【Medieval History】Experts and Scholars Discuss Medieval History in Memory of Mr. Wu Yujin

(Correspondents Ye Xuanyan and He Ziyi) From April 15th to 16th, as one of the series of academic activities celebrating the 130th anniversary of Wuhan University, the 2023 Academic Annual Meeting of the China World Medieval History Professional Committee and the 110th Anniversary Commemorative Academic Seminar of Mr. Wu Yujin's Birth were held at Wuhan University. At the same time, the third Graduate Forum of the World Medieval History Professional Committee was also held.

This conference and forum are both hosted by the World Medieval History Professional Committee of the Chinese Society for the Study of World Ancient and Medieval History, and organized by the School of History of Wuhan University and the World History Research Institute of Wuhan University. More than 180 experts, scholars, and graduate students from over 70 universities and research institutions across the country, as well as representatives from more than 10 newspapers, magazines, and publishing houses, gathered in Luojia Mountain to discuss various academic topics in the field of medieval history and commemorate the founder of the Chinese world history discipline, Mr. Wu Yujin.

Huang Taiyan, Secretary of the Party Committee of Wuhan University, reviewed the significant contributions made by Mr. Wu Yujin to the construction and development of the world history discipline in China and Wuhan University. He pointed out that China is participating in the process of economic globalization and building a community with a shared future for mankind with an unprecedented positive attitude, which puts higher demands on China's world history research. Coinciding with the 130th anniversary of the founding of Wuhan University and the 110th anniversary of the establishment of the History discipline, hosting this academic event is of great significance for promoting the development of the world history discipline in China and Wuhan University, and building a world history discipline system, academic system, and discourse system with Chinese characteristics.

Hu Dekun, a senior professor of humanities and social sciences at Wuhan University, recalled many of his past experiences of studying and working under the guidance of Mr. Wu.

Researcher Liu Jian, Deputy Director of the Institute of World History of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, congratulated the convening of the meeting. She pointed out that the conference had a large number of attendees, a wide coverage of submitted paper topics, and a high level of organization, which fully demonstrated the strong development momentum and sufficient reserve force of China's research on world medieval history.

Professor Liu Jinghua, President of the China Society for the Study of World Ancient and Medieval History, Chairman of the China Professional Committee on World Medieval History, and a Professor from Tianjin Normal University, delivered a speech stating that this conference is the largest conference of the society since its establishment in 1979. He expressed gratitude to the leaders at all levels of Wuhan University and the World History discipline of Wuhan University for their meticulous preparations for the conference, and expressed his sincere hopes for young scholars and graduate students studying medieval history.

At the opening ceremony, Tao Jun, Vice Dean of the Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences at Wuhan University, introduced Mr. Wu Yujin's academic life. Professor Liu Anzhi, Dean of the School of History at Wuhan University, presided over the event.

Subsequently, two conferences were held, with the first being presided over by Professor Xu Hao from Renmin University of China. Professor Xiang Rong from Fudan University, Professor Wang Jinxin from Northeast Normal University, Professor Long Xiuqing from Sun Yat sen University, and Associate Professor Li Longguo from Peking University gave academic presentations respectively. The second conference was hosted by Professor Pan Yingchun from Wuhan University. Professor Chen Yong of Wuhan University, Professor Zhang Shunhong of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Professor Li Gongzhen of Wuhan University, and Professor Li Zenghong of Liaocheng University have shared their memories of Mr. Wu Yujin from different aspects.

On the afternoon of April 15th, attending scholars and graduate student representatives were divided into six forums for discussion. The discussion topics cover multiple fields, including Mr. Wu Yujin's overall historical perspective, economy and society, law and governance, politics and military, religion and culture, text, writing and memory, etc. It presents characteristics such as equal emphasis on macro thinking and micro research, reflection of academic frontiers and traditional issues, combination of national and regional research with cross regional and multinational research, and intersection of history and multidisciplinary theoretical methods. The speeches and exchanges of the attending scholars fully demonstrated the latest development and vigorous progress of the study of medieval world history in China in terms of theory, methods, materials, research fields, and geographical coverage.

On the morning of April 16th, there were two conferences, the first of which was presided over by Professor Wang Jinxin from Northeast Normal University. Xue Huizong, a 81st grade graduate student of Mr. Wu Yujin, Professor Xu Hao from Renmin University of China, Professor Chen Zhijian from Capital Normal University, and Associate Professor Kang Hao from Shanghai Normal University delivered keynote speeches. The second conference was hosted by researcher Xu Zairong from the Institute of World History, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. Professor Wu Chou from Beijing Normal University, postdoctoral fellow Yi Jinming from Fudan University, and two graduate representatives selected by the Medieval History Academic Committee, Jia Fangzhou and Liang Guirong, gave academic presentations respectively.

The closing ceremony of the conference was presided over by Professor Xiang Rong from Fudan University and Professor Long Xiuqing from Sun Yat sen University. At the closing ceremony, representatives of the six groups reported on the progress of their discussions. Professor Peng Xiaoyu from Peking University gave an academic summary of the speech on the theme and group discussion of this conference. Professor Xiang Rong pointed out that young scholars and graduate students should fully leverage their language advantages in their research, follow the academic frontier issues, and speak up for the study of Chinese medieval world history internationally; At the same time, it is necessary to integrate international advanced academic achievements into China's academic system, and promote world history research to a new level. At this point, the two-day conference and forum have come to a successful conclusion.