhexue, Renzhi Kexue yu Renwen Jingshen de Weilai / Ideas and Methods: Media Philosophy, Cognitive Science, and the Future of the Humanities. October 27–29, 2018.

In 2019, Palgrave Macmillan published Fang's book Modern Notions of Civilization and Culture in China. As Prof. Wang (Academia Sinica, Taipei) noted, Fang discusses in this book "the paradigm shift and conceptual changes surrounding the wenming concept in the intellectual history of modern China."[25]

In addition to ten monographical studies (in German, English, and Chinese), Weigui Fang has also edited eight books. He is the translator of four books (from German to Chinese, and from Chinese to German) and he has also published more than one hundred scholarly articles.[26]

The Swiss newspaper Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ) and the German weekly news magazine Der Spiegel referred to Fang as a literary theorist, while the Chinese daily Renmin Ribao (人民日報) introduced him to its readers as a scholar, a translator of German literature, and a "distinguished professor" at Beijing Normal University, who specializes in literary theory and the history of concepts.[27] [28]

The well-known sinologist Wolfgang Kubin praised Fang on several occasions. Thus he called him a "highly talented sinologist" when he reviewed Fang's translation of 155 poems by the Classical Chinese poet Bai Juyi).[29]

The German sinologist Karl-Heinz Pohl, professor emeritus of the University of Trier, also praised Fang on several occasions. In his preface to the book Den Kranich fragen (Asking the Crane, 155 poems of Bai Juyi), he applauds Fang's "superior art of translation"[30] And recently, Pohl declared that Fang "is now one of the most renowned scholars in China.".[31]

As Prof. Pohl notes, Fang is a not only a "Distinguished Professor" at the School of Chinese Language and Literature of Beijing Normal University in China but also Changjiang Scholar of the Ministry of Education of China.[32] He is simultaneously the Director of the Center for Literature and the History of Ideas at BNU.

Fang is widely recognized as one of the most significant experts focused on the history of ideas in China. He is not only known as a specialist in this field in China but also abroad. The journal Archiv Orientální / Revue trimestrielle des études africaines et asiatiques (vol. 71, no. 1, February 2003, p. 209. ISSN 0044-8699), published by the Oriental Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences praised his article "Yi, yang, xi, wai and other terms: The Transition from Barbarian to Foreigner in Late Imperial China" by stating : "This study is an excellent example of the role of lexicology" if it is practiced with "such competence."[33]

It is obvious that Fang's interest in the history of concepts has been alive for many years already. In fact, "Fang became one of the first scholars in China to focus on the history of concepts when his research essay on changing notions of civilization and culture in modern China was published in 1999," as Prof. Fansen Wang, vice-president of the Academia Sinica in Taipei, recently noted.[34] Fang's research on the evolution (or changing history) of the image of China in German literature found wide reception among colleagues in East Asia and in the West.[35]

Selected works

Monographs

Books edited

Honours and awards

Fang Weigui was awarded the title of a Distinguished Professor by Beijing Normal University and he is a Changjiang Scholar.[43]

