Shaolin Without Borders: Assemblage, Adaptation and the Politics of Culture in China–Zambia Relations

Key findings from this study

• The study found that the Zambia Shaolin Cultural Center operates as an evolving assemblage where multiple actors negotiate and adapt practices rather than implementing state directives.
• The researchers demonstrate that diverse participants—including state representatives, practitioners, and local communities—co-create cultural meaning through ongoing collaboration and transformation.
• The authors propose that soft power frameworks inadequately capture the relational, heterogeneous, and fluid dynamics characterizing transnational Chinese cultural engagement in Africa.

Overview

This study challenges state-centric interpretations of Chinese cultural engagement abroad by examining the Zambia Shaolin Cultural Center (ZSCC) as a complex, collaborative assemblage. The research conceptualizes the center not as a unidirectional instrument of state soft power, but as an evolving entity where diverse actors negotiate meaning and adapt practices. The study emphasizes the heterogeneous, fluid, and relational dynamics characterizing China–Africa cultural and religious encounters.

Methods and approach

The researcher conducted fieldwork observation and semi-structured interviews to investigate ZSCC operations. Assemblage thinking provided the analytical framework, enabling examination of how disparate actors, institutions, and cultural elements interact and co-create outcomes. This approach privileges relationality and adaptation over institutional hierarchy or top-down directives.

Results

The ZSCC functions as an evolving assemblage rather than a static institutional structure. Multiple actors—including state representatives, Shaolin practitioners, Zambian participants, and local communities—actively shape the center's operations through ongoing negotiation and adaptation. Cultural and religious practices undergo transformation as participants integrate local contexts, generating hybrid forms distinct from both Chinese and Zambian origin contexts.

Implications

The assemblage framework reveals limitations in soft power analysis when applied to transnational cultural institutions. State actors participate within broader configurations of agency rather than maintaining unilateral control. This reframing has methodological significance for scholars studying Chinese cultural initiatives globally, necessitating attention to non-state actors and emergent, collaborative processes.

The study's findings suggest that cultural engagement produces outcomes not reducible to policy objectives or institutional mandates. Adaptation and negotiation among heterogeneous participants generate unpredictable cultural forms and social meanings. Such complexity undermines narratives of seamless cultural transmission or instrumental state projection.

The ZSCC case demonstrates that China–Africa relations encompass collaborative production of culture rather than unidirectional dissemination. This perspective enriches understanding of transnational religious and cultural flows, highlighting agency and creativity among African participants. Future research should examine similar assemblages to map the diversity of Chinese cultural engagement across African contexts.

Scope and limitations

This summary is based on the study abstract and available metadata. It does not include a full analysis of the complete paper, supplementary materials, or underlying datasets unless explicitly stated. Findings should be interpreted in the context of the original publication.