My passion for Chinese art and culture: Italian Sinologist

Marco Meccarelli takes a photo on Tunxi Old Street in Huangshan city, East China's Anhui province, on July 17, 2016. The Anhui trip was part of the 2016 Visiting Program for Young Sinologists. [Photo/Chinaculture.org]

This experience has been incorporated into a monograph on archaeological China (Antica Cina), published by Archeo magazine (September 2014).

I also had the chance to contribute to progress in my field of research through specialized schools in Oriental Archaeology (2005) and a PhD (2010) in the history and civilization of Oriental Asia (Sapienza University of Rome).

In my field of research, considering the different cultural and artistic characteristics of Chinese and Western art, my focus is aimed at the characteristics of several stages in Chinese art and expounds the importance, consciousness and strategy of cross fertilization from the perspective of globalization.

In 2011 I wrote the first monograph in Italian on the history of Chinese photography. A dense and ancient network of contacts and exchanges combined and joined China with the West – and photography too, since its inception, has contributed to the consolidation of the dialogue that was established.

Currently, I'm teaching Chinese culture at the University of Catania, faculty of Modern Languages and Literature. My course aims to promote an awareness of Chinese culture and link all students interested in China or a future career related to it.

I always explore the differences and similarities between China and the West in terms of history. The course's goal is to gather an array of international studies to identify the encounter between China and the West from both cultural and theoretical points of view.

All these experiences broadened my horizons and made me appreciate diversity and the uniqueness of the artistic cross fertilization between Chinese and Western art.