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About the Symposium

Symposium on New Frontiers and Directions in Chinese History
HK Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences (HKIHSS)
X HKU Department of History
University of Hong Kong
Lecture Hall, May Hall, HKU Campus
June 23 – 24, 2023

The Symposium on New Frontiers and Directions in Chinese History 2023 is a two-day event on June 23-24, 2023, showcasing the latest research in Chinese history. Keynote speeches and discussions, convened by Professor Zhiwu Chen and Professor Guoqi Xu, will cover late imperial China, the old and new orders, Chinese business history, and conflict from within. The symposium will conclude with a closing keynote speech on archaeological data and Chinese history. Invitees can attend exclusive lunch and dinner events, providing great networking opportunities. The symposium is co-organized by the Hong Kong Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences (HKIHSS) and the HKU Department of History (HKU History) in partnership with the Centre for Quantitative History of HKU Business School and will take place at the historic May Hall on the HKU campus, making it a must-attend event for scholars, researchers, teachers, and students working in the field of Chinese history.

Program Rundown

June 23, 2023 (Friday) – Day 1

8:15 Registration starts with refreshments
9:00 – 9:10 Welcome Remarks
  • Zhiwu Chen, Director, Hong Kong Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences, Chair and Cheng Yu-Tung Professor in Finance, HKU Business School
9:10 – 9:30 Opening Remarks
  • Guoqi Xu, Professor of History, HKU Department of History
  • Oscar Sanchez-Sibony, Department Chair, Associate Professor of History, HKU Department of History
9:30 – 10:30 Opening Keynote Speech

The Chinese Century? The Revival and Rise of Chinese Universities

  • Speaker: William Kirby, T. M. Chang Professor of China Studies, Harvard University and Spangler Family Professor of Business Administration, Harvard Business School

  • Chair and discussant: Guoqi Xu (HKU History)
10:30 – 11:00 Coffee Break
11:00 – 12:30

Late Imperial China

Staging Hong Kong (Studies) in Chinese History

  • Speaker: John D. Wong, Associate Professor of Humanities and Social Science, Hong Kong Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences, HKU

Translocality and the Qing Imperial Public in Jinan

  • Speaker: Daniel Knorr, Assistant Professor in Modern Asian History, University of Cambridge

  • Chair and discussant: Ghassan Moazzin (HKIHSS and HKU History)
13:00 – 15:00 Lunch (By Invitation Only)
15:30 – 17:30

The Old Order and The New

Engendering Chinese History from Tianjin to Hong Kong

  • Speaker: Elizabeth LaCouture, Assistant Professor of History, HKU Department of History

Translating the Declaration of Independence: American Frontiers of Good Governance in the Era of Opium Wars

  • Speaker: Kendall A. Johnson, Head and Professor of American Literature, HKU School of English

  • Chair and discussant: Billy K. L. So (HKIHSS)
18:00 Dinner (By Invitation Only)


June 24, 2023 (Saturday) – Day 2

10:00 – 12:00

Chinese Business History

A Glimpse into the 1929 Corporate Performance in the Book Industry: A Comparative Analysis of Balance Sheets of Two Companies in New York and Shanghai

  • Speaker: Billy K. L. So, HKIHSS Fellow, HKU; Emeritus Professor of Humanities, HKUST and former Chair Professor of History, CUHK

From Huasheng to Huawei: The Origins of the Chinese Electrical and Electronics Industries Before 1937

  • Speaker: Ghassan Moazzin, Assistant Professor of Humanities and Social Science, Hong Kong Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences and Department of History, HKU

  • Chair and discussant: John D. Wong (HKIHSS)
12:30 – 14:30 Lunch (By Invitation Only)
15:00 – 17:00

Conflict from Within

States and Wars: China’s Long March towards Unity and its Long-Term Consequences, 750 BC – 1911 AD

  • Speaker: Debin Ma, Professor of Economic History, Faculty of History and Fellow, All Souls College, University of Oxford

Rethinking China under Mao

  • Speaker: Klaus Mühlhahn, President and Director, Chair of Modern Chinese Studies, Zeppelin University

  • Chair and discussant: Oscar Sanchez-Sibony (HKU History)
17:00 – 18:00 Closing Keynote Speech

What Can Archaeological Data Tell Us About Chinese History?

  • Speaker: Zhiwu Chen, Director, Hong Kong Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences, Chair and Cheng Yu-Tung Professor in Finance, HKU Business School

  • Chair and discussant: Guoqi Xu (HKU History)
18:30 Dinner (By Invitation Only)

This symposium program is subject to change without prior notice. Lunch and dinner are by invitation only.

Organizers

The symposium is co-organized by the Hong Kong Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences (HKIHSS) and the HKU Department of History (HKU History), in partnership with the Centre for Quantitative History of HKU Business School.

Enquiries

ihss@hku.hk / hilsonng@hku.hk (Ms. Hilson Ng)