On October 17, Tsinghua University held a celebration marking 100 years of Chinese Language and Literature, History and Philosophy at Tsinghua University, together with the Tsinghua Humanities Forum, in the Auditorium. Attendees included Qiu Yong, secretary of the CPC Tsinghua University Committee; Li Luming, president of Tsinghua University; Kang Zhen, vice president of Beijing Normal University; Xie Shi, vice president of Sun Yat-sen University; Dominic Sachsenmaier, former dean of the Faculty of the Humanities at the University of Göttingen, Germany; Wan Junren, Distinguished Professor of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences at Tsinghua University and founding dean of its School of Humanities; and Johan van Benthem, Jin Yuelin Chair Professor and professor in the Department of Philosophy at Tsinghua University. Peng Gang, vice president of Tsinghua University, presided over the event.
Venue of the conference
Qiu Yong extended a warm welcome to the guests attending the event on behalf of the University and offered his sincere congratulations to the faculty, staff, students, and alumni of the Department of Chinese Language and Literature, the Department of History, and the Department of Philosophy. He noted that Tsinghua University’s disciplines of Chinese language and literature, history and philosophy have a rich historical legacy. Looking back over the past century, he said that when these departments were first established, China was undergoing turbulent changes. Tsinghua’s scholars in these fields pursued scholarship that transcended boundaries of time and culture, bringing together leading scholars and nurturing outstanding talent. They made important contributions to China’s academic independence. During the war-torn years, the humanities disciplines at National South-West Associated University upheld the spirit of fortitude and excellence, sustaining the intellectual traditions of modern Chinese humanities research and contributing cultural strength to the building of a modern nation. Following the subsequent restructuring and reestablishment of university departments, Tsinghua’s disciplines of Chinese language and literature, history and philosophy carried forward the University’s rich humanistic tradition while emphasizing the integration of science and the humanities, forging a distinctive path of development. In the new era of renewal and transformation, these disciplines have fostered fresh approaches to scholarship through dialogue between tradition and modernity and pioneered new thinking through exchanges between China and the world. They have become widely recognized as a leading center for humanities research and talent development.
Qiu emphasized that over the past century, Tsinghua’s disciplines of Chinese language and literature, history and philosophy had remained committed to the spirit of continually renewing the humanities. Upholding a cultural tradition and educational approach characterized by “integrating Chinese and Western cultures, linking ancient and modern traditions, bridging the arts and sciences,” they have opened new theoretical horizons through independent thinking and drawn on their rich intellectual heritage to nurture outstanding talent. Amid profound transformations of the times, they maintain a vision spanning millennia and across the world, demonstrating a commitment to enriching the spiritual life of the nation and advancing human civilization. Looking ahead to the next century, Qiu expressed his hope that the School of Humanities would take China and the times as its points of reference, advance innovation in knowledge, theory, and methodology, and actively explore new models of humanities education for the age of intelligence. He called on the School to contribute to China’s development into a leading country in culture with a stronger sense of responsibility and more proactive engagement. He stressed the need to accelerate the development of leading scholars with global influence and foster a world-class academic environment and culture. He noted the importance of fulfilling the fundamental mission of fostering virtue and nurturing talent by continually cultivating outstanding individuals with a solid theoretical grounding and a deep appreciation of the humanities. He called for promoting theoretical innovation and academic flourishing, producing scholarly work that integrates the past and present, and bridges China and the wider world. He also urged efforts to strengthen its academic leadership and international influence, striving to become a hub for cultural exchange and mutual learning among civilizations. He further called for upholding and strengthening the Party’s overall leadership and using high-quality Party building to steer high-quality development. By letting the flourishing humanities nourish the light of civilization, he said, Tsinghua’s humanities disciplines should write a new chapter in the historic journey toward building a great country and achieving national rejuvenation.
