Guoqiang Li

Presentation

My field of research focuses on the triangular “man-nature-culture” interactions in ancient China through ethnobotanical and ethnozoological knowledge and systems, the exploitation and domestication of plants and animals in the social context and the process, whereby plants and animals have received symbolic attributes in social and cultural life. My main works focus on the sacrifice of animals, the domestication of millet and the role that natural rhythm played in social organization and the formation of Chinese correlative thought. In recent years, my research and fieldwork have been added on Jean-Marie Delavay (1834-1895), missionary of the Foreign Missions from Paris to Yunnan and great botanist collector of plants from Yunnan, and in the footsteps of French missionaries in Yunnan.

Research thematics

• Plants and animals in ancient China

CRCAO research programmes

• Dictionary of Traditional Agriculture: English-French-Chinese-Japanese
• The Dog in Ancient China and Today
• Glossary of Specialised Terms for the Archaeology, Art History, Visual Culture and Architectural History of China and Japan

Teachings

• Chinese language and civilization