The Jao Tsung-I Institute of Culture Studies at Shenzhen University was established in December 2016 as a relatively independent research entity. Named in honor of the renowned master of Chinese studies, Professor Jao Tsung-I, the Institute is an interdisciplinary academic institution that integrates culture, philosophy, history, literature, arts, and regional studies. Its mission is to align with global academic trends and meet national development needs. It focuses on promoting dialogue among world civilizations, advancing Jao studies, and supporting the humanistic and cultural heritage and intercultural communication of the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area. It also plays an active role in talent cultivation, policy consultation, and promotion of cultural knowledge.
The Institute is committed to becoming a world-class humanities research institution with an international vision and influence. It has invited many internationally renowned scholars as full-time and part-time professors, as well as academic advisors. These include Leon Vandermeersch, Member of the Institut de France and former Director of the French School of the Far East, distinguished Sinologist; Yue Daiyun, former Vice President of the International Comparative Literature Association and Professor at Peking University; Chung-Ying Cheng, a representative figure of the " Third-Generation Neo-Confucianism," renowned philosopher, and Tenured Professor of Philosophy at the University of Hawai’i; Lou Yulie, former Vice President of the Chinese Academy of Religious Studies and Professor at Peking University; Yang Shuzi, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and former President of Huazhong University of Science and Technology; Charles Willemen, Lifelong Member of the Belgian Royal Academy of Sciences and world-renowned scholar of Buddhism; Amamura Yuiji, renowned Japanese Sinologist; Pan Lusheng, Vice Chairman of China Federation of Literature and Chairman of the Chinese Folk Literature and Art Association; Tao Siyan, Researcher of the China Central Institute for Culture and History.
The Institute has assembled a team of interdisciplinary scholars whose research covers culture, philosophy, literature, history, arts, and regional studies. The founding director, Professor Liu Hongyi, is a Senior Professor of Humanities and Social Sciences at Shenzhen University, chief expert of the major projects of the Central Marxist Theory Research and Construction Project, chief expert of the major projects of the National Social Science Fund, special allowance expert of the State Council, and former Vice President of the Chinese Comparative Literature Association (12th and 13th terms). The Institute’s research team, primarily composed of young scholars from prestigious universities in China and abroad, has established a rich and innovative platform that promotes interdisciplinary research.
The Institute has also formed an Academic Committee, appointing Professor Pan Lusheng as its director, with a number of well-known scholars serving as members. It has implemented various management policies, including the Administrative Guidelines of the Jao Tsung-I Institute of Culture Studies at Shenzhen University and the Institute Council Meeting System. It also regularly organizes academic, teaching, and administrative activities.
Since its founding, the Institute has achieved notable progress in scientific research, talent development, platform building, and cultural exchange. In 2016, it became a member of the Jao Link and was designated as an important research base for humanities and social sciences in Shenzhen and a Lingnan culture research base in Guangdong Province. It currently hosts one major project under the Central Marxist Theory Research and Construction Project, one major project under the National Social Science Fund, four projects under the National Social Science Fund, and eight provincial and ministerial-level projects.
The Institute has published the first series of the Civilization Synthesis Series, including Cultural Traces in Sino-Foreign Exchanges by Jao Tsung-I, Glimpses of Chinese Culture by Leon Vandermeersch, Essays on Chinese and Western Philosophy by Chung-Ying Cheng, A History of German-French Philosophical Exchange by Gao Xuanyang, and Essentials of the Jewish Culture by Liu Hongyi. Other publications include Cultural Innovation and Interdisciplinary Cultural Studies and Civilization Overview and Studies in Cultural Innovation. The Institute has published over 60 high-level academic papers in prestigious journals such as Philosophical Research, History of Chinese Philosophy, Philosophical Trends, Foreign Literary Studies and Comparative Literature in China, Chinese Studies in History, and Xinhua Digest. It has submitted over 10 policy advisory reports to national and provincial-level agencies. The Institute has organized 28 sessions of the “Jao Tsung-I Lecture Series”, inviting distinguished scholars such as Prof. Lee Chack Fan, Dr. Cheng Wai Ming, Prof. Tao Siyan, Charles Willemen, Amamura Yuiji, and Léon Vandermeersch. It has also hosted two editions of the “Jao Tsung-I International Cultural Forum”, high-level academic conferences that attracted experts, scholars, students from institutions across Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan, as well as representatives from the business sector. These lecture series and forums have become internationally influential platforms for academic exchange. A new Civilization Synthesis Youth Book Series reflecting the achievements of the Institute’s younger scholars is soon to be published by the Commercial Press. In recent years, the Institute has also offered numerous well-received courses for doctoral, master's, and undergraduate students, including Theories of Civilizational Order, Studies on the Bible, Modern Psychology and Traditional Chinese Philosophy of Mind, Philosophical Allusions and Wisdom, Pre-Qin Philosophical Masters, Metaphysics of the Wei and Jin Dynasties, Theories of Happiness, Appreciating Poetry and Understanding History, Booker Prize-Winning Novels in English.
