Peking University holds the 10th Anniversary of International Academy of Chinese Studies
Nov 12, 2019
Peking University, November 5, 2019: On the afternoon of November 2, the 10th Anniversary of the PKU International Academy of Chinese Studies (IACS) was held in the Daya Hall at Peking University. It was also the launching ceremony of the PKU Sinology Library. On the ceremony, the participants who concern about the sinology development, including famous sinologists, scholars and government officials, reflected upon the achievements of IACS in the last 10 years and shared their expectations for the future.
On the ceremony
PKU International Academy of Chinese Studies (IACS) is a high-level academic institution established by Peking University with the approval of Hanban (Confucius Institute Headquarters) in August 2009. IACS is dedicated to promoting academic and cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries, helping foreign Sinologists continuously study Chinese culture, and building a solid academic foundation for international Chinese education.
Since the establishment of IACS, more than ten famous scholars have served as Daiyatang Lecture professors. They not only conducted special and academic research but also opened more than ten postgraduate courses at PKU. Apart from this, IACS has also accepted 170 sinologists from 30 countries as visiting scholars, who come to Peking University for research, lecture or further education.
Daya Hall (Base of IACS)
Professor Michael Loewe, British sinologist Professor David L. McMullen, British sinologist
Professor Andrew H. Plaks, American sinologist Professor Léon Vandermeersch French sinologist
Until now, IACS has organized a total of 136 international sinology lectures and academic reports, as well as a series of international academic seminars, such as the International Sinology Translators Conference.
International Sinology Translators Conference (2014)
In order to promote cooperation between Chinese and foreign scholars and integrate the resources of international Sinology research, IACS has planned and organized a series of major studies such as the study of Marco Polo and that of East Asian Chinese books.
IACS also committed to promoting the translation of Chinese traditional classics and excellent academic works. The most prominent project is the Transformation Series of A History of Chinese Civilization. This book has been translated into English, Japanese, Korean, and Serbian versions. The Russian, Hungarian and Hindi versions are also in progress. All of the versions translated by foreign first-class sinologists and published by academic journals have great overseas influences, which introduce Chinese culture to many parts of the world.
A History of Chinese Civilization, the Japanese version
In addition, IACS hosts the publication of two academic journals - the International Sinology Research Newsletter and the Journal of Chinese Literature & Culture (JCLC).
Journal of Chinese Literature & Culture（JCLC）
At present, to meet the research needs of visiting scholars and the implementation of international cooperation projects, IACS has established the Sinology Library, and entered a large number of Chinese and foreign academic works, including the latest Chinese studies by European, American and Japanese scholars, with a collection approaching 43,000 volumes.
Sinology Library
In the first ten years, IACS has made great contributions to the development of international Sinology. At the same time, IACS also needs more scholars to support its research projects. Just as the director of IACS, Professor Yuan Xingpei said, in addition to consulting and learning from the older generation of sinologists, IACS should explore and support more young and middle-aged scholars, strengthen the exchanges between countries, and cultivate the backbone of international Sinology research.
Professor Yuan Xingpei delivering the speech
Written by: Yan Congcong
Edited by: Wang Nini
Source: PKU News (Chinese)
