The II International Conference "Current Issues in Contemporary Chinese and Oriental Studies", dedicated to the 30-th anniversary of the Chinese Studies Program at the Faculty of Classical and Modern Philology at Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski”, was convened on November 19 - 20, 2021 in an online format. The conference was attended by about 85 scholars of Chinese and Oriental studies from over 15 countries around the world, including researchers from Bulgaria, China, Russia, Germany, Italy, England, USA, Mexico, India, Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic, Romania, Turkey, Greece, Armenia, Georgia and others.
The latest research on current issues in Chinese studies was presented at the anniversary forum. It provided a platform for academic discussions in the various thematic areas of Oriental studies in order to unite different generations of Bulgarian sinologists and orientalists, as well as scholars from abroad and to enable young researchers to present their contributions in the field of Chinese and Oriental studies. The conference was opened by the head of the Department of Chinese Studies at Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski ”Assoc. Prof. Dr. Antonia Tsankova. Welcoming addresses were given at the opening ceremony by the Vice-Rector of Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski ”Prof. Dr. Maria Stoycheva, HE Ambassador of the People's Republic of China to Bulgaria Mr. Dong Xiaojun, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nadia Cherneva, Vice-Rector of the University of Plovdiv "Paisii Hilendarski", Prof. Dr. Habil. Magdalena Panayotova, Dean of the Faculty of Philology of SWU "Neofit Rilski", Prof. Dr. Lin Wenshuang, Deputy Dean of the Faculty of European Languages at Beijing Foreign Studies University, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Iskra Mandova, Department of Classical and Eastern Languages and Cultures” at VTU “St. St. Cyril and Methodius". A special congratulatory letter to the conference was sent by Prof. Dr. Habil. Bora Belivanova, one of the doyens and founders of Bulgarian Chinese studies.
The thematic panels of the conference covered a wide range of academic issues and areas, from traditional philology, research on Chinese language, literature and culture, philosophy and art, to sections on contemporary social and economic development of China, political, economic and diplomatic relations, educational policies, healthcare, etc. The keynote speeches at the plenary sessions of the conference were presented by Prof. Dr. Habil. Vladimir Kurdyumov from Moscow City University on "Typology of the Chinese language - myths and reality", Prof. Dr. Dong Shuhui from Nankai University, Tianjin (China) on "On the role of European magical stories in the history of cultural exchange between China and Europe”, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Antonia Tsankova from Sofia University with a speech on “30 years of Chinese Studies Program at Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski ”- History, Experience, Perspectives”, Prof. Dr. Shu Zhengyu from Beijing University with a speech on “Chinese Language Teaching and Research in the Early Period after the Establishment of the PRC”, Prof. Dr. Victoria Bogushevskaya from the University of Cattolica del Sacro Quore (Italy) with a speech on "Creativity in Language: What Do Chinese Palindromes Conceal?" and Prof. Dr. Li Xuetao with a report on “Muqi & His Six Persimmons”.
The academic event aroused great interest among Bulgarian and international sinological communities, new research in various fields of Chinese studies was presented and discussed at the conference sessions, scientific contacts and opportunities for new research partnerships were established, research results and innovative approaches were tested. The conference proceedings will be published in a Collection of Papers of the II International Conference "Current Issues in Contemporary Chinese and Oriental Studies".
