In the recent years, the demand for Chinese language training has increased significantly worldwide. Following the trend, Bulgaria for many years now develops intensive language studies in the secondary schools and Universities all around the country. A need for cultural classes emerged to provide the necessary resources for successful realization in China or with Chinese language in the labor market. This paper provides different approaches of teaching China‘s geography for students, linking it to ancient and modern China, and to the practical aspects of applying the new knowledge provided.

‘Bulgarian studies’ in China has a long history. Within BFSU, where it was established, it is also one of the most prestigious specialties at the Faculty of Small European Languages. In the last three years, however, the Bulgarian language (in various forms) has been taught and studied at other universities. An experiment was also conducted at a high school in Beijing (Bulgarian as a second European language). This paper attempts to outline the possible directions of development of Bulgarian studies and to discuss how they can increase the prestige and popularity of the Bulgarian language, culture and literature. The author seeks to suggest to the institutions in Bulgaria which are in charge of Bulgarian studies abroad, the appropriate solutions and the necessary measures, which are different from those in European countries.

Since its official launch in 2012, the China-CEEC cooperation has yielded excellent results. However, it is worth noting that the cooperation has always been affected by the international intervention of the EU and the U.S.A. The variability of the domestic policies within the CEEC countries, the differences of culture and ideology between China and the CEEC countries, as well as some propaganda which has deliberately blackened the national image of China, have all contributed to an unsteady and incomplete cooperation, particularly in the economic field. During the pandemic, the effectiveness of COVID-19 control and prevention in different countries has varied a lot, which has partly led to some new changes in the interaction among the CEEC countries, the EU, the U.S. and China. Such changes have facilitated the dispersal of the suspicion of China to some extent. In a post-pandemic world, to promote cooperation between China and the CEEC countries, we should expand cooperation, deepen cultural and people-to-people exchanges and enhance media cooperation. In terms of practical cooperation, China can work with the CEEC countries in discussing cybersecurity strategy, guiding the transformation of new media into a positive public-opinion arena for social development.

This study reviews Chinese-language cinema in the 17th edition of the Pacific Meridian International Film Festival (PMIFF) in Vladivostok, Russia in 2019. The text discusses the festival’s role in contemporary culture through the Cinema Festival Studies methodology. Adopting a comparative approach and using a parallel theoretical toolbox, the author outlines the main parameters of the large-scale portrait of the Asian cinema on the world screens. All Chinese-language titles in the festival program in Vladivostok are briefly analyzed. The main focus is on the input of the Sixth-Generation directors from mainland China and their socially-engaged themes in feature and documentary cinema shown at PMIFF. Leading trends and authors of independent Chinese animation are also commented on.

Translation is not only a conversion between the source language and the target language, but also a cross-cultural communication activity. The incommensurability of culture leads to partial untranslatability. Based on the dispute between translatability and untranslatability, this article explains in detail the connotation and root cause of cultural untranslatability, and proposes several transformation strategies to deal with cultural untranslatability in translation activities.

Nowadays we no longer consider it necessary to look for evidence that we cannot find one unambiguous and generally-accepted truth that explains the phenomena we observe around us and within us. Man, standing on the edge, is simultaneously inclined to bring about his own destruction and making an unartful attempt to follow the thin contour of the outline made by the order that is hidden within the chaos. We need not be confused by the fact that science is just arriving at the discovery of that outline. This does not mean that man has not always felt that outline’s challenge through his entire existence. Business, being a small but increasingly important part of human interaction, is becoming aware of the challenges of its own complexity. Just as any other science, the conception and theory of business management have reached the unknown, the risky and the uncertain, which are difficult notions to describe, let alone control or understand.

COVID-19 has changed people’s lifestyles and has had unpredictable consequences in the spheres of politics, economy, education and culture. This paper discusses the problems, realities and perspectives of education, art and the cooperation between Bulgaria and China under the conditions of the coronavirus pandemic. The article proposes that virtual tours of galleries and digital access to works of art, operas, concerts, theater performances, and online education aid, to some extent, the normalization of public and social life.