Notes and References

  1. See Kürschner’s Who is who of German scholars: Kürschners Deutscher Gelehrten-Kalender 2007: Bio-bibliographisches Verzeichnis deutschsprachiger Wissenschaftler der Gegenwart, 21st edition, 2007. Berlin; Boston; New York: DeGruyter / Saur, 2007. . - Kürschners Deutscher Gelehrten-Kalender notes that Fang’s main research focus is on "Vergleichende Literaturwissenschaft; moderne chinesische Kultur und Literatur; Sprachwandel des Chinesischen (Historische Semantik); chinesische Medien" (i.e., comparative literature; modern Chinese culture and literature; language change of Chinese (historical semantics); [and] Chinese media).
  2. See the text Fang Weigui 方维规”, ibidem. http://wxy.bnu.edu.cn/szdw/wyxyjs/91270.html Accessed Nov 23, 2017.
  3. The book was positively reviewed in the journal Hefte für ostasiatische Literatur (Cahiers on East Asian Literature, Munich), Nr. 15, Nov. 1993, S.144-146.
  4. As Adrian Hsia noted in 1998, "imagology is experiencing a renaissance in Europe. A recent example is the doctoral dissertation of a Chinese scholar from Shanghai with the subtitle “Ein Beitrag zur komparatistischen Imagologie” (“A Contribution to Comparative Imagology”). As a student of the comparatist Hugo Dyserinck and benefitting from the latter’s erudition, he devotes over 60 pages to delineating all aspects of imagology. (Adrian Hsia, Chinesia: The European Construction of China in the Literature of the 17th and 18th Centuries. Berlin: De Gruyter, 1998; p.13. -, 978-3-484-63016-1.)
  5. Thomas Krause thinks that Fang emphasized the recurrence of typical ideological images: "Auffällig ist, daß bestimmte imagotype Elemente immer wieder mechanisch übernommen und trotz verändertem Kontext nur leicht veränder benutzt werden. Weigui Fang schlußfolgert daraus, daß die charakteristischen Merkmale der Konstanz die 'Wirkungspotenz ', die 'Überlieferungsmöglichkeiten' und die 'Gebräuchlichkeit' sind. Dadurch, so seine Überlegungen, wird erst die 'Universalität' ermöglicht." (Thomas Krause, Die Fremde Rast Durchs Gehirn, Das Nichts…: Deutschlandbilder in den Texten Der Banater Autorengruppe (1969-1991). Frankfurt; Berlin; Bern; New York; Paris: Peter Lang, 1998, p.19.)
  6. Prof. Kubin wrote about this book: “eine … gut lesbare Literaturgeschichte, die schön bebildert, klug nach Themen eingeteilt und vor allen Dingen verständlich ist. … Wer China im 20. Jahrhundert verstehen will, kommt um dieses Buch nicht herum. Es bringt auf wunderbare Weise die gesamte Problematik des chinesischen Intellektuellen, man kann auch weitergehend sagen: des chinesischen Geistes, ja der Chinesen, auf einen Punkt. Wäre der Verfasser in der Lage gewesen, diese Problematik auch in die Problematik des 20. Jahrhunderts der Weltgeschichte allgemein zu stellen, dann wäre er genial gewesen!” See Wolfgang Kubin, “ WEIGUI FANG, Selbstreflexion in der Zeit des Erwachens und des Widerstands. Moderne chinesische Literatur 1919-1949, Lun Wen. Studien zur Geistesgeschichte und Literatur in China, Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 2006, 671 S., 58,- Euro”, in: Orientierungen : Zeitschrift zur Kultur Asiens (Magazine sur la culture de l'Asie), 2/2007, pp. 143ff.
  7. See the article “ Heute höchst aktuell – der Blick zurück, auf eine fast schon vergessene Phase des Umbruchs im ‘Land der Mitte’. Einige Anmerkungen zu Weigui Fangs Geschichte der modernen chinesischen Literatur in den Jahren zwischen 4. Mai Bewegung (1919) und Ausrufung der Volksrepublik (1949)”, in: "Weimarer Beiträge: Zeitschrift für Literaturwissenschaft, Ästhetik und Kulturwissenschaft" (Contributions de Weimar : Revue d'études littéraires, d'esthétique et d'études culturelles (Vienna and Berlin)), vol. 55, no. 2, 2009, pp. 309-313.
