Chinese Program Research Showcase
Current Event:
Date: Thursday, May 1, 2025
Program: TBA
Past Events:
- 2024
Chinese Program Research Showcase
Friday, May 3, 2024 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM Rome Hall 459
2:00 Opening Remarks by Professor Immanuel Kim, EALL Department Chair
2:05 Ben Levine 李斌: Unveiling the Linguistic Landscape: A Study of Censorship Evasion Techniques in China's Cyber Sphere. (Moderator: Dayna Bailey 白丹娜)
Abstract: This thesis explores the dynamic and intricate ways in which Chinese internet users, or netizens, employ the Chinese language to navigate and circumvent internet censorship. Focusing on five primary linguistic strategies – creating neologisms through compounding, near homophonization of words that sound similar, pinyin initials, numbers, and shifting or extending semantics – the study delves into the nuanced and evolving relationship between linguistic innovation and the suppression of online expression. By investigating the historical development, cultural influences, and societal implications of these strategies, this research aims to shed light on the resilience and creativity of Chinese netizens in trying to express themselves in one of the strictest censorship regimes in the world.
2:35 Nicolas Gangi-Saroukhanioff 甘诚志: Writing the Revolution: Literature and Communism in Mao’s China and the German Democratic Republic. (Moderator: Dylan Shepard 佘迪)
Abstract: The creation of a “literary society” was one of the foremost cultural policies of both Maoist China and East Germany. Emerging at roughly contemporaneous times in areas that had, until recently, been hostile ground to Communism, the Chinese Communist Party and the East German Socialist Unity Party both sought to employ literature as a means of inculcating a new pro-Communist identity among their citizenry, discrediting their predecessor regimes, providing justification for their radical policies, and to give form to the utopian futures they envisioned. As such, an examination of the literary canons of these two states can uncover vital information concerning the formation, solidification, and even collapse of the twentieth-century Communist experiment. By tracing key developments in literary policy under both regimes from 1949-1990 and analyzing the crucial representative works from both countries across these four decades, this analysis reveals that while, for both regimes, literature served as key means of ideological promulgation, its eventual divergence from the strict confines of regime policy helped bring about the ends of the respective systems—in one case through a shift away from the system’s most radical ideological elements (post-Mao China), and in the other through the regime’s complete collapse (East Germany).
3:05 Easton Weizer 魏亦森: Brand Localization in East Asian Markets: A Linguistic Analysis and Categorization of Name Translation Strategies. (Moderator: Ruby Leonard 李露)
Abstract: Brand localization is a central component of international market entry strategy. While existing scholarship largely focuses on the importance of adaptation to foreign markets’ local culture, customs, preferences, and values in the context of marketing, language is an aspect of brand localization that has evaded in-depth analyses. This paper provides a linguistic analysis and categorization framework concerning the capacity in which the Chinese writing system factors into the brand localization of foreign firms entering East Asian markets, namely China. English-Chinese brand name translations are compiled into a robust, industry-agnostic, and internationally representative dataset. The Chinese names adopted by foreign brands are then categorized and analyzed quantitatively to reveal trends in translation strategy. Doing so yields a map of the frequency in which firms localize their main identifier on the basis of phonetic, semantic, and phonosemantic significance as well as a number of newly identified subcategories.
3:35 Award ceremony
About the presenters:
Ben Levine is a second year graduate student in the Chinese Language and Culture Master Program at GW. He is from Fort Lauderdale, Florida and he graduated from Boston University in 2017 with a bachelors in International Relations. His thesis is on the Chinese internet and how Chinese netizens use the language circumvent censors in one of the strictest content moderation environments in the world. This research interests Ben because of both his fascination with the Chinese language and the role of the Chinese government in trying to regulate the internet. Outside of the classroom, Ben enjoys playing basketball, reading, and hanging out friends.
Nicolas Gangi-Saroukhanioff is a double major in Chinese and International Relations. His research was inspired by his two language passions—Chinese and German—and his interest in finding a way to bring them together. Outside of GW, Nicolas is a passionate soccer fan and supporter of Borussia Dortmund. He is also an avid guitarist. Nicolas will be pursuing his graduate studies at the University of Oxford, where he hopes to build upon this research, expanding it to encompass the literatures of other Communist states. He would like to thank the department for the opportunity to do this research.
Easton Weizer is a dual degree candidate pursuing both a BS in International Business from the GW School of Business and a BA in Chinese Language and Literature from CCAS. In May, he will conclude his undergraduate experience having completed the University Honors Program, Global Bachelor’s Program, and various independent and professor-driven research initiatives. Aside from the scope of today’s presentation, his research has covered topics ranging from portfolio optimization strategies in the field of finance to a thesis on the implications of China’s Belt and Road Initiative for global security. The latter of which was undertaken during his semesters abroad at the University of Chile and the University of Hong Kong.
- 2023
Chinese Program Research Showcase
1:00- 2:30 PM, Thursday, May 4, 2023
Jake Messick: China’s Forgotten Simplification Scheme: A Cross-Disciplinary Analysis of the Failure of the Second Round of Simplified Chinese Characters
Abstract: In late 1977, a new round of simplified Chinese characters was published as an advancement of the character simplification plans by the Chinese Communist Party. By the end of 1978, the scheme had been withdrawn from use in official contexts and repealed completely at the start of 1986. This presentation looks to analyze the failure of this linguistic reform through three areas: sociopolitical analysis, linguistic data collection and comparison to the still-used first round simplification scheme.
