Byzantine Studies has been present in China for about 40 years, having achieved exciting results on different aspects of the field. Not only has it acquired a full training apparatus—including cycles of studies at MA, PhD and Postdoc levels—but also has a community of around 100 scholars working in different levels of academic institutions, many of whom participate actively in the international events of Byzantine Studies. Although the earliest introduction of Byzantine Studies in China was 70 years ago (focusing on law, religion, and other aspects), its further development in China was slow, with academic discussions paying particular attention to Byzantine institutions (feudalism and economics), the archaeological findings (coins) in China (1950-60s), and with an apparent influence from the Soviet Byzantine Studies. Its official formation occurred at the beginning of 1980s with the contribution of Professor Xu Jialing and Chen Zhiqiang in publishing research works, providing courses and instructing students at their home universities. From 2010s on, more Byzantinists graduated from Chinese universities or abroad, enlarging further the scale of Byzantine studies in China. Owing to the rapid development over the past 40 years, Byzantine Studies has now become an indispensable branch of World History Studies in China, and Chinese Byzantinists not only offer courses to BA, MA, and PhD students at Chinese universities and research centers by organizing different cycles of training but also publish their work in respected journals for Byzantine Studies. The session will present a general overview of the development of Byzantine Studies in China focusing on various cases of research and explore its future in China.
Having previously taught and been taught Byzantium in Europe and the UK, my two years in China have opened my eyes on a world of different research questions and methods. Byzantine identities and intersectionalities disappeared behind the horizon, but the question “why Byzantium?” looms larger than ever. Is Byzantium in China an academic reservation akin…
Though Byzantine studies in China could be traced back to the time before the PRC, with introduction and translation of pieces of western works, the formal reception of the field should start from the PRC, when the education system and academics of Soviet Union were introduced into China. The beginning of it was limited in…
As an important part of Byzantine studies, the research on Byzantine law has made great progress in European and American academic circles. However, the start of the study in this field in China is very late, and almost no one paid attention to it before the founding of the PRC. After the founding of PRC…
Since the early twenty-first century, Digital Humanities methodologies—including network analysis, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), prosopography and other methodologies—have significantly advanced international Byzantine studies, influencing the field within China. Following over four decades of substantial development, Chinese Byzantinists at the Institute for the History of Ancient Civilizations (IHAC) and beyond have expanded their research focus beyond…