  8. See also the following information regarding the scholarly journal Weimarer Beiträge, see also: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weimarer_Beitr%C3%A4ge; https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weimarer_Beitr%C3%A4ge.
  9. At the time, Weigui Fang was probably the first citizen from an East Asian country to achieve his “habilitation” in Germany in recent decades. When he became a “Privatdozent,” that was the utmost a Chinese citizen could achieve in that country. In fact, there were no full professors of Chinese or of comparative literature (“ordentliche Professoren” with unlimited tenure) from China teaching at German universities when Fang was habilitated, and probably there are none today. There have been allegations that this was due to a “closed-shop policy” of departments of Chinese, Japanese, French, English and so on to keep out foreign citizens who are native speakers of the language taught and who have a profound knowledge of their own culture. Foreigners were employed as lecturers or invited for short periods of a one, two, and perhaps up to four years as “guest professors.” This limits opportunities for scholars from all foreign countries. An important legal basis for this practice was the requirement that “regular” (“ordentliche”) professors must be civil servants, without the right to strike. Only German citizens can be employed as civil servants.
  10. See the German-language online journal TELEPOLIS, on Aug. 11, 2003, regarding Weigui Fang’s role as a researcher engaged in the research project The Internet in China ("Das Internet in China") supported by both the Dept. of Chinese Literature and the Dept. of Media Science of the University of Trier. - URL https://www.heise.de/tp/features/Du-bist-ein-286-3430589.html - Accessed Nov 23, 2017.
  11. In his book review of Das Internet und China (Hanover, Germany: Heise, 2004), Nick Lüthi writes, “Bei der Lektüre stellt sich heraus, dass sich der Autor der […] Problemzonen durchaus bewusst ist, sich aber davor hütet, einen anprangernden Ton anzuschlagen – im Wissen, dass manche der denunzierten Missstände Folge einer vielschichtigen Gemengelage sind.” Nick Lüthi, “Hinter dem Grossen Firewall: Internet-Boom in China: Sars hat dem E-Business weiteren Schub verliehen”, in: Der Bund (Bern, Switzerland), Aug. 4, 2004, p.35.
  12. See Noesselt’s book, Governance-Formen in China: Theorie und Praxis des chinesischen Modells. Hamburg: GIGA, Springer VS, 2012. ; (eBook)
  13. Prof. Wolfgang Kubin wrote, “Gute Wissenschaftler verlassen bekanntlich Deutschland, und so ist auch der hochtalentierte Sinologe Fang Weigui 方维规, der in Deutschland promoviert worden ist und sich daselbst auch habilitiert hat, nach China zurückgekehrt.” In English: “It is a well-known fact that good scholars are leaving Germany, and thus, the highly talented sinologist Fang Weigui, who obtained a Ph.D. in Germany and accomplished his “habilitation” in this country, has returned to China.” See Wolfgang Kubin, review of Weigui Fang (ed.), Den Kranich fragen. 155 Gedichte von Bai Juyi. Goettingen (Cuvillier Verlag) 1999; 362 pp.; in: ORIENTIERUNGEN. Zeitschrift zur Kultur Asiens # 1/2007, pp.129-130.
  14. See the text entitled ”Fang Weigui 方维规”, ibid., http://wxy.bnu.edu.cn/szdw/wyxyjs/91270.html Accessed Nov 23, 2017.
  15. See Li Jiajia, « 为 ‘文学社会学’ 合理定位 / Wei wenxue shehui xue heli dingwei » (Rational positioning of sociology of literature), in: 中华读书报Zhonghua dushu bao (Chine lecture hebdomadaire), May 23, 2012, p. 6. – Printed publication; also online: http://epaper.gmw.cn/zhdsb/html/2012-05/23/nw.D110000zhdsb_20120523_1-06.htm. Accessed April 3, 2019.
  16. Min Haiying et Sun Miaoning (interviewers), Fang Weigui (interviewed), « 文学社会学：在大格局中思考文学 » / Wenxue shehuixue: Zai da geju zhong sikao wenxue » (“Sociology of literature: Reflecting on literature based on a great model”), in: 中国社会科学报 Zhongguo shehui kexue bao / Chinese Social Science Journal - Journal des sciences sociales chinoises), April 6, 2016. - Printed publication; also online: http://sscp.cssn.cn/zdtj/201604/t20160406_2952182.html. Accessed on April 3, 2019.