A'nan Butterfly Zhao: A Research on Gu Zhenguan’s Ci Poetry of Snapping Fingers 顧貞觀《彈指詞》研究
Abstract: Gu Zhenguan was a famous poet in the early Qing Dynasty. In this presentation, Zhao will explain why Gu Zhenguan named his ci poetry collection “Snapping Fingers”, then analyze the most important prominent feature of Gu Zhenguan’s ci poetry, which is the expression of his profound affection, and the writing styles of “Snapping Fingers Ci”.
Sophie Lam: Strands of Virtue: Exploring Gentry Laywomen’s Hair Embroideries of Guanyin in Late Imperial Jiangnan
Abstract: This presentation explores how late imperial gentry laywomen utilized the practice of hairembroidering Guanyin 觀音 (Skt. Avalokiteśvara) to materialize their simultaneous pursuit of multifaceted objectives in ideal gentry lay womanhood, which included a high level of religious commitment, genuine adherence to Confucian filial piety, and the demonstration of external and internal personal refinements.
- 2022
Chinese Program Student Research Presentations
April 29, 2022, 2:00 PM – 3:00PM
Andrew Butt 白先艺: Maidens, Matchmakers, and Men: Exploring Gender, Passion, and Morality in a Selection of Feng Menglong’s Short Stories
Abstract: Within the tradition of vernacular storytelling in the Ming Dynasty, one of the most well-known and well-studied authors is Feng Menglong 冯梦龙 (1574-1646). With works such as his History of Passion, Mountain Songs, and sanyan (三言) collections of stories, Feng Menglong’s works are chiefly known for their depictions of qing (情), or passion. In examining a selection of stories found within the sanyan collection concerning romantic love, we can better understand how Feng situates qing within his stories, which leads to a better understanding of the broader moral conveyed therein. While each story presents different and sometimes contrasting morals, broadly the ethical messaging tends to run contrary to prevailing Confucian standards. Moreover, whether consciously depicted or not, Feng’s depictions of men in his stories align with the broader narrative over the feminization of men since the Tang dynasty. This tension between Feng’s stories and Confucian morals and gender norms can not only be seen as both a reflection of Feng’s personal position within the Confucian hierarchy, but also a representation of the role Feng’s popular literature played vis a vis the more intellectually esteemed poetry and dialectical prose. These contradictions open questions as to how Feng’s works were interpreted by his contemporaries, what effects Feng’s depiction of men had on his and later generations, and how beneficial modern Western theories of literary analysis are in evaluating premodern Chinese literature.
Ezra Cohen 康俊宏: PRC Language Policy and Ethnic Minorities: Mandarin Chinese and its Centrality to Economics
Abstract: The national language policy of the People's Republic of China has impacted both the cultures and economies of ethnic minority groups living in the country's autonomous regions. Using Guangxi and Xinjiang autonomous regions as case studies, economic data is analyzed and cross-referenced with data concerning the adoption of Mandarin Chinese by the Zhuang and Uyghur minority ethnic groups. By using tools such as economic and geospatial analysis, both case studies reach the conclusion that adoption of Mandarin Chinese is an important step these ethnic groups must accept in order to participate in the more economically developed areas of their regions. The learning of Mandarin has also had adverse impacts on the native language practices of these groups, leading to a situation where a tradeoff must be made between native culture and modern economic participation. Finally, economic policies are recommended to mitigate this harmful dichotomy.- 2021
Chinese Program Student Research Presentations
May 11, 2021, 12:00 PM - 02:00 PM
- Katarina Micklus 米凯瑞: Second Language Development of Mandarin tones: A comparative study of native-English speaking children’s second tone production 第二汉语声调习得：英语为母 语儿童第二声调习得之比较研究
- Ethan Franz 蕭子蘭: Examining the Essential Functional Similarities Between the Confucian Superior Man and Jewish Religious Leaders 儒家之君子與猶太宗教領袖的 基本相似之處
- Jackson Smith 史杰鹏: Ah Q in the 21st Century: The Presence of New Historicism in the Rereading of The True Story of Ah Q 21 世纪的阿Q: 新历史主义 在重读《阿Q 正传》研究中 的表现
- Yichen Xie 謝亦辰: The Parrot Cumbered By its Own Flair: A Study on Wen T’ing-Yun and the “Lowbred” Early Tz’u-Poetry 鸚鵡才高卻累身——對溫庭筠與早期詞的研究
- Steven Bernstein 柏書偉: Bao Zheng: Comparing History with Myth 包拯: 行走在歷史與傳 說之間
- 2019
Chinese Program Student Presentations
May 6, 2019, 2:30PM – 4:00PM
- Tianyu Fan: “Seize the dragon's tail”- An Analytical Study of Laozi’s biography.
- Andrew Allard: Linguistic exchanges between Chinese and Khmer from Prehistory to Modern Cambodia.
- Elizabeth Telford: A Look at Christianity in China as Portrayed through Wu Li’s Poems on the Seven Deadly Sins.
- 2017
Chinese Program Student Presentations
May 5, 2017, 3:00PM–4:00PM
- Mark Schaefer: Ghosts and Social Critique in Yu Hua’s The Seventh Day.
- Dayna Bailey: A reading of an excerpt from a creative writing project written in Chinese title "幻峰兆".