The present paper reveals certain features of the education system in China which partly emerged before – and were totally adopted during – the Han dynasty (202 BC – 220 AD). The first attempts to theoretically comprehend and generalize the processes of upbringing and education were made by ancient Chinese philosophers. Among the schools that appeared around the 6th century BC – Taoism, Buddhism and Confucianism, the latter has had the greatest influence on the development of pedagogical thought in China over the centuries, until the beginning of the 20th century. The paper introduces the three main works that form the basis of Chinese primary education, which are given the common name Sanbaiqian ??? after the first characters in their titles. The paper sheds light on parts of the text of the school regulations, which in the 19th century served as a guide for teachers as well.

The article presents the normative and didactic specifics in the study of the China topic in the process of teaching Geography and Economics after the educational reform in Bulgaria. It outlines the content analysis and the situational analysis of the geography of the countries according to the state educational standards, curricula and textbooks in Geography. The article also defines the rules for studying a country and presents a didactic interpretation of the content aspects of studying China in the textbooks of Geography and Economics in the new educational realities.

As a method of teaching, multimedia courses have already been widely and established. A multimedia device is a requirement for every modern classroom. However, the truth is that it also has many disadvantages. After analyzing the problems occurring in multimedia courseware in the process of classroom teaching, this paper dwells on some of them: the insufficient grasp of courseware content, the defects in courseware design, and the excessive dependence of teachers and students on multimedia courseware. The purpose of this article is to discuss these problems and to suggest practical countermeasures in order to improve the efficiency of multimedia courseware in classroom teaching.

The article explores the following research questions: First, is cooperative learning effective in improving students’ second language reading comprehension? Second, if there is a positive effect, what cooperative learning strategies can the teacher adopt to improve students’ reading comprehension ability? If cooperative learning has a negative effect on students’ reading comprehension, what are the reasons? Through comparison and analysis of the results of reading tests, questionnaires and interviews before and after the experiment, the following conclusions are drawn: first, compared with traditional reading classes, cooperative learning can improve the reading comprehension ability of top students in Grade 9 in junior high schools. Second, through Group Investigation and Team Game Tournament, teachers can effectively promote interaction between students, foster their learning enthusiasm, and improve their cognitive processing, which in turn helps to improve their reading comprehension ability.

The article explores the development of the southern region of the People’s Republic of China from the late 1970s to the present day.

China is a key partner for Bulgaria in the Asia-Pacific region and beyond, which is the result of well-entrenched traditions and recently-attained dynamics in the whole spectrum of bilateral relations ranging from politics and economy to culture, education and tourism. The country’s gigantic potential and its major role in international affairs, combined with its specific political system and cultural identity, requires a calibrated, in-depth approach in elaborating and implementing a strategic outlook on bilateral relations, while taking stock of the experience acquired so far. The strategy should take into consideration the needs and views of all stakeholders in the process of co-operation with China, e.g. central and local authorities, business and academic entities, social organizations and associations. On the other hand, it has to take into consideration the swift rise of China and its dynamic relationship with the rest of the world as well as feed into EU concepts and policies vis-à-vis China.

The origins or the Chinese Space Program can be traced to the Cold War and the establishment of the missile program by Mao. The Chinese National Space Agency (CNSA) was established in 1993 to help China boost its civil and commercial use of the space sector. In broad terms, the Chinese Space Program is characterized by effective rapid improvement, concentration on transformation, optimization and automation of all digital aspects allowing China to become a leader in the Information Age, with the help of its recently established space structures. The effective investment in technology over the last thirty years has allowed the tech sector to grow exponentially and in turn help China develop a more advanced society, based on that same space technology. Ultimately the Chinese Space Program will continue to improve itself and enhance the stature of China in Space, whilst acknowledging the necessary common effort to conquer the final frontier and let humanity reach the stars.

At the beginning of the reform in the PRC, which is associated with the Third Plenum of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) after the 9th Congress held in late 1978, began a new form of socialist development. In China it was called “Socialism with Chinese Characteristics“. Even then, the term “xiaokan” or more precisely “xiaokan shihui” (?? ??) actively entered party-state documents, as well as the public sphere in the PRC. The term “xiaokan” means “Moderately Prosperous Society”. The achievement of such a society became an important goal, the progress on which will be reported in 2021.

“One Belt – One Road” is a strategic logistics project that can become the infrastructure of the new international economic system. The Northern Sea Route can become an important part of it if technological, economic and political factors combine in its favor. The Northern Sea Route offers a number of advantages, especially for the transportion of bulk cargo. Its infrastructure is being built at an accelerated pace and has great potential for further development both in serving Russia’s trade with the Far East or/and in facilitating the transit between the Far East and Europe. This explains the great interest of China, which, through cooperation with Russia, can be involved in the struggle to distribute the benefits that the Arctic offers.

