East Asia Programme
East Asian Studies is a distinct multidisciplinary field of scholarly enquiry which focuses on the cultures of China, Japan, and Korea. East Asia must be seen as a dynamic site of trans-cultural relations. This highly interdisciplinary study enrich the scholarly community by bringing together students and scholars from a diverse array of fields, ranging from the social sciences, economics, religion to global humanities.East Asian Programme (EAP) is 24 years old and has been collaborating between India and the world with a view to commemorate our close historical and cultural relation since 1998.
Aims and Objectives:
1. Interactions and Collaborations with Chinese Institutes, Korean and Japanese counterparts to implement the Cultural Exchange Programme;
2. Interactions and Collaborations with academic institutions of North America and Europe;
3. Organisation of Seminars, Lectures and Exhibitions ;
4. Research leading to publication- India and the World;
5. Resource Centre of Asian art with special reference to East Asia and capacity building;
6. Set up a special library for Chinese, Korean and Japanese books.
The East Asian Programme unit has been so far successfully implementing cultural exchanges in the sphere of art, architecture and culture with many academic institutions in China including Dunhuang Academy, China; Peking University, China; Kucha Research Institute, Xinjiang; Institute of Longman Caves, Taiyuan Normal University, Chinese Academy of Arts, China and Korean Foundation, Korea and International Dunhuang Project, and British Library, London.
The main focus is on Buddhism, Buddhist art, archaeology & culture especially in China, Japan, Korea and other parts of the globe.
The EAP unit has organized many seminars and exhibitions on the relations between India and China. Cave Art of India and China (1991), India and China looking at each other (1995), The Recent Archaeological Discoveries in Xinjiang (1996) and Documentation of Central Asian Antiquities (2000), Art Relics of Afghanistan (2001), Xuanzang and Silk Route (2003), Mudra: Mystique and Metaphor and History of The Central Asian Collections in Institutions Worldwide (2008); International Conference on New Perspectives on Intercultural Studies, IGNCA, 2008; Seminar and Exhibition: Cities, Road and Caravan Sarais in India West & Central Asia – An Emblem of Linkages Through Ages, 2009; International Seminar and Exhibition on “Kumarajiva: Philosopher and Seer”, 2010; Seventh International Alexander Csoma de Kőrös Symposium on Buddhist Transcreations in Tibetan Literature and Art” (2014) and International Conference on MARC Aurel Stein with special reference to South and Central Asian Legacy: Recent Discoveries and Research (2015) and exhibition on Art and culture of Hungary (2014) and Fascinated by the Orient: Sir Marc Aurel Stein (1862–1943), 2015.
Publications and cultural exchange programmes
EAP has brought out many publications ( India & The World ) such as Dunhuang Art: Through the eyes of Duan Wenjie, In the Footsteps of Xuanzang:Tan yun-shan and India, Xuanzang and Silk Route, etc. The Unit has also brought out IGNCA’s Research Journal ‘Kalakalpa”. The unit has prepared a Sanskrit-Chinese Glossary consisting of ten thousand terms. The unit has taken the initiative to further cultural exchange programmes by signing a MoU with Dunhuang Academy, the Xinjiang Kucha Caves Research Institute at Kizil Caves, Xinjiang, China, etc. The unit has also established contact with International Dunhuang Academy, British Library, London, Peking University, Beijing, China, Tibet House, etc.
Publications – View e-Books
Publications – Seminars
- Seventh International Alexander Csoma de Kőrös Symposium on Buddhist Transcreations in Tibetan Literature and Art “Jointly organized by IGNCA & Hungarian Information and Cultural Centre
- International Seminar and Exhibition on “ Kumarajiva: Philosopher and Seer”
- New Perspectives on Intercultural Studies An International Conference in honour of Prof. Tan Chung
- Seminar and Exhibition: Cities, Road and Caravan Sarais in India West & Central Asia – An Emblem of Linkages Through Ages (India, West & Central Asia)
- Seminar on History of Central Asian Collections in Institutions Worldwide – in collaboration with International Dunhuang Project (IDP), British Library, London funded by Ford Foundation