Issue 2, 2023

Bonn Oriental and Asian Studies insights

2023-12-20T00:00:00Z

Bonn Oriental and Asian Studies insights Yakar, Sümeyra; Gündüz, Zuhal Yeşilyurt; Bogen, Cornelia; Lê, Ngọc Hân Saalfeld, Florian; Ziegler, Vicky; Erker, Lauren The first article by Cornelia Bogen explores how a media campaign by the Chinese Communist Party affected perceptions of the ir handling of COVID 19 by the local population. The article further interro gates the values that under pin the nationalism distinct to China and demonstrates how these values were manipulated by the Chinese Communist Party to evade criticism in their handling of the pandemic. In the second article by Ngọc Hân Lê we travel a short distance to Vietnam to examine a collection of material representing the Han Viet class, a social class that existed during a time in Vietnam’s history that has been little explored so far. The artifacts under scrutiny were unearthed during excavations that took place in the 1930s, when Vietnam was under Chinese occupation. The article examines the historical background in which the se expeditions , which were conducted by a Swedish took place, offering a glimpse into how colonial archaeology functioned at the time. The issue’s first essay submission by Zuhal Yesilyurt Gündüz takes us to Turkiye, where we explore the nature of gold extractivism and its impact on the human and non-human populations of the country. In addition to emphasizing its environmental impact, this essay connects the neoliberal policies of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) to its endeavors for continual capital growth, which is examined through the lens of gold extractivism. Finally, this issue of the journal features Sümeyra Yakar’s book review on Islam and Muslim Resistance to Modernity in Turkey by Gökhan Bacik.

The Olov Janse Collection: Material Evidence for the Han Viet Burial Tradition

2023-12-15T00:00:00Z

The Olov Janse Collection: Material Evidence for the Han Viet Burial Tradition Lê, Ngọc Hân In the 1930s, the Swedish archeologist Olov Robert Thure Janse conducted excavation expeditions in Indochina. His expeditions revealed brick tombs in North Vietnam during a period when Vietnam was under the occupation of imperial China. The discoveries allowed scholars to gain new knowledge about the ceramic tradition in Vietnam and are one of the most important collections in dating the Han-Vietnamese ceramic wares. The Han-Viet ceramic wares and burial goods in particular are not well researched. To improve this situation and to encourage further research, this article will introduce some of the burial goods of the Olov Janse collection and the burial tradition in the area, which, amọng ọther things, fọllọwed the Đông Sơn culture. Furthermore, besides the burial goods of the Olov Janse collection, the article also offers a short critical reading of the historical background of the period in which the excavations were conducted, which was dominated by Eurocentrism and a colonialist approach to archaeology. The article concludes that on the whole, the abundant discoveries in the brick tombs are evidence for the influence of Chinese culture in northern Vietnam.

The Covid-19 Pandemic as a Test Case of Cultural Values

2023-01-17T00:00:00Z

The Covid-19 Pandemic as a Test Case of Cultural Values Bogen, Cornelia A variety of nationalisms are said to have emerged worldwide since the Covid-19 pandemic; however, scholars struggle to determine the mutual impact of nationalism and the pandemic, and they do not agree on what constitutes Chinese nationalism in particular. China’s national narratives of the 1990s and digital nationalism in the first decades of the 21st century have highlighted the unique characteristics of Chinese culture, so it comes as a surprise that the vast body of research about China’s Covid-19 pandemic nationalism has not yet determined the specific role cultural factors played in fostering nationalist sentiment. Hence, this article first uses the concept of national identity in Blank et al. as an analysis grid in its literature review to reconstruct a potential shift from patriotism to nationalism within China’s Covid-19 discourse and explore the political and cultural factors that allegedly impacted the handling of the crisis by different countries. Second, a thematic analysis of a randomly selected sample of Chinese media articles and social media posts published in 2020 and 2021 aims to carve out the specific set of values that various Chinese discourse participants – ranging from the political and social elite to ordinary internet users – proclaim to be the reason why China succeeded to contain the first wave of the epidemic.
This literature review shows that the patriotic media campaign, launched after the official announcement of the epidemic, was led by the Chinese Communist Party to counteract Chinese public criticism of media censorship during the outbreak and maintain political stability. After the epidemic became a pandemic and China had successfully contained the first wave, Chinese internet users, as well as political and social elites, jointly engaged in the constructionof a nationalist narrative to counteract international anti-Chinese discourse. Furthermore, this thematic analysis of Chinese social media discourse show cases how Chinese online publics ideologically constructed themselves as a homogeneous group defined by descent, race, and culture. This nourished nationalistic sentiment and helped to establish a boundary to the external other by ascribing the failure of foreign countries to contain the disease to their lack of certain Confucian values. In doing so, Chinese discourse evoked centuries-old Western orientalist stereotypes on ‘Confucianist collectivism’ that they used to foster nationalism while rejecting international criticism. Othering narratives in the pandemic discourse of China and liberal Western countries were based on nationalism, culturalism, racism, and the larger ‘orientalist’ idea of China versus ‘the West’ as homogeneous, transnational and imagined communities.

Neoliberalism and Extractivism in Turkey

2023-01-18T00:00:00Z

Neoliberalism and Extractivism in Turkey Gündüz, Zuhal Yeşilyurt This essay aims at revealing the connection between neoliberalism and extractivism in Turkey by focusing on gold extractivism. It begins with the conceptual background of neoliberalism and extractivism, then describes how neoliberalism met Türkey on January 24, 1980, and how it continued during the military regime and the following Turgut Özal regime. The essay will also demonstrate how the current Justice and Development Party (AKP) improved neoliberalism in Turkey. Finally, the essay will reveal how extractivism and especially gold extractivism has continued and increased and the harm that it has done to human and non-hüman populations, nature, and the environment.