  17. Weigui Fang, Der Westen und das Reich der Mitte – Die Verbreitung westlichen Wissens im spätkaiserlichen China. Wiesbaden and New York : Harrassowitz, 2013.
  18. M. Leutner, in: Monumenta Serica, 64 (2016), pp. 247-249 ; here: p.248
  19. Wolfgang Kubin, «Fang Weigui. Der Westen und das Reich der Mitte. Wiesbaden : Harrassowitz 2013, 467 S., 98,00 Euro », dans : Orientierungen : Zeitschrift zur Kultur Asiens, 2/2014, p. 140-141.
  20. Guo Enqiang, “ 概念史：一种新闻史研究的可能路径” / Gainian shi: Yi zhong xinwen shi yanjiu de keneng lujing (The History of Concepts: A possible approach for research on the press), in : 中国社会科学报 / Zhongguo shehui kexue bao (Chinese Social Science Journal - Journal des sciences sociales chinoises), June 21, 2018. Printed publication; also online: http://ex.cssn.cn/zx/bwyc/201806/t20180621_4373267.shtml . Accessed on April 8, 2019.
  21. See https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mari%C3%A1n_G%C3%A1lik.
  22. See https://www.qmul.ac.uk/sllf/comparative-literature-and-culture/people/academic/profiles/tihanov.html and also https://bg.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%93%D0%B0%D0%BB%D0%B8%D0%BD_%D0%A2%D0%B8%D1%85%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%BE%D0%B2.
  23. https://www.uni-goettingen.de/en/51121.html See Matthias Freise
  24. See https://cah.cityu.edu.hk/people/ctlxzh/ and also https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q27996985.
  25. Excerpt of the statement by Prof. Fansen Wang, vice-présidente, Academia Sinica, Taipei, published on the back cover of Fang’s book.
  26. See the text entitled”Fang Weigui 方维规”, ibid. http://wxy.bnu.edu.cn/szdw/wyxyjs/91270.html . Accessed Nov 23, 2017.
  27. See Nicola Wohllaib, in: NZZ, August 6, 2004. DER SPIEGEL notes the report of NZZ concerning a recent book by Weigui Fang: “Neue Zürcher Zeitung, 06.08.2004. [...] Auf der Medienseite stellt Nikola Wohllaib das Buch "Das Internet und China" des Literaturwissenschaftlers Weigui Fang (mehr hier) vor. […]” Also online: https://www.spiegel.de/kultur/gesellschaft/heute-in-den-feuilletons-augenblick-der-fluechtigen-wirklichkeit-a-311767.html
  28. See “Lao fang yinxiang” (老方印象), in: Renmin Ribao haiwai ban (People’s Daily, overseas edition), April 6, 2010, p. 6.
  29. See Wolfgang Kubin‘s book review of Den Kranich fragen. 155 Gedichte von Bai Juyi (Asking the Crane; 155 poems by Bai Juyi), ed. by Weigui Fang, in the scholarly journal ORIENTIERUNGEN. Zeitschrift zur Kultur Asiens (Orientations / Journal for the Study of the Culture of Asia), # 1/2007, pp. 129-130. – The poet and sinologist Prof. Wolfgang Kubin writes on p. 129 admiringly that the tone that this translation hits upon is astonishingly close to that of the original poems created by the Classical Chinese poet Bai Juyi (“Der Ton [...] kommt dem Original erstaunlich nahe”). Wolfgang Kubin refers to this translation again in his book Die chinesische Dichtkunst. (Chinese Art of Poetry), Munich: Saur, 2002.
  30. In German: “souveräne Übersetzungkunst”. See Karl Heinz Pohl, "Vorwort" (Preface), in: Weigui Fang, Den Kranich fragen, 155 Gedichte von Bai Juyi. Göttingen: Cuvillier Verlag 1999, p.1.
  31. Karl-Heinz Pohl writes, “Er gehört ja inzwischen zu den renommiertesten Wissenschaftlern Chinas, er ist nicht nur Professor an der Peking Normal University geworden, sondern trägt auch die höchste Auszeichnung "Yangtze River Scholar".” See Karl-Heinz Pohl, “Kommentar,” on a website of the Dept. of Media Science of the same university. URL : http://mcluhan.uni-trier.de/20Jahre/fang-weigui.html. Accessed July 16, 2019, 10:37 AM.