In this article Bulgarian-Chinese diplomatic relations are considered in the historical context of the 1960s, when the “indestructible Soviet-Chinese friendship” and the “solidarity” in the socialist camp still remained in the slogans from the 1950s. The increased interest the Chinese leaders expressed in the Balkans, especially after Romania and Albania distanced themselves from Kremlin policy, and Chinese “differentiated approach” tactics towards the countries of Eastern Europe, are traced in a chronological order, based on declassified archives of the State Security and confidential reports from the Bulgarian embassy in Beijing. This study pays special attention to the campaign against the “Chinese threat”, the “ideological treatment” of Bulgarian students in China, and the “stigmatization” of the Chinese Communist Party. The emphasis in this part of the study is on the “Chinese influence” in Bulgaria during this period. One of the most sensational trials in the 1960s – the trial against the group supporting Mao’s policies, the socalled “Gorunya Group”, which is associated with the most significant attempt at a coup against Todor Zhivkov, the only attempted military coup in the history of the Warsaw Pact, is discussed in the context of Sofia’s official pro-Soviet position, demonstrating its closest proximity to Moscow’s policy. The object of study in the third part of the article is the impact of the Cultural Revolution and the Beijing-Moscow confrontation on Bulgarian-Chinese relations. The conclusion summarizes the factors that led to the lack of government visits, the cessation of the cultural contacts and the educational exchange, the sharp decline in the bilateral trade, the recall of ambassadors and the freezing of bilateral relations at the highest state level.

Under the fifth generation of Chinese leadership led by President Xi Jinping, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) abandoned the low-profile strategy of ‘hiding one’s capabilities and biding one’s time’ and unveiled the ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), announced in 2013. In Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), however, a shift in Chinese foreign policy was noticeable as early as 2011 when the idea of intensified China-CEE cooperation was introduced. Yet, it was not until 2012, when Prime Minister Wen Jiabao declared the ‘Twelve Measures for Promoting Friendly Cooperation with CEE’, that Chinese regionalism in CEE was formalized under the ‘16+1’ Cooperation for Development Initiative. Observations on the existing literature and the format itself lead to a basic question: what are the driving factors of Chinese multilateral regionalism in CEE? The aim of this paper is to evaluate the economic, geopolitical and ideological reasons for launching the ‘17+1’ Initiative and BRI in the CEE region.

The article examines the models of local self-government in the two countries and compares them. Bulgaria has a one-tier local self-government, while in China the local self-government comprises several levels. In the two legal systems, the subordination, super ordination and coordination between local and central authorities are characterized by different degrees of dependence and intensity, which is the result of the historical development and the political systems of the states.

The purpose of this article is to draw a comparison between the Chinese and the Bulgarian name systems. The discussion is structured around the following aspects: Structural features of personal and family names; Origin of the surname; Form of the names; The influence of religion on personal names; Resources of proper nouns; Basic norms when choosing personal names; Geographical area of name distribution; Legal basis of the name system. The literature used is in Bulgarian and in Chinese.

The article aims to reveal the complex relationship between the two world superpowers. After Donald Trump entered the White House, there was a period of sharp deterioration of US – China relations. There was a radical change in American foreign policy – the strategic adversary changed. The Obama administration had seen Russia as its main foreign policy adversary. The Trump administration reassessed the situation and recognized China as the world’s leading power capable of challenging American global power. As a result of this shift, a number of global changes have taken place that will have a lasting impact on international architecture and global security.

The paper presents a few little-known facts about a 1959 visit to the PRC by Stoyan Raynov – one of the founders of modern Bulgarian ceramic art. The data from the artist’s personal archive is regarded as part of the bigger picture of the cultural and ideological exchange between Bulgaria and China in the 1950s. The paper focuses on two sites, visited by Stoyan Raynov during his time in Beijing – the “new” railway station and the Evergreen People’s Commune for Chinese-Bulgarian friendship and traces the development of the commune from its beginning to the 21st century, including Pat Nixon’s visit to the same people’s commune on 23 February 1972 and most recently the birth of the town of Sijiqing – the modern successor of the old commune.

