Abstracts and Speaker Bios
Workshop 1
“AI Narratives in Chinese classics and their influence on society today”
ZHANG Baichun
Topic
The Attitude and Influence of Pre-Qin Thinkers on Mechanical Invention
Abstract
In the Spring and Autumn period and the Warring States period, machinery, weapons and other technologies developed rapidly, and people had different reactions to new inventions. Scholars from Mohism, Taoism, Confucianism and other schools have discussed about technological invention, showing a variety of attitudes. Zhuangzi did not approve of the use of machines such as Juxi (桔槔, a tool to draw up water from the well). He believed that "where there are ingenious contrivances, there are sure to be subtle doings; and that, where there are subtle doings, there is sure to be a scheming mind" (有机械者必有机事，有机事者必有机心). Mozi opposed killing and was keen on designing defense facilities and devices. He criticized Lu Ban for making offensive machines such as the Cloud Ladder (a mobile, counterweighted siege ladder). It is said that Lu Ban was questioned for making wooden birds and wooden horses, which reflected people's rational apprehension (such as Wang Chong) and malicious satire for some automatic machines which were considered to be supernatural forces at that time. However, Zhuangzi and other pre-Qin thinkers did not seem to have a substantial impact on the development of ancient Chinese technology. After the Warring States period and the Han Dynasty, science and technology continued to develop. In the Northern Song Dynasty, the water transportation instrument image platform not only integrated a variety of existing mechanical inventions, but also created the escapement mechanism to control the mechanical operation, so as to achieve the purpose of the instrument running by itself. The main factors influencing the development of offensive and defensive weapons in the Song and Yuan Dynasties were the practical needs and technical conditions, not the philosophical concepts.
Bio
Zhang Baichun is a Professor at and Director of the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Institute for the History of Natural Sciences (IHNS). His research area mainly focuses on the history of science and technology in China, especially the history of machinery, mechanics, knowledge dissemination and technology transfer. He is the editor-in-chief of Chinese Annals of History of Science and Technology.
GAI Fei
Topic
Dao, Skill, Technique and Dexterity: The Daoist Theory of Technology
Abstract
The Daoist theory of technology can be divided into two ways: “weiqiao” (为巧，practicing the skill) and “weidao”（为道，practicing the Way). Weiqiao is similar to today's "technology", which is to improve productivity and make people live a better life, and weidao is a process of seeking the “Dao” (the Way) with "technology", and achieving the state of unity with Dao through various "skills". Daoism's methods for immortality include both weiqiao and weidao. Basically speaking, artificial intelligence takes the road of weiqiao, but from some perspectives of Daoism, it is also a method of seeking the “Dao”.
Bio
Gai Fei, courtesy name Shifei, is a Lecturer in the Faculty of Philosophy at Yunnan University and Director of the Department of Chinese Philosophy and Ethics. A specialist in Daoist philosophy and Daoist religion, Fei’s research focuses include Daoist esoteric practices, belief in celestial beings, and the philosophy of Zhuangzi.
QIU Anxiong
Topic
New Classic of Mountains and Seas III (YouTube Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFKMLLfDakg&t=119s)
Abstract
Anchoring the fantastic with the real world, transferring the past to the present and further into the future, the New Classic of Mountains and Seas offers an anachronic view that regards the material world obliquely. The world, according to Buddhist principles, is, after all, only illusion- the world one knows is the world one creates. The animation trilogy questions the onrushing progress of social and technological development and their cost to the environment, to traditional values, and to human culture as a whole. A loose narrative ties together Part I and Part II where the world, as described in the Classics, is fundamentally infected by industrialization which leads to climate change and wars over power and territory. Part III speculates on a dystopia where virtual reality is reality and tradition is nothing more than an image.
Bio
Qiu Anxiong is considered a pioneer in deepening the resonance of animation by introducing the aesthetics of ink painting. He interweaves his ink-wash style paintings with the animated world and inserts architecture and signs from Shanghai where he lives, cinematic effects mimicking Hollywood movies, and symbols from pre-modern Chinese ink painting.