The Research Institute for Dissemination of Chinese Culture (RIDCC) at UIC held a guest lecture event where they invited Dr Dirk Meyer to give a talk titled ‘Reading the Odes of Anhui University’ on 20 December.
Dr Meyer is Associate professor of Chinese philosophy and a fellow of the Queen’s College at the University of Oxford. His research explores argument strategies in early Chinese thought production and the interplay of material conditions and ideas.
Dr Dirk Meyer explaining his research
During his lecture, Dr Meyer spoke about the meaning of what the characters on the bamboo strips mean and how he has interpreted them. He gave details of how he reads the Odes and compares it to previous versions and their commentary.
This guest lecture attracted vast interest from foreigners and Chinese as Dr Meyer gave the lecture using both Chinese and English. Following the guest lecture, there was a question and answer session where teachers and students asked Dr Meyer many questions related to the research approach and understanding methods. He replied that interpretation is the foundation of understanding before sharing his method of studying ancient Chinese.
Dr Meyer explained that he translated each research text into English and during the process, he tries to understand each word as thoroughly as possible in order to have a more accurate translation.
In addition to his lecture, Dr Meyer spoke of ‘Further Study in the University of Oxford’ at an information session that was held by the Career Development Office (CDO) on 17 December.
Dr Meyer was introduced by Acting Director of CDO, Ms Li Mei, who provided general information about the University of Oxford and the master's programmes in addition to the preparation of applying for further study abroad.
Dr Dirk Meyer introducing the University of Oxford
The University of Oxford has a unique structure and set up, explained Dr Meyer before explaining how it is the world's top public research university and adopts the college federalism. The University of Oxford is the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second oldest higher education institution in the world.
Dr Meyer expressed the importance of asking the students to get a clearer picture of what they wanted to pursue if applying to study at Oxford University as well asking students to familiarize themselves with the research of the faculty as well as having a potential supervisor in mind.
There were many keen students in attendance who asked questions. Some asked if they could show their final year project as part of their application, while others asked what kind of students the teachers are looking for as well what kind of experience the university expects. The session was well received with a lot of positive feedback and the students leaving with more knowledge about the application process.
Reporter: Samuel Burgess
Photographer: Gao Xinyu
Editor: Deen He
(from MPRO, with thanks to the ELC)
