World voices gather in Shanghai to explore China studies in global context

WHEN Serbian scholar Sanja Arezina seeks relief from the pressures of everyday life, she often turns to China. Reading and writing about the country, she said, feels like entering a better world.

- Yang Jian

Her research took her to China's major cities, where she observed not only the dynamics of politics and economics, but also the deeper patterns of culture and society.

For her, China studies is more than an academic pursuit. It is, in her words, “a way to reduce misunderstandings about China and build bridges between people.”

For Macedonian researcher Igor Radev, the path into the field began not with economics or politics but with literature.

"I have long appreciated classical Chinese poetry," he explained in a book "The Story about China and Me."

He noted that his first fascination was with figures such as Qu Yuan, a patriotic poet and politician from the State of Chu during the Warring States Period (475-221 BC). By comparing Qu with legendary Greek poet Homer, he discovered a striking cultural difference.

"In Europe, the poet often appears as an outside observer of events," Radev said. "But in China, the poet was also a statesman and public figure, deeply involved in shaping history."

He said it revealed to him the unique way in which Chinese civilization combined cultural and political life.

The journeys of Sanja and Igor are part of a wider story about the growing global interest in China studies, or zhongguoxue (中国学).

Once dominated by European sinology focused on classical texts, and later by American academic programs on modern China, the discipline is now increasingly international and diverse.

Chinese scholars have also played a greater role in recent decades, adding their own reflections on how China is studied both inside and outside the country.