  32. ”Changjiang scholar” is a honorific title. See also the text entitled ”Fang Weigui 方维规”, published by the School of Chinese Language and Literature, Beijing Normal University, in: BNU website http://wxy.bnu.edu.cn/szdw/wyxyjs/91270.html Accessed Nov 23, 2017.
  33. See: Archiv Orientální / Quarterly Journal of African and Asian Studies, T. 71, no. 1, fevrier 2003, p. 209. – Like similar articles by Fang, his essay on yi, yang, xi, wai and other terms was used by numerous authors. R.J. Smith refers to it in his book The Qing Dynasty and Traditional Chinese Culture. Lantham; Boulder; New York; London: Rowman & Littlefield, 2015. ; 978-1-4422-2194-9. It is also mentioned in Sufen Sophia Lai’s article “Racial Discourse and Utopian Visions in Nineteenth Century China” that forms part of the book Race and Racism in Modern East Asia: Occidental and Eastern constructions, edited by Red Kowner and Walter Demel. Brill: Leiden, 2012, p. 327-350. (hardcover); 978-90-04-23741-4 (e-book). Fang’s essay on the change the concepts of yi, yang, xi and wai underwent was also discussed in Monumenta Serica / Journal of Oriental Studies, T. 53 (2005), p.254.
  34. See the back cover of the book Modern Notions of Civilization and Culture in China, London ; New York ; Singapore : Palgrave Macmillan, 2019.
  35. As a consequence, Fang was invited to scholarly conferences in Japan, South Korea, France, etc. – The French scholars Marie Dollé and Geneviève Espagne write : « FANG WEIGUI […] explique qu’au XIXe siècle des personnalités de premier plan infléchissent nettement la réception allemande et française de la culture chinoise dans le sens du dédain et de la déformation. À la suite de Montesquieu, Rousseau, Herder qui, dès le XVIIIe siècle, avaient laissé entendre leurs voix discordantes au milieu d’un discours globalement sinophile, Hegel, Schelling et Marx donnent à leur pensée une orientation sinophobe. Marx voit l’Empire du Milieu comme le « repaire de la réaction et du conservatisme ». L’idée d’une Chine immobile, figée, privée des mouvements bénéfiques de l’Histoire se consolide à cette époque. Elle alimentera l’idéologie colonialiste tout au long des conflits qui opposeront les puissances occidentales à un pays désormais « ouvert », les deux Guerres de l’opium, la guerre des Boxers. » Quoted from Marie Dollé’s and G. Espagne’s introduction to the book Entre France et Allemagne: Idées de la Chine au XIXe siècle (Between France and Germany. Ideas about China in the 19th century). Edited by Marie Dollé and Geneviève Espagne. Paris : Les Indes savantes, 2014, p. 9. .
  36. See http://wxy.bnu.edu.cn/szdw/wyxyjs/91270.html Accessed Nov 23, 2017.
  37. See http://wxy.bnu.edu.cn/szdw/wyxyjs/91270.html Accessed Nov 23, 2017. – When this book appeared, Prof. Mechthild Leutner commented in her book review (published in: Monumenta Serica, 64 (2016), pp. 247-249): “Mit dem vorliegenden Band leistet Fang Weigui einen wichtigen Beitrag zum Kultur- und Wissensaustausch zwischen China und Europa/dem Westen.”(p.248)
  38. This is Fang’s thesis of habilitation. See Kürschners Deutscher Gelehrten-Kalender, ibid.
  39. This is Fang’s Ph.D. thesis. See also Kürschners Deutscher Gelehrten-Kalender, ibid.
  40. This is the M.A. thesis Fang wrote at the Humboldt University of Berlin. See Kürschners Deutscher Gelehrten-Kalender, ibid.; among others, Eric R.J. Hayot refers to this work in his book Chinese Dreams: Pound, Brecht, Tel Quel. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2003
  41. See Kürschners Deutscher Gelehrten-Kalender, ibid.
  42. http://wxy.bnu.edu.cn/szdw/wyxyjs/91270.html Accessed Nov 23, 2017.
  43. See the text ”Fang Weigui 方维规”, published by the School of Chinese Language and Literature, Beijing Normal University, ibid.

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