An Online Lecture Given by Fan Xin from New York UniversityPublish Date:2020-09-17 15:52

On the morning of July 30th, an online academic lecture was given by Mr. Fan Xin from the History Department of State University of New York at Fredonia. The title is "The Rise of Society and World History in the Late Qing Dynasty". The lecture was presided by Professor Liu Yuewu from the School of History and Culture of Henan University, who introduced to the present the research direction and academic achievements of Professor Fan Xin. Then, on behalf of the teachers and students, he extended a warm welcome to Professor Fan.

To begin with, starting from how to grasp the universal law of historical change in the 20th century, Professor Fan Xin mentioned the important role of the expansion of historical data as well as historical methodology and the change of historical research perspective. Using these data, Professor Fan dialectically analyzed the binary opposition relationship between the world and China in the late Qing Dynasty from the traditional perspective. Apart from that, he supplemented in detail two different ideas--from outside to inside and from inside to outside. Subsequently, Professor Fan Xin showed that to study the rise of World History in China, one cannot avoid using the correct methodology to explore the connection between world history and its specialization, and between world history and world view. Then, Professor Fan Xin talked about the material and cultural foundation for rise of World History in the late Qing Dynasty. Also, he analyzed the creation and publication of Compendium of Western History written by Zhou Weihan. This book combines Chinese and Western elements, including the idea of the integration of Chinese and Western cultures. It thus arouses the public's thinking on the relationship between the ancient and the modern, as well as the discussion on the meaning of the traditional Confucianism. Eventually, through the case study of Compendium of Western History and the later development of the author’s family, Professor Fan Xin inspired the audience to think about how to judge the works of non-professional historians from the perspective of professional ones, and analyzed the rupture and inheritance of history deeply.

Professor Fan Xin's lecture was rich in content, clear in thought and combined with historical theories, which inspired the present teachers and students profoundly. Professor Liu made a brief summary of the lecture, expressing his heartfelt appreciation for Professor Fan once more. At the end, after finishing the lecture, the teachers and students asked several questions, Professor Fan Xin shared valuable experience and unique views with them on relevant academic issues. This lecture was a huge success.