Yangtze as Actor: Religion, ldentity, and the Rights of Rivers (Xinyue Lau – China)

Event series International Talks

The International Talks always take place during the semester. Always online. Always discussion format. Always socially relevant, international topics. The format includes an impulse with discussion, in which the participants can take part via chat. The talks get a special dynamic through the moderation of different experts. The International Talks are open to all students, colleagues and interested persons, especially including international students.

Yangtze as Actor: Religion, ldentity, and the Rights of Rivers (Xinyue Lau – China), 23th of April, 2026, 6 pm – 7:30 pm

My doctoral research on the Yangtze River originated from a comparative curiosity. The Ganges River, revered in Hinduism as the embodiment of the goddess Ganga with purifying and salvific powers, invites the faithful to bathe in its waters. In New Zealand, the Whanganui River is regarded in Mäori tradition as a living ancestor. These worldviews have profoundly influenced modern approaches to river protection, inspiring debates about granting rivers legal personhood. In contrast, the Yangtze often called China’s „Mother River“ does not appear to carry such explicit religious connotations in contemporary discourse. This contrast led me to several questions: ls there a religious dimension to the Yangtze River? How does the river shape the identities of the communities along its banks? And could the Yangtze, too, be imagined as a legal subject?

Speaker

Xinyue Lau (M.A.) is a PhD student in the Study of Religions at the University of Göttingen, Germany. Originally from China, she completed her Master’s degree in Intercultural Theology at the University of Göttingen and the University of Applied Sciences for lntercultural Theology in 2020. Since 2021, her research has focused on human-river relationships along the Yangtze River, with particular attention to its religious and cultural dimensions.

Participation

All Talks will be realized as videoconference.

Certificats

Available on request

Zoom-Link