“China between Standardization and Great Freedom: The Magic of Chinese Characters”

Lecture by Prof. Dr. Helwig Schmidt-Glintzer on 13 November 2026 at 19:30 at the Confucius Institute Munich or via Zoom/YouTube livestream

For more than two millennia, all aspects of language in China were shaped by the Chinese writing system. In the 20th century, there were attempts to replace this writing system with an alphabetic script. However, it soon became clear that the traditional system of Chinese characters would continue to be indispensable.

This lecture explores both the disadvantages and, above all, the opportunities of maintaining a writing system that is thousands of years old. It shows how Chinese characters became the subject of mockery and satire, but also a medium of profound wisdom. Since the educational reforms and industrialization of the 20th century, the writing system has become more closely connected with China than ever before. It forms one of the most important foundations of contemporary Chinese self-understanding. Today, China’s claim to global significance can no longer be separated from this writing system.

About the Speaker

Helwig Schmidt-Glintzer, born in 1948, is a German sinologist and public intellectual. After completing his doctorate in Munich in 1973 and spending an extended period in Taiwan and Japan, he received his habilitation from the University of Bonn in 1979. From 1981 to 1993, he held the Chair of East Asian Cultural and Linguistic Studies at the University of Munich. From 1993 to 2015, he served as Director of the Herzog August Library in Wolfenbüttel. From 2016 to 2023, he was Senior Professor at the University of Tübingen and founding director of the China Centrum Tübingen (CCT). Since 2024, he has headed the EuroAsia Institute for Cultural Systems.

His most recent publication is Buddha. Das Leben des Siddhartha Gautama (C.H. Beck, Munich, 2026).

Links to Zoom and the YouTube livestream will follow

“China between Standardization and Great Freedom: The Magic of Chinese Characters”

Lecture by Prof. Dr. Helwig Schmidt-Glintzer on 13 November 2026 at 19:30 at the Confucius Institute Munich or via Zoom/YouTube livestream

For more than two millennia, all aspects of language in China were shaped by the Chinese writing system. In the 20th century, there were attempts to replace this writing system with an alphabetic script. However, it soon became clear that the traditional system of Chinese characters would continue to be indispensable.

This lecture explores both the disadvantages and, above all, the opportunities of maintaining a writing system that is thousands of years old. It shows how Chinese characters became the subject of mockery and satire, but also a medium of profound wisdom. Since the educational reforms and industrialization of the 20th century, the writing system has become more closely connected with China than ever before. It forms one of the most important foundations of contemporary Chinese self-understanding. Today, China’s claim to global significance can no longer be separated from this writing system.

About the Speaker

Helwig Schmidt-Glintzer, born in 1948, is a German sinologist and public intellectual. After completing his doctorate in Munich in 1973 and spending an extended period in Taiwan and Japan, he received his habilitation from the University of Bonn in 1979. From 1981 to 1993, he held the Chair of East Asian Cultural and Linguistic Studies at the University of Munich. From 1993 to 2015, he served as Director of the Herzog August Library in Wolfenbüttel. From 2016 to 2023, he was Senior Professor at the University of Tübingen and founding director of the China Centrum Tübingen (CCT). Since 2024, he has headed the EuroAsia Institute for Cultural Systems.

His most recent publication is Buddha. Das Leben des Siddhartha Gautama (C.H. Beck, Munich, 2026).

Links to Zoom and the YouTube livestream will follow