Description
The Ming-Ch'ing Studies Group,as reflected by its website,is an interdisciplinary study assembly initiated by and composed primarily of research fellows at Academia Sinica whose scholarly activity focuses on the Ming and Ch'ing dynasties. Beginning in the late 1980's and early 1990's, the group started with scholars from eight different institutes in the humanities (Institute of History and Philology, Institute of Modern History, Institute of Ethnology, Institute of Economics, Sun Yat-sen Institute for Social Sciences and Philosophy, Institute of Chinese Literature and Philosophy, Institute of Taiwan History, and Institute of Sociology) on the grounds of Academia Sinica in Taiwan. The initial reason for the creation of the group was to gather academicians from different fields to exchange ideas to further stimulate intellectual activity. The number of participants quickly grew to include scholars from other academic institutions in Taiwan and abroad. As a result, the group evolved as an internationally recognized forum, open to all discussion, debate, and scholarly exchange, to reveal new paths for the research and teaching of the history of the late Imperial China.
With its formal consolidation in 1995, the group holds bimonthly colloquia and conferences and creates research projects using innovative approaches to explore themes such as "Objects, Consumption, and Culture in Early Modern China" or "Neo-Confucian Orthodoxy and Human Desires." Each group meeting helps to shape a new approach to the study of the Ming and Ch'ing dynasties. While still quite modest in size and assets, the Ming-Ch'ing Studies Group is now celebrating its tenth anniversary and has been recognized internationally for its intellectual energy. In 2004, the group was accepted by the Consortium of Humanities Center and Institutes (CHCI) as a regular member and as a deeply gratified Asian voice representing the various fields of the humanities. Aspiring to continue to broaden the intellectual horizon and to facilitate international academic exchange, the group is committed not only to participate but to take a leadership position in global dialogs concerning the study of the Ming and Ch'ing dynasties.
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Taiwan