Vi studerer og underviser om Kina inden for sprogbaserede områdestudier som akademisk tradition. Vores primære anliggende er samfundsforhold, kultur og sprog i det nutidige og 20. århundredes Kina med et særligt forskningsfokus på kinesisk socialisering, migration, kulturel produktion og sprogindlæring. Vi tilbyder et omfattende uddannelsesprogram, der inkludere bachelor-, kandidat- og ph.d.-studier og mange muligheder for specialiseringer og studier i Kina.
Kinastudier indgår i tætte interdisciplinære undervisnings- og forskningssamarbejder med de øvrige studier på Afdeling for Globale studier. Vi er også involveret i mange udadvendte aktiviteter så som efteruddannelse og pressekontakt.
I Kinastudiers tehus arrangeres løbende gæsteforelæsninger og andre faglige og sociale aktiviteter.
Hvis du vil vide mere, kan du finde mere info på forskernes individuelle profiler, og du er velkommen til at kontakte os!
Academic Background:
I obtained a bachelor’s degree from the School of Government at Nanjing University and a Ph.D. from the Department of Government and Public Administration at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Before joining Aarhus University, I worked as University Assistant (Postdoc) in the Department of East Asian Studies at the University of Vienna. I also held visiting positions at the East Asian Institute of the National University of Singapore and the Harvard–Yenching Institute.
My research in a nutshell:
My research interests lie in (1) contemporary Chinese politics and society and (2) public opinion and political participation in authoritarian regimes. You can find more about my research here.
What is your favorite place in China?
My favorite place in China is my hometown, Suzhou. Though its current population exceeds 10 million, when I was a child, I thought it was just a small city near Shanghai. At age 18, I was determined to venture out into the larger world. Since then, I have lived in different places, and Suzhou is now a distant memory. My hometown is brimming with cultural heritage and scenic beauty. My cherished memories of the city include its exquisite classical gardens (yuanlin), elegant ballad singing (pingtan), and enchanting water towns (shuixiang).
Academic Background:
I studied Sinology and English Philology/Cultural Studies at Freie Universität Berlin the Free University (FU) Berlin (1988-1995), including two years of Chinese language and literature studies at Fudan University, Shanghai. I received my MA-Degree with the thesis “The Long March of Rock ‘n’ Roll: Pop- and Rock Music in the People’s Republic of China.” Afterwards, I continued to explore my interest in modern Chinese history and culture in the PhD project “Between Entertainment and Revolution: Gramophones and the Early Chinese Music Industry in Shanghai, 1878-1937.” Simultaneously, I was employed at the Department of Sinology, FU Berlin, to organize and contribute to a long-term international (archival) research project on the Sino-German Relations, 1897-1997. I received my PhD degree in 2003.
My research in a nutshell:
My research focuses on aspects of modern Chinese history, with an emphasis on the cultural industries, especially the entanglements and (global) transfers of (media) technology and (musical) sound. More recently, I began to combine my interest in Shanghai history with the sonic dimension of cultural politics and production, propaganda, and memory studies. Eager to learn and explore Chinese sounds in the past and present, I, amongst others, organized the international conference “China Sounds Abroad” (2021) at Aarhus University, the results of which are published with the Chinese University of Hong Kong Press in 2025. https://cup.columbia.edu/book/china-sounds-across-borders/9789882373860/
I work with Prof. Wulf Kansteiner on the Velux-funded project “Sounds of War: The Memory of World War II in Taiwan, East Germany, and Denmark, 1945-2015.” https://cas.au.dk/en/soundtrak/
and collaborated with Hans Erik Havsteen and Anders Olling, who established the podcast “Kongerækken.” I contributed content and sounds to their ten-episode series “Kinas historie.” https://www.kongeraekken.dk/podcastserier
What is your favorite book?
I do not have a favorite book, but among those I recently read, I enjoyed Ha Jin’s The Banished Immortal: A Life of Li Bai (New York: Pantheon Books, 2019). Ha Jin (b. 1956) is a poet and novelist who lives in the US and teaches at Boston University. I also appreciate his early masterpiece Waiting (1999). The Banished Immortal strikes me as a combination of scholarship, interpretation, and creative writing. In the book, we walk with Li Bai (701-762) through China, based on his most famous heritage: the poems (included in both Chinese and English translation). Li was a strong character, a restless person, a heavy wine drinker, who sought government employment all his life. Ha Jin interprets and explains his talent, craft, and sentiment, creating a nuanced and lively portrait of this “pop star.” One can appreciate it as a biography and novel while contemplating the artist in Chinese history.
Academic Background:
Master’s degree in Chinese and international education and PhD in Chinese migration, both from Copenhagen University
My research in a nutshell:
My research focuses on migration, diaspora, globalization and international relations in relation to China and the impact in general of mobility and especially in regard to cultural identities. I am interested in the consequences of China's diaspora policies and their impact on transnational relations. In addition, I do research on Chinese diplomacy expressed on social media like Twitter based on big data analysis. I am also engaged in research on how to strengthen intercultural competence and communication in relation to the globalization of Danish companies.
Academic background:
PHD (Denmark), MSc (Denmark), MA (China)
My research in a nutshell:
Chun Zhang is a Senior Teaching Associate Professor of Chinese at the University of Aarhus, Denmark. She received her BA in English Literature and Language from East China Normal University, Shanghai, China; MSc in IT, Language Learning and Teaching from the University of Aarhus, Denmark; and PhD in Teacher Education from Aalborg University, Denmark. Her recent research interests are in the field of Chinese language education, including applied Chinese linguistics, pedagogy, and Chinese language teachers' identities. She has published more than twenty research papers in peer-reviewed journals including International Journal of Chinese Language Teaching, Global Chinese (De Gruyter), Sprogforum, Brill Sense, and Palgrave Macmillan.
What is your favorite place in the world and why?
My favourite city is Shanghai. It's my home city, where I was born and grew up. It is a metropolitan city full of dynamics and vitality. It is a popular tourist destination renowned for its historical and contemporary landmarks, such as, The Bund, City God Temple, and Yu Garden, and the extensive Pudong skyline, many skyscrapers and many major museums and musical halls. Another wonderful thing about Shanghai is the food. There are many incredible food restaurants, not only they serve delicious Shanghai food, but many of which are affordable for ordinary people.
