A UK-based independent worldwide fellowship
Dear colleagues and friends,
As the Year of the Tiger 2022 starts ‘mooing,’ we are delighted to extend our best wishes with this greeting card, featuring our new covers for the book series. Our publishing subsidiary, Global Century Press (GCP), is proud to offer a unique feature: a dual-language service from global, comparative, and transcultural perspectives. (Two additional book series were added in 2023; see more details).
The covers of all the book series feature ‘calligraphy paintings’ (书画) selected from the transcultural works of British–Chinese calligrapher and artist Yizhou Zhao (赵翼舟), one of the finest contemporary Chinese calligraphers in the world. Each image is based on a Chinese character or phrase that to a certain extent reflects the theme of each series. For example, the Chinese character 旦 (dawn) is used for the ‘Chinese Concepts’ series; 文明 (civilization) for the ‘Chinese Discourse’ series; 乐 (happiness) for the ‘Understanding China and the World’ series; 鑑 (鉴 reflect, scrutinize, comparison) for ‘China and Chinese in Comparative Perspectives’ series; 人 (people or human beings) for the ‘Globalization of Chinese Social Sciences’ series; 众 (the masses or crowd) for the ‘Transcultural Experiences with “Three Eyes”’ series; 心 (heart) for the ‘China Urbanization Studies’ series; and 幽人 (people who are uniquely independent and creative because they live in seclusion) for the ‘Cutting Edge and Frontiers’ series. Some of the characters are directly used as the title of the image, and some of them offer more elaborate and specific meanings, e.g. ‘Man is man’s prisoner’ (《人是人的囚徒》) and ‘Mass media’ (《大众与传媒》). In the case of ‘Everybody can enjoy his own happiness’ (《各乐其乐》), the image represents yin and yang, the typical Chinese way of thinking. The artist’s rich process synthesizes the materials (including acrylic on watercolour paper, ink on rice paper, and oils) and techniques found in China and the West, and draws on the histories of both spheres to offer a dialogue between them. With deep aesthetic and philosophical underpinnings, informed by his many transcultural experiences between Chinese and Western cultures, Zhao’s work strikes a balance between tradition and innovation and illustrates the aims of both GCA and GCP.
Our charity year runs from April 1st to March 31st, different from the calendar year of January 1st to December 31st. Our annual reports for 2020-2021 and 2021-22 cover these periods. We are very pleased to share our past year’s achievements and insights through these reports. It was a year of growth, overcoming challenges, and reaching milestones, thanks to our team’s effort and commitment. We launched new initiatives, broadened our impact, and contributed significantly to our community. Looking forward, we aim to build on this with innovative strategies and continued excellence. Here’s to a prosperous Year of the Tiger, wishing everyone health, happiness, and success. We hope for your continued support, interest, and participation in our activities.
