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Profs and Pints DC presents: “China, Sports and Power,” a look at the cultural history and political uses of sports in the People’s Republic, with Robert Daly, director of the Wilson Center’s Kissinger Institute on China and the United States and frequent lecturer on Chinese culture.
[You must show proof of vaccination or a negative Covid test from the previous 72 hours to attend.]
The international spotlight has fallen on sports in China as that nation prepares to host the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. Much of the attention being given it is unfavorable, with the Olympics being subject to an international boycott over China’s ongoing repression of the Uighurs in Xinjiang. The Women’s Tennis Association has separately suspended tennis tournaments in China in response to Beijing’s silencing of tennis champion Peng Shuai after she accused a top government leader of sexual assault.
China, for its part, has responded to the diplomatic boycotts of the Olympics by angrily insisting that sport should not be politicized—despite its obvious efforts to build its global prestige through athletics.
Join Robert Daly, a scholar of China who previously has given several fascinating Profs and Pints talks on that nation, for an in-depth look at the role of sports in China’s culture, politics, and relations with the rest of the world.
Daly, a nationally known expert on Chinese culture, will take us through key chapters in the history of athletics there. He’ll look at the place of sports in traditional Chinese culture, the introduction of basketball, volleyball, ping pong, and tennis there during the missionary period, and the role of athletic contests in China’s self-strengthening movements and relations with the West since the 19th Century. He’ll also look at the role of sports in the New Culture movement under Chiang Kai-Sheck and the martial arts and China’s rise as a sports power. Finally, he’ll examine China’s fascinating—and sometimes toxic–marriage of athletic achievement and national glory in the eras of Yao Ming, in the 2008 Olympics, and in the current Age of U.S.-China Competition.
His talk will shed light on China’s past and current sports controversies and provide great context for understanding news developments related to the upcoming Winter Olympics and China’s hosting of the games. (Advance tickets: $12. Doors: $15, or $13 with a student ID. Listed time is for doors. Talk starts 30 minutes later. Please allow yourself time to place any orders and get seated and settled in. Profs and Pints will ask that you wear a mask except while seated and eating or drinking. Church Hall, where this event is being staged, follows all C.D.C. and Washington D.C. guidelines regarding public health. The venue reserves the right to modify all rules to align with current and future regulations and best practices to maintain a safe and fun environment.)
