CrossAsia Talks: Joshua Fogel 3.12.2026

(See English below)

Am 3. Dezember 2026 ab 18 Uhr (Berliner Zeit) laden wir zu unserem letzten CrossAsia Talk im Jahr 2026 ein: Joshua A. Fogel (York University, Kanada) beleuchtet in seinem Onlinevortrag „Back to Babel: The Esperanto Movements in Japan and China“ die faszinierende Geschichte der Esperanto-Bewegung in Ostasien und ihre ganz unterschiedlichen Entwicklungen in Japan und China im frühen 20. Jahrhundert. Seien Sie dabei!

In the first decades of the 20^th century, the movement to spread use of a universal language for all mankind came to East Asia. Launched by Ludwik Zamenhof in Warsaw in 1887, Japan and China proved to be fertile ground for the Esperanto movement. However, Zamenhof purposefully constructed Esperanto as an auxiliary language, never meant to replace natural languages, but only to facilitate communication among the peoples and alleviate all misunderstanding, leading to world peace. In East Asia, different political and social movements hooked up with it and lead to interesting eventualities. In the first decade of the 20^th century, some Chinese saw it as a panacea for China’s decrepit state (as they saw things) and wanted it to replace Chinese altogether; this led to ferocious debates involved people in Paris, Tokyo, and even China. In Japan, a wide array of scholars, anarchists, socialists, feminists, and others saw it as a way for Japan to merge with the grand movement uniting the world via a shared language. From the middle of the second decade, things changed in both countries. In interested, come hear this talk!

Die Vortragssprache ist Englisch. Bei Fragen kontaktieren Sie uns unter: ostasienabt@sbb.spk-berlin.de.

Der Vortrag wird via Webex gestreamt und aufgezeichnet*. Sie können am Vortrag über Ihren Browser ohne Installation einer Software teilnehmen. Klicken Sie dazu unten auf „Zum Vortrag“, folgen dem Link „Über Browser teilnehmen“ und geben Ihren Namen ein.

Alle bislang angekündigten Vorträge finden Sie hier. Die weiteren Termine kündigen wir in unserem Blog und auf unserem Mastodon-Account und BlueSky an.

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On 3 December 2026 from 6 pm (Berlin time), we invite you to our final CrossAsia Talk of 2026: In his online lecture “Back to Babel: The Esperanto Movements in Japan and China”, Joshua A. Fogel (York University, Canada) will shed light on the fascinating history of the Esperanto movement in East Asia and its very different developments in Japan and China in the early 20th century. Join us!

In the first decades of the 20^th century, the movement to spread use of a universal language for all mankind came to East Asia. Launched by Ludwik Zamenhof in Warsaw in 1887, Japan and China proved to be fertile ground for the Esperanto movement. However, Zamenhof purposefully constructed Esperanto as an auxiliary language, never meant to replace natural languages, but only to facilitate communication among the peoples and alleviate all misunderstanding, leading to world peace. In East Asia, different political and social movements hooked up with it and lead to interesting eventualities. In the first decade of the 20^th century, some Chinese saw it as a panacea for China’s decrepit state (as they saw things) and wanted it to replace Chinese altogether; this led to ferocious debates involved people in Paris, Tokyo, and even China. In Japan, a wide array of scholars, anarchists, socialists, feminists, and others saw it as a way for Japan to merge with the grand movement uniting the world via a shared language. From the middle of the second decade, things changed in both countries. In interested, come hear this talk!

The lecture will be held in English. If you have any questions, please contact us: ostasienabt@sbb.spk-berlin.de.

The lecture will be streamed and recorded via Webex*. You can take part in the lecture using your browser without having to install a special software. Please click on the respective button “To the lecture” below, follow the link “join via browser” (“über Browser teilnehmen”), and enter your name.

You can find all previously announced lectures here. We will announce further dates in our blog and on Mastodon-Account and BlueSky.

 

*Mit Ihrer Teilnahme an der Veranstaltung räumen Sie der Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz und ihren nachgeordneten Einrichtungen kostenlos alle Nutzungsrechte an den Bildern/Videos ein, die während der Veranstaltung von Ihnen angefertigt wurden. Dies schließt auch die kommerzielle Nutzung ein. Diese Einverständniserklärung gilt räumlich und zeitlich unbeschränkt und für die Nutzung in allen Medien, sowohl für analoge als auch für digitale Verwendungen. Sie umfasst auch die Bildbearbeitung sowie die Verwendung der Bilder für Montagen. / By participating, you grant the Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz and its subordinate institutions free of charge all rights of usage of pictures and videos taken of you during this lecture presentation. This declaration of consent is valid in terms of time and space without restrictions and for usage in all media, including analogue and digital usage. It includes image processing and the usage of photos in composite illustrations. German law will apply.