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Dr Lukas Nickel's archaeological fieldwork, art historical research and philological study have led to his proposition of novel theories that question the conventional wisdom surrounding the influences on, methods of production and historical-contextual details of key genres and elements of the Chinese art historical canon, including the famous Terracotta Warriors. Both in China and internationally, his theories have motivated debate, experimentation, and informed and shifted interpretation amongst those working in a range of cultural institutions as well as the general public.
Evans' research on visual culture, history and memory in China has reached diverse audiences through international exhibitions, public lectures, workshops and school outreach projects, and collaborations with Chinese artists and documentary film-makers. In treating the Mao era `propaganda poster' as an important visual resource for the teaching and learning of 20th century China in schools, her work opens up a new approach to the study of modern and contemporary China in the UK's national curriculum. A recent pioneering outreach project with schools in London has resulted in plans with primary school teachers to develop an online visual resource of the Mao era within the framework of the national Key Stage 2 curriculum and accessible to schools across Camden and beyond. This project includes an important collaboration the Freie University in Berlin (working with Westminster's Sustainable Digital Repository (SDR)) to apply the latest digital archive and internet project management technologies to develop Westminster's Chinese Poster Collection materials as an interactive online resource for the teaching of China to UK primary school pupils. In collaboration with Stephanie Hemelryk Donald (University of New South Wales), the public dissemination of Evans' work in the UK, USA and Australia has also created new spaces for debate amongst Chinese migrants and their children about experiences denied open scrutiny in China.
Karl Gerth's work on the role of Chinese consumers in the global economy, and on ways in which Chinese consumerism may create more environmental and policy problems than it solves, has had a significant influence on business leaders seeking to position themselves in the Chinese market, as well as on public discourse around the `rise of China'. Gerth has extended the range and quality of the evidence on the interconnected and wide-ranging ramifications of the shift within China toward a market economy over the past thirty years, and has improved understanding of this phenomenon in ways which have enabled British business to compete more effectively in China.
The emergence of China as a global actor has attracted enormos attention from academics, policy-makers, journalists and business leaders. The outside world knows little about the perceptions of China's policy elites and their internal debates. By offering an in-depth, systematic and theoretically grounded analysis of Chinese discourse, this research has revitalised the on-going academic and policy debate on the nature and repercussions of China's ascendency. Key findings of the research have been used to stimulate debate at the highest level in governments and diplomatic circles on how best to respond to the changing security environment in the Asia-Pacific region and the rise of China as a global actor in particular. Dr Rex Li has been regularly invited to offer his analyses and insights at policy discussion meetings at leading UK foreign and security policy think-tanks attended by experts and officials of the Foreign Office and the Ministry of Defence.
Volker Scheid's historical and ethnographic research of medicine in late imperial and contemporary China has significantly contributed to invigorating the Menghe medical current, a grouping of medicine physicians centred on the city of Changzhou in Jiangsu Province, China. Such renewed vitality is reflected in the activities of the the Changzhou Association for the Transmission of the Menghe medical current, the establishment of a Famous Doctor's Clinic, the foundation of a museum for medical history, creation of a memorial park, the reinstitutionalisation of apprenticeship training as well as numerous publications directed at the general public as well as academics.
Recent Chinese migrants to London have come mainly from mainland China and not, as previously, from Hong Kong and South-East Asia. LSE research has established the difficulties that new migrants face in accessing existing support mechanisms within the Chinese community. The research findings have put the needs of these new migrants on the map of central and local government and Chinese third sector organisations. They have helped change the prevailing view of the Chinese community as a `model' community, with no need for external support, to a more realistic appraisal of the needs of its vulnerable members, who suffer hardships and require help.
Research led by Professor Robert Bickers into the massive archive of the Chinese Maritime Customs Service (CMCS) has been of value to scholars working in several fields — including climate change — but it has also had a variety of wider impacts. Members of the general public with an interest in China, teachers looking for fresh resources, UK policymakers seeking to understand the legacy of the British record in China — all these have drawn on the Bristol research. In some cases they have, in turn, contributed to it. This is an example of high quality research, active dissemination and imaginative engagement coming together and having a positive effect on a range of interests from genealogy to international diplomacy. The work was also developed and interacted with a 2006-2014 Language Based Area Studies Scheme's British Inter-university China Centre [BICC], which focused on engagement and knowledge exchange.
Li's research into Chinese spoken and song/dance theatres, and particularly into the work of playwright Cao Yu, has influenced professional arts practice and enriched cultural understanding in the UK, Europe, North America and China. By creating and reinterpreting cultural capital, it has generated new ways of developing intercultural themes and strategies within performance and its promotion, and has directly influenced programming and education policy within the arts. The research has had an international and wide-ranging impact, facilitating cross-cultural understanding between the West and China and reaching a variety of sectors and social demographics. It has significance for user groups including lay audiences, professional practitioners and policy-makers.
The China Policy Institute (CPI) at the University of Nottingham's School of Contemporary Chinese Studies (SCCS) has played a significant role in challenging simplistic and stereotypical perceptions of China at a time when the need for a fully nuanced understanding of the country is high on every policymaker's agenda. CPI has advised governments and other organisations on China-related strategies, offering guidance on topics including the nature of the political system and the drivers behind key international relations. Its work has helped inform policymakers, influenced and facilitated the strategic activities of groups including The Elders and the Royal United Services Institute and raised wider awareness of Chinese political culture.
Dr Julia Lovell's authoritative research in Chinese culture and history from 1800 to the present day has made a significant impact in three main areas of cultural life. Communicated to a range of academic and non-academic audiences in successful books, particularly in her prize-winning book The Opium War (2011), press articles and radio interviews, her work has influenced international media and public discourse on Chinese cultural history; promoted translations of Chinese literature, particularly with Penguin Asia's successful translations of significant Chinese authors; and improved the quality of the UK's cultural engagement with China.