Conference Reports
Report from the 19th Pan-Asian Conference of Sports and Physical Education
28th April–1st May 2009, Chengdu, China1
For the 19th time researchers of the physical culture of Asia met at the conference
which was patronised by ‘The Asian Society of Sports and Physical Education and
The International Society of Eastern Sports and Physical Education’ and also by two
periodicals: ‘The Pan-Asian Journal of Sports and Physical Education’ (PAJSPE) and
‘The International Journal of Eastern Sports and Physical Education’ (IJESPE), the
leading Asian journal for the social sciences.
The meeting took place in Chengdu, a metropolis of over 10 million people and
the capital of the Chinese province – Sichuan. The organizers and the hosts of the
event were the two deans of China West Normal University: Professor Dr. Chen Ning
and Professor Dr. Shen Shi-Ming. The main conference coordinator was Professor Dr.
Lee Jong-Youg from South Korea, the leader of the above mentioned societies.
Apart from the many guests from China, Macao, Hong Kong, Chinese Taipei, the
Philippines, Iran, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia and Thailand, there were also a few
guests from Asia like Professor Magdy Abouzeid (Alexandria University, Egypt) and
John E. Saunders (Australian Catholic University, Australia), Wojciech J. Cynarski
(University of Rzeszow, Poland) and Jerzy Kosiewicz (University of Physical Education in Warsaw, Poland). Cynarski and Kosiewicz – co-workers of the aforementioned IJESPE were the only Europeans present during the conference in
Chengdu. These two Poles arrived in Chengdu (through Warsaw – Stockholm – Beijing) on 27th of April. They had the opportunity to visit the nearby Sport University.
The next day they were officially welcomed by the Dean of the China West Normal
University, Professor Chen Ning. In the evening of the 28th of April the welcome banquet was organized in a restaurant at the Qian Xi Hotel where they could taste Sichuan
cuisine. This hotel was also the centre of the conference deliberations.
On 19th of April at 8:30 a.m. the Opening Ceremony of the conference took place.
All seventy participants were welcomed by the organizers and representatives of the
government. The first morning session was presided over by Professor Saunders and
the first introductory lecture was delivered by Professor J. Kosiewicz. A former vicepresident of EASS and the president of the International Society for the Social Science
of Sport (ISSSS) presented a draft issue of ‘The Sociology of Sport in Europe: – Historical and Research Perspective’. He highlighted the main achievements and the development of the European sociology of sport. The next papers in the session were
delivered by Professor Tian Yu Pu (China), Professor Daljeet Singh (India), Professor
Ki Cheon Lee (South Korea), Professor Chen Ning (China), Professor Satoshi Shimizu
(Japan) and Professor Shu Weiping (China). In this round one of the most interesting
1 The work was carried out in relation with statutory activities, the Faculty of Physical Education
URWWF/S/09 Rzeszow University financed by the Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education.
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Conference Reports
sociological papers was by Singh: “Media Portrayals of Male and Female Athletes”, of
Shimizu: “The 1964 Tokyo Olympics and Politics in East Asia” and Chen Ning’s “Research in the Integrated Mode Constructing of Sports and Education in a Post-Era of
Beijing Olympics”.
The second Plenary Session was dedicated to the sporting traditions of Asia (from
the perspective of different areas) from cultural anthropology to sport pedagogy.
Among 16 works presented, the following deserve special attention:
1. “A Comparative Perspective on the Definition of Traditional Sports and
Games” – the analytical results of Jong Y. Lee and results of his Traditional
Sports Academy;
2. “Social Research of Far-Eastern Martial Arts in Poland” – by W. J. Cynarski – the assessment of Polish research achievements in the field of social
and cultural interpretation of martial arts;
3. “The Practice of Taichi and its Impact: The Angeles City Experience” – by
Joel G. Tubera from the Philippines (regarding taiji quan).
Presented in the afternoon session was a set of works concerning the biotechnical theory of sport, kinesiology and use of information technology. The last paper by Professor Xiao-Zheng entitled “The Comparison Between the East and West on the Study of
Leisure” was very interesting and original. The author stated that the Chinese are less
lazy than Westerners because they consider laziness as an offence against society,
which is why they train solidly for all sports.
In the evening the international editorial meeting of PAJSPE and IJESPE took
place which also constituted the Scientific Committee of the Conference. Professor
Lee, the leader of the meeting, said that the next conference and 20th Pan-Asian Congress would take place in Taipei in October 2009.
On the 30th of April a visit was planned to China West Normal University in Nanchong City and to the museum residence of the former Chinese political leader Deng
Xiao Ping in Guang’an in the province of Sichuan. All participants had a chance to
watch a biographical film about Deng Xiao Ping, the author of the economic success
of China. They also saw the old town of Chengdu and had a chance to buy some souvenirs, for example, cuddly pandas, the animal for which the province is famous – next
to Chengdu there is an unique reserve of large pandas.
The conference was well organized. It was a success for both participants and
hosts. This demonstrates that sport sciences in Asia have been developing dynamically
and that the scientific communities are becoming better organized and integrated. The
invitation of the representatives of humanistic sport from Poland was at the expense of
the organizers; the introductory paper of Professor Kosiewicz and the paper about the
study of martial arts in the Rzeszow centre were received with great interest. The
proposition of further scientific cooperation is evidence of the recognition of the Polish
participants.
Wojciech J. Cynarski
Faculty of Physical Education, University of Rzeszów, Poland