As part of the Short-Term Study Abroad Program under the Agreement on Inter-University Student Exchange (also known as the East Asia Short-Term Study Abroad Program), six Kyoto University students from various fields in both the sciences and humanities participated in this year's summer school program at Xi'an Jiaotong University in China. The program was based on the Inter-University Student Exchange Agreement between Kyoto University and Xi'an Jiaotong University (XJTU), and held with the full cooperation of XJTU in developing the curriculum, emergency response measures, and other details.
The program covered a wide range of subjects including Chinese language lessons, special lectures on culture and history, and visits to the Huaqing Hot Spring, the city wall, Muslim Quarter, and other sites. Many XJTU students took part as student volunteers, helping the students from Kyoto with their classwork, daily life, and navigating the city. Together the students from both countries exchanged views on various topics and deepened their mutual understanding.
Report from a Participating Student
Takaya Okuno
Group Leader for Xi'an Jiaotong University Summer School
Fourth-year Student, Faculty of Science, Kyoto University
(Report presented at a debriefing held on Tuesday 30 September 2014)
This summer I joined five other Kyoto University students to take part in the 2014 Summer School at Xi'an Jiaotong University, spending 13 days there, which was longer than the 2013 program. We enjoyed the lectures and sightseeing a lot, but above all, we appreciated the friendship we established with the XJTU students, which was the most valuable fruit of the visit.
The Chinese lessons were not just about language, but also about Chinese society and the city of Xi'an itself. Even for me, just a beginner in Chinese, the course was approachable and interesting. The lectures gave us a feel for Chinese culture through physical or sensory activities. In the lesson on Chinese poetry, for example, we read aloud the famous verse by Du Fu, "A Spring View", which begins with a phrase: "Though a country be ruined, hills and rivers endure". And during a Tai Chi lesson we learned 24 forms from our XJTU student hosts, who prominently compete in international tournaments.
Xi'an is a very interesting city. Originally known as Chang'an, it was the capital of China from the early Han through the Tang dynasties (202 BCE to 904), and as it is situated next to Xianyang, the even older Qin capital, a great many ancient artifacts and relics are preserved in the city. Areas of particular interest include the terracotta army (warrior sculptures buried with Emperor Qin Shi Hung to protect him in the afterlife), the Huaqing Hot Springs (said to have been frequented by legendary beauty Yang Guifei in the 8th Century), the city wall (huge stone walls 14 km in circumference, re-constructed in 1370 during the Ming dynasty), and also the Muslim Quarter. The city has so many different faces that we felt even just sightseeing to be an enriching experience.
Having said that, we gained the most valuable experiences through exchanges with the XJTU students, rather than in the lectures or visits to historical sites. They welcomed us wholeheartedly, and helped us throughout the program. As a result of this exchange I was struck by the similarities between us, and the degree to which we could communicate and sympathize with each other. This was deeply moving, and not what I had expected given impressions of China from media reports.
I believe that genuine global mutual understanding will only progress through exchanges of this sort on an individual basis. This was the most valuable lesson I learned through this program, and something I never would have gained if I had just stayed in Japan and trusted domestic sources to give me a view of the world.
First meeting with the XTJU students
The Dayan Ta in the old city of Xi'an
Strolling after a lecture at the north gate of XTJU
Chinese language class
Tai Chi class
Participants and instructors at the closing ceremony
The Short-Term Study Abroad Program under the Agreement on Inter-University Student Exchange (also known as the East Asia Short-Term Study Abroad Program)
Each academic year, Kyoto University sponsors seven groups as part of the Short-Term Study Abroad Program under the Agreement on Inter-University Student Exchange, in order to provide students from Kyoto with opportunities to take part in exchanges with students in other countries, become more globally-minded, and to improve foreign language proficiency. In principle tuition is free, and participating Kyoto University students have the same status as visiting exchange students. During 2014, the program is being supported by the ASEAN-focused "Re-Inventing Japan Project", the JASSO (Japan Student Service Organization) Scholarship Program in important policy frameworks, and the Kyoto University Global Frontier Project for Young Researchers (the “John Mung Program”).
