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Introduction of Major Institutions
The Institute for Advanced Humanistic Studies atPeking University
The Institute for Advanced Humanistic Studies at Peking University (IAHS),
a research and teaching institution that specializes in academic research,academic exchange, and fostering talents, was founded in 2008 and inaugurated on 28 September 2012. Deeply rooted in Chinese tradition, IAHS
promotes academic research of international and creative significance topromote interdisciplinary collaboration within the humanities, between thehumanities and social sciences, and between the humanities and naturalsciences, to deepen the self-reflexivity of Chinese traditional culture, and torealize its creative developments and transformations. The founding directorof IAHS is Professor Tu Weiming.
The mission and vision of The Institute for Advanced Humanistic Studies atPeking University (IAHS) is both deeply rooted in traditional Chinese culture
and integrated with a globalized world. It engages in academic research ofinternational and creative significance to promote interdisciplinary collaboration within the humaities, between the humanities and natural sciences, todeepen the self-reflexivity of Chinese traditional culture, and to realize its
creative development and transformation. It plans to take a leading role infacilitating the world’s mediation of Chinese culture through the subjectivityof Chinese thought in the context of cultural diversity and religious pluralism,with the hope of creating a globally significant approach to ethics inspired by
the Chinese notion of “One Commonwealth Under Heaven”.
Among the Institute’s diverse activities, three areas of engagement may behighlighted.

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Journal of Cultural Interaction in East Asia Vol. 11 2020

Cultural China“China” encompasses a realm of culture that is not constrained by political,
territorial, or even ethnic boundaries. Instead, it involoves three symbolicuniverses. The first consists of Mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau,and Singapore - that is, the societies populated predominately by cultural andethnic Chinese. The second includes Chinese diasporic communities
throughout the world, while the third symbolic universe consists of“foreigners” - scholars, teachers, journalists, and businesspeople - who hold alifelong concern for Chinese cultural traditions. Relying on this broadminded
notion of China, we seek to scrutinize issues of identity and develop a more
inclusive notion of Chineseness.

Dialogue Among Civilizations

Via multilevel and multiperspective dialogues, the IAHS seeks to elevate thecultural self-reflection and global consciousness of Chinese intellectuals. Itremains founded in traditional Chinese culture while learning from the ethicalwisdom of various Axial and non-Axial civilizations and indigenous cultures.
Furthermore, it promotes essential dialogues between territories, ethnic
groups, and diverse religions. These dialogues aim to transcend outmoded
dichotomies such as “East and West” and “Tradition and Modernity.” Thus,
instead of continuing to contrast China with North America and Western
Europe, the IAHS also endeavours to cultivate dialogues with India, Latin
America, Africa, and the Middle East.

World Ethics

The World Ethics Institute in Beijing (WEIB), established on October 29,
2012 under the auspices of the IAHS, is a postgraduate center for research,teaching, learning, publishing, and public service. It is the first research
institution in China focusing on global ethics, and in particular global
economic ethics. WEIB aims to remain rooted in traditional Chinese culture
while learning from the ethical wisdom of various Axial and non-Axial civilizations and indigenous cultures. Through means such as civilizational
dialogue, WEIB aims to build a creative research team that combinesteaching and learning, domestic and international resources. Finally, theinstitute aspires to bring the ancient spiritual wisdom of Chinese civilization,
as well as contemporary Chinese culture, to research on global ethics, so as
to make the latter more diversified and globally significant.
(Prepared by Jonathan Keir, Director of Center for Dialogue Among
Civilizations)