会议论文征集
深陷中间？第三届中古中国人文会议（220-1600年）
欧美学者普遍认为 ，中国的古代史终结于公元220年，当统治中国长达400多年的汉朝灭亡之时；中国的近代史则开始于1600年，当明朝衰落、满清崛起之时。然而，我们能将220年和1600之间的多个世纪当做中古史一个时段来处理吗？生活在这些世纪中的人们经历了相似的人生吗？思考一个传统中国有意义吗？
近100年前，日本学者内藤湖南最先提出了影响学界至今的“唐宋变革论”，认为唐宋之间经历了从中世纪到前近代社会的深刻转型。其间的变化是如此重大，以至于一些学者甚至以“商业革命”来描述之。在这个变革期，中国经历了唐 (618-907) 与宋 (960-1276) 两个主要的王朝。之后，蒙古入侵并建立元朝，统治中国长达一个多世纪。在这个中古时代，中国诞生了最伟大的一批诗人、思想家和科学家 。 佛教徒获得了上自皇帝下自农夫的广泛社会支持，儒家和道家的思想家们同样取得了重要突破，影响了各家宗教的发展历史。然而，最新的研究显示，唐宋变革论的解释模式并非如我们曾经所想的那样有说服力。尽管少数学者仍然关注长时段的变迁，大部分的研究者已将精力集中到更短的历史时期。
与其重要性不匹配的是，中国史的中古时段在欧美的亚洲研究学术会议上很少受到关注，一般只有少数的几个论坛。而中国的学术会议则往往以特定的朝代为中心，很少将整个时段的时空作为讨论的重点。基于此现状，欧美、中国和日本的学者们于2014相聚哈佛大学，召开了第一届中古中国人文会议，并于2017年在荷兰的莱顿大学举行了第二届会议。学者们一致认同该会议的成果，以及继续举办的必要性。
第三届中古中国人文会议将于2020年6月在耶鲁大学举行。中古中国的学者们将有机会在纽黑文齐聚一堂，交流各自的研究成果和思想观点。这次会议也将给与会者机会思考，我们应该如何有意义地给220-1600年这个超长时段进行断代。我们欢迎博士生提交具备一定学术水准的论文，并理解他们的论文未必都会直接涉及到断代的问题。但我们希望更为资深的学者们可以利用这个机会，与研究其他朝代和领域的学者进行深入的交流，并认真思考有关我们领域的种种界定，以及这些界定如何影响我们提出问题的方式。
会议筹备委员会
Luke BENDER (卢本德), 耶鲁大学
邓小南, 北京大学
Eric GREENE (葛利尹), 耶鲁大学
Valerie HANSEN (韩森), 耶鲁大学
李怡文, 香港城市大学
Richard SOSA (宋宇德), 耶鲁大学
王锦萍，新加坡国立大学
CALL FOR PAPERS
Following the success of the first gathering of Middle Period scholars in 2014 at Harvard and the second in 2017 at Leiden, we are very pleased to announce that Yale will host the third meeting on June 25-28, 2020.
We welcome papers from all disciplines in humanities (specifically history, literature, history of art, and religious studies) that deal with China between 220-1600. Because the theme of the conference is “Stuck in the Middle” we encourage papers that cover more than a single dynasty and reexamine periodization more broadly.
FOR ADDITIONAL DETAILS AND INSTRUCTIONS IN ENGLISH CLICK HERE
Yale University
June 25-28, 2020
Conference Venues
Henry R. Luce Hall (34 Hillhouse Avenue, New Haven, CT 06511(link is external))
Rosenkranz Hall (115 Prospect Street, New Haven, CT 06511(link is external))
The venues are located next to each other, and are within 20 minute walking distance from all hotels in New Haven.
By general agreement among American and European scholars, China’s ancient history ended in 220 CE with the passing of the first long-lived dynasty, the Han; similarly, scholars agree that modern China begins in 1600 as the Ming dynasty weakened and the Qing dynasty of the Manchus was taking shape. But does it make sense for scholars to treat the centuries between 220 and 1600 as a single period? Did people living across this time span experience life in the same way? Is it meaningful to think of a single traditional China?
One prevailing paradigm, first proposed a century ago by the Japanese scholar Naitō Torajirō, holds that between the Tang and Song dynasties China underwent a major transformation, passing from the medieval to the early modern period, with changes so great that some have termed them a commercial revolution. At the time, two major dynasties reigned: the Tang from 618 to 910, and the Song from 960 to 1276, when the Mongols invaded and established their own dynasty for nearly a century. China’s greatest poets, thinkers, and scientists produced their life works in these centuries. Buddhist monks succeeded in winning extensive support from commoner and emperor alike, while Confucian and Daoist thinkers also made important breakthroughs that shaped the respective histories of their religions.
But recent research shows that the paradigm is not as convincing as once thought. Few scholars address long-term change; almost all research focuses on a much shorter span of time.
For all its importance, this period receives little attention at the Asian Studies meetings in America and Europe – often just a few panels – while China offers dynasty-specific conferences but nothing devoted to the entire timespace. For this reason American, Chinese, European, and Japanese scholars held the first gathering of Middle Period scholars in 2014 at Harvard and the second in 2017 at Leiden, where everyone agreed that the meeting was so fruitful that it should continue.
The third meeting of this conference, to be held at Yale in June 2020, will provide an opportunity for scholars of Middle Period China to gather in New Haven and exchange views. This conference offers participants a chance to think about the most meaningful ways to divide up this giant expanse of time. We welcome revised seminar papers by PhD candidates and understand that they may not address the questions of periodization directly, but we hope that more established scholars will take advantage of the chance to meet scholars working on various dynasties and in different disciplines to think hard about these definitions of our field and how they affect the ways we pose questions.
The Program Committee
Luke BENDER, Yale University
DENG Xiaonan, Peking University
Eric GREENE, Yale University
Valerie HANSEN, Yale University
LI Yiwen, City University of Hong Kong
Richard SOSA, Yale University
WANG Jinping, National University of Singapore