Renowned Scholar and China's First Doctor of Literature Prof. Wang Furen to Deliver May Fourth Lecture at STU
The sixth edition of the Shantou University General Education Forum will feature Professor Wang Furen, a renowned scholar and the first doctor of literature awarded in the People’s Republic of China. He will deliver a lecture titled “Revisiting the May Fourth Movement” on the evening of November 2, 2014, at the Library Auditorium. The forum is co-sponsored by the College of Humanities, the Institute of Higher Education, and the Christian Studies Research Center of the College of Humanities.
Lecture Details
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Forum Series | STU General Education Forum (Sixth Edition) |
| Title | Revisiting the May Fourth Movement |
| Speaker | Professor Wang Furen (Lifelong Professor, College of Humanities, Shantou University) |
| Date & Time | Sunday, November 2, 2014, 19:30 |
| Venue | Library Auditorium |
| Sponsors | College of Humanities, Institute of Higher Education, Christian Studies Research Center |
About the Speaker
Professor Wang is a lifelong professor at the College of Humanities, Shantou University, and a doctoral supervisor at Beijing Normal University. He has served as president of the Chinese Modern Literature Research Association and currently holds positions in the Chinese Lu Xun Research Society and the Chinese Wen Yiduo Research Society. He is a member of the China Writers Association.
His research on Lu Xun, modern Chinese thought and culture, and modern Chinese literary history has achieved distinguished recognition. His doctoral dissertation, “A Mirror of China’s Anti-Feudal Ideological Revolution,” sparked extensive discussion in the Lu Xun and modern Chinese literary research communities and became a landmark achievement in post-Mao-era Lu Xun scholarship.
His major works include Lu Xun’s Early Fiction and Russian Literature, The Image of the Pioneer, Struggle of the Soul, Historical Contemplation, and The Cultural Night Watchman of China. He has directed major projects funded by the Ministry of Education and the National Social Science Foundation, including the large-scale project “Research on Chinese Leftist Literature.”
Since joining Shantou University, Professor Wang has devoted himself to “New State Learning” research, edited multiple issues of the quarterly New State Learning Research, and taught courses for both undergraduate and graduate students. Scholars have described his work as possessing “profound thinking, rigorous argumentation, genuine innovation, unbound by conventional wisdom, and capable of reaching the heart of the matter.”
Lecture Topics
The lecture will cover the following themes:
| Topic | Content |
|---|---|
| Ancient Social Structure | The family-state congruent social structure |
| Confucian Culture | The cultural framework bound by “loyalty, filial piety, chastity, and righteousness” |
| May Fourth and Intellectuals | The emergence of an independent intellectual class during the May Fourth Movement |
| May Fourth and Socialization | The May Fourth Movement and the socialization of Chinese society |
| New Cultural Tradition | The relationship between new cultural tradition and modern Chinese society |
| Intellectual Composition | The formation of modern Chinese intellectuals |
| Enduring Legacy | “The May Fourth Movement has not grown obsolete; history can only move forward” |
Source: Shantou University College of Humanities, Institute of Higher Education
