TAIPEI, TAIWAN - Media OutReach - 15 September 2020 - Given the span and complexity of Chinesehistory, it is not surprising only a handful of people can have a comprehensiveknowledge of it. The Tang Prize Foundation and National Chengchi Universitywill co-host the 2020 Tang Prize Masters' Forum for Sinology, scheduled to takeplace from 2p.m. to 4p.m. (GMT+8), Taiwan time, on September 22, at theUniversity's Art & Culture Centre. Prof. Wang Gungwu, 2020 Tang Prizewinner in Sinology and world authority on the study of the Chinese overseas,will speak on the topic, "The High Road to Pluralist Sinology."

Alsofeatured in this forum are Prof. Huang Chin-shing, vice president andacademician of Academia Sinica, Prof. Chen Kuo-tung, research fellow ofAcademia Sinica's Institute of History and Philology, and Prof. Yang Jui-sung,professor and vice dean of National Chengchi University's College of LiberalArts.

TheTang Prize in Sinology recognizes the study of Sinology in its broadest sense,which encompasses not only Chinese philology, linguistics, literature and artbut also Chinese thought and history. Erudite and perceptive, Prof. Wang spentnearly four decades steeped in the research on the history of the Chineseoverseas, Sino-foreign relations, Southeast Asia, trade, as well as maritimehistory. His works broke new ground in Chinese studies. Looking at China fromthe periphery, he is able to provide unique insights about China's changingplace in the world and come up with innovative interpretations of Sinology'simportant role in the modern society. It is for all these achievements that hewas awarded the 2020 Tang Prize in Sinology. In this forum, he will open adiscussion on the traditions of Sinology that also delves into the meaningbehind China studies in the new world order. He will begin by tracing itsevolution and contemporary developments before examining the newest trends andexploring the continuity of such studies for the future. Prof. Wang will bejoined by distinguished scholars in a panel discussion to further examine andunderstand the diverse values and future outlook of the field of Sinology. 

Asthe old Chinese saying goes: "History is like a mirror, reflecting how anempire rises and falls." China's growing influence in the 21^stcentury reshaped the world order.

Whilethe Sino-US tensions keep mounting, the South China Sea has also become adangerous flashpoint. A deeper knowledge of China is therefore what citizens ofthe world should strive to acquire. As the leading historian on Sino-SoutheastAsian relations, Prof. Wang developed a unique approach to understanding China,filling the gap in Sinology created by the dominance of more conventionalnarratives about China constructed out of either an internalist perspective orChina's position in relation to the West. He scrutinizes China's long andcomplex history to offer people living in the contemporary era his originalviews on modern China that are different from those emerging amid internationalpolitical conflicts.   

Themoderator and panelists for the forum are all eminent scholars in the fields ofChinese history and philosophy. Prof. Huang Chin-shing specializes in Chineseintellectual history, historiography and religious culture. Prof. Chen Kuo-tungis an expert on the economic and maritime history of the Ming and Qing period.His recent research centers on the advent of globalization over the past fivecenturies. Prof. Yang Jui-sung serves as the vice dean of the College ofLiberal Arts and director of the office of Lo Chia-luen International SinologyChair. His main research includes late imperial and modern Chinese thought,cultural history as well as psychohistory and historiography.

Towatch a 1-minute video about this year's Masters' Forums, please click on https://reurl.cc/d5xKr8. For more information about theforum, please visit https://www.tang-prize.org/en/week.php?cat=94

About Tang Prize

Dr. SamuelYin, chairman of Ruentex Group, founded the Tang Prize in December of 2012 asan extension of the supreme value his family placed on education. Harkeningback to the golden age of the Tang Dynasty in Chinese history, the Tang Prizeseeks to be an inspiring force for people working in all corners of the world.For more information on the Tang Prize and its laureates, please visit www.tang-prize.org