The Thirteenth Graduate Seminar on China (GSOC 2017) (4–8 January)

To encourage academic exchange among young scholars and broaden their horizons, the Universities Service Centre for China Studies and CUHK-Chiang Ching Kuo Foundation Asia-Pacific Centre for Chinese Studies co-organised the Thirteenth Graduate Seminar on China (GSOC) from 4 to 8 January 2017. Forty-one PhD candidates were selected to participate in the conference and present their research papers. Keynote lectures were given by Professor Deborah Davis, Dr Lin Ying (林穎) and Professor Andrew Walder. Please find more details at http://www.usc.cuhk.edu.hk/activities/gsoc-2017.

Academic Lecture: Professor Helen F. SIU, "Tracing China: A Forty Year Ethnographic Journey" (5 January)

On 5 January, Professor Helen F. SIU of the Department of Anthropology at Yale University presented the talk "Tracing China: A Forty-Year Ethnographic Journey", which was followed by a discussion with guest speaker Professor CHING May Bo, Professor of History at the Department of Chinese and History at the City University of Hong Kong. The talk was hosted by Professor LEUNG Yuen Sang, Director of the Institute of Chinese Studies. The lecture room was full, with more than 100 people attending.

The Cultural Revolution 50th Anniversary International Conference (8 January)

The international forum on the Cultural Revolution "Learn from History: Discussions on Cultural Revolution by Scholars from China and Abroad" was held on 8 January, the last day of The Graduate Seminar on China 2017. Twelve scholars were invited to speak at the conference. All of the activities, including the keynote lectures, presentations and discussions, were open to the public to foster a better understanding of developments in contemporary China and to encourage the exchange of ideas.

Chen Kai-wen Lectureship in Modern Chinese History (17 January)

The First Chen Kai-wen Lectureship in Modern Chinese History was held in mid-January. Participants included Professor ZHANG Kaiyuan, a renowned historian and the former principal of Central China Normal University, and Professor ZHU Ying, Director of the Institute of Chinese Modern History at Central China Normal University, in addition to Vice-Chancellor Professor Joseph J. Y. SUNG, who presented his welcome notes. The role the Research Centre for Contemporary Chinese Culture played in the studies of modern Chinese history at ICS was greatly appreciated. In addition to ICS Director Professor LEUNG Yuen Sang, Associate Professor LAI Chi Tim and Assistant Director Dr YU Kwok Leung, other participants in the event included Professor KING Yeo Chi Ambrose, Dr CHEN Fong Ching, Professor LAI Ming Chiu and Professor David FAURE from CUHK, Professor Angela KC LEUNG from HKU, Professor HUANG Ko Wu and CHEN Yung Fa from Academia Sinica, Taiwan and Professor LAM Kai Yin from HK Baptist University. 

Professor ZHANG spoke on the topic of "Idealism and Reality – SUN Yat-Sen's Dream of Asia" in Cho Yiu Hall, and Professor ZHANG and Professor ZHU participated in a dialogue on "Cultural Crisis and Humanity Recovery" and "Professor ZHANG Kaiyuan and His Study of Modern Chinese History". The dialogue was hosted by Professor LEUNG Yuen Sang, Director of the Institute of Chinese Studies.

The Chen Kai-wen Lectureship in Modern Chinese History was supported by the Chen Kai-wen Memorial Fund, which was established by Dr CHEN Fong Ching, the former director of the Institute of Chinese Studies, to memorialise his father, Mr CHEN Kai-wen. The aim of the fund is to promote research and education on modern Chinese history.

Opening Ceremony and Exhibition Details of of Yazhang and Early China: Exhibition of the Origin of Chinese Civilisation  (7 February – 30 March)

The Centre for Chinese Archaeology and Art, the Department of History, Huaituhui and the CASS-CUHK Chinese Archaeology Joint Research Base conducted the exhibition "Yazhang and Early China: Exhibition of the Origin of Chinese Civilisation" at G/F, Lobby of the Art Museum East Wing, CUHK to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Institute of Chinese Studies at CUHK and the 110th anniversary of the birth of Professor Cheng Te-k'un. The opening ceremony was held on Tuesday, 7 February 2017. The officiating guests included Vice-Chancellor Professor Joseph J. Y. Sung, Mr and Mrs Graham Cheng, Director of ICS Professor Leung Yuen-sang and Chairperson of the Department of History Professor Lai Ming Chiu.

 

The exhibition was held at the G/F Lobby, Art Museum East Wing, Institute of Chinese Studies, CUHK from February 7th to March 30th. China provides a significant case study for the development of nation states and political systems in human history. The distribution map presented illustrates an incipient stage of the political world order of early China in the 2nd millennium BC. The regions in which yazhangs have been found shared an ideology similar to state politics, including a political language manifested in their shared material culture.