The Lectureship was officially launched on 3 November 2025, at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. The officiating guests included Ms. Lillian Kiang, Chief Executive Officer of Bei Shan Tang Foundation that has been generously supporting the development of the Digital Studies in Chinese Culture over the past years. The welcoming remarks was delivered by Prof. Max Xiaobing Tang, Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Director of ICS, followed by an introductory speech from Prof. Lai Chi Tim, Executive Associate Director of ICS. In the first lecture, titled “Deconstruction, Reconstruction, and Multiple Contexts: The Digitization and Use of Chinese Classics”, Prof. Hsiang argued that while Chinese classics have been digitized since the 1980s, most applications remain limited to “keyword searches”. He emphasized that system design must evolve to reconstruct the deep “context” of texts.

The second lecture took place on 7 November 2025, entitled “Historical Archives and Digital Humanities Research”, in which Prof. Hsiang demonstrated multi-contextual analysis using the Qing dynasty archives and the Taiwan History Digital Library (THDL). His analysis proved that even with unevenly digitized materials, appropriate methodologies can reconstruct historical details and offer new research perspectives.

Both lectures were conducted in a hybrid mode, attracting over 200 participants, including scholars, students from local and overseas institutions, as well as members of the public. Bridging his background in computer science with a deep concern for the humanities, Prof. Hsiang presented a new academic landscape advancing from “database retrieval” to “knowledge reconstruction”. The series concluded with a vibrant Q&A session, sparking enthusiastic discussions on the future interpretation and application of digital archives.