The Asian World Center, an academic research institute at Creighton University, hosted a week-long series of educational events covering art, music, politics and culture. 

Director at the AWC and Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science and International Relations, Maorong Jiang was the primary organizer of the events. 

“Taking courses with Dr. Jiang has cemented my interest and encouraged me to explore these topics in great detail,” senior in the College of Arts and Sciences, Bridget McManamon said. 

“Dr. Jiang definitely deserves major recognition for organizing all of the incredible events and shining a light on Asian issues and perspectives on Creighton’s campus.” 

The week started off in the Skutt Student Center where Jiang stood beside Wang Yipei, an accomplished writer, poet and researcher who would later be featured as the keynote speaker during a Tuesday night presentation. 

The pair drew attention to the upcoming week, inviting students and faculty to engage in the events. 

They stood behind a table that displayed copies of Yipei’s book, “The Unearthly Temple,” in which he detailed the photos that were displayed across Skutt’s art gallery all week and the stories from his journey that accompany them. 

The preface of his book reads in part: “Looking back. Those old towns submerged in the Yangtze River come up to the surface of the water one after another. They are my home of spirit and emotion — my Unearthly Temple.” 

The next day Yipei gave the keynote presentation in Mandarin which was translated to English for the audience. Students and professors from different departments, nationalities and races were able to learn from him at this time. 

“I think it is extremely important for students of all majors and disciplines to explore Asian Studies because we are truly living in the ‘Asian Century,’ in which the region is growing significantly in power, relevance and global influence,” McManamon said. “In the coming years, it will be essential to have knowledge of Asian language, culture and politics in order to gain employment and compete on the global stage.” 

Yipei spent eleven years collecting fairytales, folk songs, and stories of village people before the area was flooded by the Three Gorges Dam. 

“Those are stories about life […] if I don’t collect them, nobody will,” Yipei said. 

Yipei made the case that if the perspectives of local people were taken into consideration the dam would not have been built and we could have avoided this environmental and cultural devastation. 

“A healthy society has many different voices,” Yipei said. 

This 11 year dedication was sparked by an infamous historic event. Yipei witnessed the Tiananmen Square Massacre when he was 27 years old and a student at People’s University. He claims to have been the last person there. 

This experience fueled his passion of finding a cause that he could dedicate his life’s research to. 

At the end of Yipei’s presentation, the audience spoke of their admiration of his work. 

The AWC events carried on throughout the week all over campus, including presentations on the Ukraine crisis from an Asian studies perspective, a guest lecture on the success of Asian-Americans, a Japanese Tea Ceremony, and a final dinner and discussion on the film “American Factory” at the end of the week.