By Wang Yonghao
March 10, 2007, the inauguration ceremony of National Institute for Advanced Humanistic Studies ( IAHS for short) was held in the conference hall of Guanghua East Tower, Fudan University. Over 400 guests attended, among which were scholars from Japan, Europe, America, China Hong Kong and Taiwan, administrative heads of Shanghai Municipal Committee, Shanghai government, major publishing houses and media, Shanghai Museum and Shanghai Library, representatives from National Commission for Classics Editing & Research by Institutions of Higher Learning, the National Library, Zhonghua Book Company and other universities, and Fudan faculty and students.
Yan Shuang, vice secretary of the Party Committee, chaired the ceremony. Mr. Fang Jinggang, head of the Office of Liberal Arts Research, briefly introduced the planning and preparation efforts for the institute. Mr. Chen Xiaoman, vice president of Fudan University, declared the official founding of IAHS. Professor Qin Shaode, director of the Committee of University Administration, awarded to Professor Ge Zhaoguang the Letter of Appointment. Together they uncovered the sign plate for the institute, the same ceremony was done for Fudan Humanities Forum, by Cheng Peikai, director of the Centre of Chinese Culture, City University of Hong Kong, and Zhu Weizheng, professor of History in Fudan University. The newly appointed dean, Professor Ge Zhaoguang, gave a brief speech on the current research directions of IAHS and expressed his opinion and blueprint about future development, from the perspective of academic history. Professor Nicolas Standaert, dean of the Department of Chinese Studies, University of K. U. Leuven, Belgium, and Professor An Pingqiu, director of National Commission for Classics Editing & Research by Institutions of Higher Learning, gave congratulatory speeches. In conclusion, Professor Qin Shaode addressed to all the guests and concluded.
Fudan University had always been predominant in liberal arts, esp. the disciplines of Chinese literature, history and philosophy, which in turn made crucial contribution to the university in its endeavor to achieve world class excellence. It is under this circumstance that Fudan University made its decision to establish IAHS, an institute which will aim at the forefront of traditional humanities studies, seek more efficient synergy of existing disciplinal and faculty resources, and make concrete achievement in promoting the overall competitiveness of Fudan humanities.
Much novelty appears in the configuration and administration of IAHS, compared with the other 6 innovation bases in Fudan University. The institute set up an Academic Board, an International Panel for Review and Evaluation and an Executive Committee. The Academic Board, which is made up of 11 scholars from both at home and abroad, is responsible for mapping out the strategic goals of academic development, deciding on and formulating topics for research and examining and appraising the fruits thereof and assisting in vetting the qualifications of the research staff. The International Panel for Review and Evaluation, which consists of six scholars from overseas as well as China, will make annual reviews and appraisals of the work of the institute and on that basis make suggestions for improvement. The 5-member Executive Committee, including the director and the vice-director and some distinguished scholars, will take charge of coordinating the administrative side of the institute's duties, improving work relationships with the many colleges and departments at the university and seeing to the day-to-day affairs relating to academic work and academic exchange. In addition, there are a number of work groups for different areas of research work.
As an easy-access and open type of platform for research work, the institute will open its door to scholars of different backgrounds that engage in different fields of study in humanities. The institute will also dedicate itself to the advancement of scholarship, to enlivening the atmosphere for scholarly pursuits, to fostering integrity and probity in intellectual work and among intellectuals, and to expediting cross-disciplinal communication among humanities scholars and Chinese cultural studies in a world perspective.
The institute will sponsor research on: 1. Research on unearthed materials and data and the collection and compilation of ancient texts; 2. Giving new interpretations to ancient Chinese culture; 3. Investigating the evolution of Chinese society, literature, history, religion, philosophy, etc. into its respective modern version.
Furthermore, it highlights studies on: 1. China in the eyes of her neighboring countries and regions. This refers to the study of the heritage of China and her traditional culture in the light of textual materials and data in different languages in cultural regions adjacent to China. 2. Critical understanding of international Chinese studies. Herein lies our hope to understand the approaches and achievements of Chinese studies in other countries in their respective non-Chinese context so as to lead to a better understanding of the similarities and differences between non-Chinese approaches and their Chinese counterparts. 3. Intermixed cultural history. Herein lies our hope of making empirical studies of ancient texts, historical incidents, personages, etc. relating to cultural exchange between China and her neighbors and of adumbrating our respective awareness of the issues involved in the study of cultural history. 4. China image: the study of graphic and textual materials. This is an area wherein achieving an understanding and data-collection are of equal importance and whereby we hope to build a data bank of textual and graphic materials about China from non-Chinese sources with which to study how China and other countries have looked at each other in history and the changes that have occurred in the historical process.
In addition, the institute will engage in the following activities: 1. Launching the Bulletin of the Fudan Institute for Advanced Humanistic Studies ( a quarterly publication ); 2. Publishing Collected Papers of the Fudan Institute for Advanced Humanistic Studies ( annually or semi-annually ); 3. Publishing the Fudan Humanities Series which include a series consisting of specialized studies and one of textual work on documentary data— all these for making known the latest achievements in humanities studies and in textual work, in cooperation with publishing houses; 4. Sponsoring or co-sponsoring with other Chinese or foreign institutions international conferences on specialized subjects relating to the study of humanities; 5. Establishing Fudan Humanities Forum and invite distinguished scholars domestic and overseas to give series of lectures on cutting-edge developments in humanities studies.
Adhering to the principle of academic freedom and open-mindedness, the institute will seek to establish contacts with scholars of like interest in the study of humanities in other parts of China and overseas, to help create a congenial and wholesome atmosphere in research work in this field and to help build up new models in such pursuits. For this reason, both the Collected Papers and the Specialized Studies Series in the Fudan Humanities Series will open their doors to the outside world and accept contributions on the basis of anonymous review. Contributors need not be on the staff of the institute or be research fellows, and their research need not be limited to traditional Chinese studies. Rather, the institute would extend its vision to include East Asia and other adjacent cultural regions and accept not only research papers based on specialized study but also articles presenting and summarizing information on the latest developments in different fields of relevant study.
The institute will also assume the role of training scholars of a high level and calibre. Currently facilities are made ready to accept scholars at the postdoctoral level who can come and do relevant research at the institute. At the same time, working in cooperation with the Department of Chinese, the Department of History, the Department of Philosophy, etc. of Fudan University, the institute runs doctoral degree programs for graduate students.
At present, the institute has decided on a list of research areas and topics. Pursuant to the "Management Procedures for Bases for Original and Innovative Work in Philosophy and Social Science of Fudan University", these research areas and topics should be made a common open arena for academia worldwide, and applicants will only be selected according to the vote by the Academic Board and the International Review Panel.
On the ceremony, the university administrative heads had pinned earnest expectation on IAHS, hoping it can start with an essentially international or global vision, respect but not confined by traditions, pursue yet not follow blindly after new academic directions. The institute was expected to exploit new ways of studying Chinese culture from different visual angles, and actively participate in international academic cooperation to present to the world precise annotations of Chinese culture, gaining the say-so that should have been born to all Chinese people.