The academic subdivisions of the humanities in China are much the same as those in other countries around the world, but the scale of scholars and students, the research system, and the volume of publications are among the largest in the world. Using the existing humanities disciplines and their distribution as a guide, starting with the status of literature studies, history, philosophy, linguistics, archaeology, and other related fields, the eleven chapters of this report outline the development and trends of humanities scholarship and education in mainland China over the past thirty years.

We are releasing first Wang Hui’s general introduction to the subsequent chapters of Mainland China’s contribution to the World Humanities Report. These chapters, listed below, will be released in 2024.

 

ESSAYS

Introduction – The Past and Present of the Chinese Humanities

Chapter 1.1 – Classical Chinese Literature

Chapter 1.2 – Modern Chinese Literature

Chapter 1.4 – Ethnic Minority Literature in China

Chapter 1.5.1 – Foreign Literature in China: English and American

Chapter 1.5.2 – Foreign Literature in China: Russian and European

Chapter 1.5.3 – Foreign Literature in China: Japanese and Asian

Chapter 1.5.4 – Foreign Literature in China: African

Chapter 1.5.5 – Foreign Literature in China: Latin American

Chapter 4.1 – Aesthetics and Literary Developments in China

Chapter 4.2 – Art and Art History in Contemporary China

Chapter 5.1 – Comparative Literature and Cultural Studies in China

Chapter 5.2 – Journalism and Communication Studies in China

Chapter 7 – Unearthed Bamboo and Silk Documents and the Development of Chinese Humanities

Chapter 8.1 – The National Learning Revival in China

Chapter 8.2 – The Development of China’s Institutes for Advanced Studies

Chapter 8.3 – Digital Humanities in China, 1980–2020

Chapter 9.1 – Promoting Mandarin for China’s Economic and Social Development

Chapter 9.2 – Bilingual Education in Ethnic Minority Areas in China

Chapter 9.3 – The Expansion of Foreign Language Education in China

Chapter 9.4 – Education in and Development of Less Commonly Taught Languages in China

Chapter 9.5 – The Past, Present, and Future of Humanities General Education in Chinese Universities

Chapter 10 – National Humanities and Social Sciences Organizations and Institutions

Chapter 11.1 – Modern Chinese Language

Chapter 11.2 – Historical Chinese and Grammar Usage

Chapter 11.3 – Research on Chinese Writing Systems

Chapter 11.4 – Research on Chinese Dialects

Chapter 11.5 – Studies of Minority Nationality Languages

Chapters to be published

Chapter 3. Philosophy

1. Chinese Philosophy. Zhang Zhiqiang and Wang Zheng

2. Western Philosophy. Zhang Zhiqiang and Han Xiao

3. Religious Studies in China. Liu Guopeng, Chen Jinguo, and Ding Ruizhong