The work of François Cheng – writer, poet, calligrapher, essayist, academician of Chinese origin and laureate of the French Francophone Academy is undoubtedly part of the cross-cultural literature at the end of the 20th- and the beginning of the 21st century, – a time when writers and poets from various – in this case Eastern – background, such as Yoko Tawada, Anna Moi, Amy Tan, Salman Rushdie and Haruki Murakami, have adopted the cross-cultural perspective of the migrant, the person who finds himself/herself in a context in which one begins to make sense of the living world by reading the foreign signs, comparing cultures and traditions, and translating the foreign culture in a particular way. The term “cross-cultural” literature will be used here in the sense that the writer and researcher G. Chkhartishvili associates with the new cultural phenomenon he calls “androgynous”, “East-Western literature” (Chkhartishvili, 1996). I argue that what is common to these artists is the rejection of the binary East – West model of culture, or, in Sánchez’ words, “the challenging of the bipolar models” (Sánchez 2014, p. 55), the rejection of barriers and boundaries, because the cultures placed on both sides of such barriers are perceived either in terms of their own essential characteristics, or in ways that go beyond the proposed divisions.

The beginning of the eighteenth century brought a shift in the general British attitude towards the Orient and specifically towards China. This change was gradual and did not become particularly conspicuous in travel accounts, works of fiction and other texts until the second half of the century but signs of it began to manifest themselves relatively early. Until the period of British Enlightenment the Middle Kingdom was regarded with general benevolence and approval. The paper focuses on some of the changes in this attitude during the eighteenth century.

Kunqu or Kun opera appeared and developed as a new kind of dramatic art during the Ming Dynasty (1368 – 1644). By the end of the 16th century it had occupied a central spot on the Chinese stage. Two centuries later it became one of the symbols of China and since 2001 it has been part of the UNESCO List of Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity. This paper discusses the emergence, development, symbolism and characteristic features of Kunqu such as roles, costumes, libretto, language, composition, examples of famous operas, makeup, music and dance.

Physical activity (PA) is crucial for one’s health. However, numerous studies have suggested a lack of sufficient PA among people of all ages, young adults especially. The following paper deals with the universities as a platform for promoting PA among students. It states that due to their long history, attractive nature and health benefits, Chinese martial arts could be integrated into universities curricular and extracurricular activities, hence, increasing young adults’ physical capacity.

With the development of economy and social culture, advertising has become an important and indispensable part of people’s daily life. The acceleration of economic globalization has made advertising more important in the promotion of brands and products. Advertising slogans as the core of advertising play a vital role. Slogans are influenced by social life, but also contain and reflect it. Therefore, studying the similarities and differences between the Chinese and the English advertising languages plays an important role in understanding the differences between cultures and in helping Chinese and English learners to better understand and integrate cultures. This article aims to compare the similarities and differences between Chinese and English advertisements. The discussion is divided into three main parts. In the first part the author briefly describes the similarities between the Chinese and the English advertising languages and the role they play in advertising. In the second part the author selects a cosmetics advertisement and analyzes the similarities and differences of the Chinese and the English advertising languages, focusing on the vocabulary, the sentences, and the rhetoric of the language. He also touches on the deep cultural factors. The third part is based on the cultural factors behind the differences between the Chinese and the English advertising languages to give suggestions to Chinese and English learners about how to integrate into the culture while learning a language.

Given the scarcity of research on tourist food preference, this study is a first attempt to generate in-depth understanding of Chinese tourists’ food preferences, related to the Bulgarian cuisine, in a culturally different environment by employing on-site participant observations and focus group interviews. It provides a detailed analysis of the motivational factors underlying the Chinese participants’ food preferences when holidaying in Bulgaria, and also proposes a typology that describes and contrasts the participants’ tourism dining attitudes, motivations and behaviors. Furthermore, this study elucidates the influence of Chinese food culture on the participants’ tourism dining behaviors and explores the disparities in dining behavioral patterns between the participants in terms of their dining motivations and the way they relate tourism dining experiences to their daily experiences.

The article traces the history of Beijing. The first records of a city that existed on the territory of contemporary Beijing date back to the Zhou Dynasty. This city was built around 1045 BC and was under the rule of many different dynasties – some Chinese, some foreign. Throughout history the city was built and destroyed many times. More than 20 names are known to have been given to the city, but only some are mentioned in this study. The article follows the historical data about the city from the Zhou Dynasty to the Ming and Qing Dynasties.