In his remarks, Kang Zhen said that throughout its hundred-year history, Tsinghua's humanities disciplines have been deeply involved—with the down-to-earth diligence of "treading step by step on solid soil"—in the founding, transformation, and innovative development of modern Chinese academia and culture. Beijing Normal University and Tsinghua University share longstanding ties, and scholars in the humanities at the two universities have maintained close bonds and worked in concert over the past century. He expressed the hope that the two universities would carry forward their intellectual traditions, embrace their responsibilities, and work together to usher in a new era for China’s humanities on the new journey toward Chinese modernization.
Xie Shi said that Tsinghua’s historical scholarship had consistently embraced the vision of “integrating Chinese and Western cultures and linking ancient and modern traditions”, helping to establish the foundations and set the standards for modern Chinese historiography. The historical scholarship of Sun Yat-sen University and Tsinghua University shared a strong affinity, and in recent years the two universities had achieved encouraging results in talent development, collaborative research, and other areas. From this new starting point, he hoped that the history departments of the two universities would work together to build an even brighter future.
Dominic Sachsenmaier hoped that Tsinghua’s humanities disciplines, with their century-long heritage, would develop an even broader global perspective and promote the flourishing of the humanities worldwide through openness and inclusiveness, exceptional wisdom, boundless curiosity, and fearless academic courage.
Wan Junren emphasized that the humanities remained indispensable in the age of artificial intelligence. AI, he noted, could not undermine the humanistic spirit and moral values that underpin human civilization and culture. He hoped that, having reached its centenary, Tsinghua’s humanities disciplines would forge new paths and reach new heights in an uncertain world.
Johan van Benthem fondly recalled his interactions with faculty and students and his experiences in teaching and research since becoming associated with Tsinghua’s humanities disciplines. He described these disciplines as a window open to the world, connecting scholars from diverse cultural backgrounds. He hoped that Tsinghua’s humanities would continue to thrive and illuminate the world.
Donation ceremony for treasured items belonging to University’s distinguished scholars of the past
At the donation ceremony for treasured items belonging to distinguished scholars of the past, Li Luming presented commemorative plaques to representatives of their descendants, including Li Xiu, daughter of Li Guangtian; Liang Hong, granddaughter of Liang Qichao; Zhu Xiaotao, grandson of Zhu Ziqing; Wang Danying, maternal grandson of Wen Yiduo; and Peng Mu, maternal granddaughter of Pu Jiangqing.
Gu Tao, dean of Tsinghua University’s School of Humanities, and Wang Bo, former vice president of Peking University, moderated the Tsinghua Humanities Forum. The forum explored topics including opportunities for the development of the humanities in the age of artificial intelligence. Keynote addresses were delivered by Tsinghua University Chair Professor and academician Shing-Tung Yau, director of the Yau Mathematical Sciences Center and dean of Qiuzhen College, and Andreas Kemmerling, professor in the Faculty of Philosophy at Heidelberg University, Germany. The forum also featured discussions by Chen Pingyuan, Boya Chair Professor and professor in the Department of Chinese Language and Literature at Peking University; Michelle Mi-Hsi Yeh, distinguished professor in the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures at the University of California, Davis; Chen Shaoming, professor in the Department of Philosophy at Sun Yat-sen University; and Brian Young, former dean of Christ Church, University of Oxford, UK.
Nearly 600 people attended the event, including former university leaders, descendants of distinguished scholars, donors, guests from peer universities, research institutions, and partner companies, alumni from China and abroad, faculty, staff, and student representatives from the School of Humanities, and heads of relevant university departments and administrative offices.
A series of events took place on October 17 and 18, including the Tsinghua Chinese Studies Tradition Forum and the launch of Shuimu Jixi: An Anthology of a Century of Chinese Studies at Tsinghua; an alumni forum for the Department of Chinese Language and Literature; a forum on history teaching and research in the age of artificial intelligence; an academic forum on Tsinghua University and Chinese historiography in the 20th century; and a forum on philosophical education and the development of philosophy as an academic discipline.
Editors: Li Han, John Paul Grima
