Call for Applications: Training Program on “Buddhism and Ethnicity in the Period of Sixteen Kingdoms and Northern Dynasties”

We are pleased to announce a call for applications for a summer 2018 Harvard-Yenching/Peking University Joint Advanced Training Program in Beijing:

2018 PKU-HYI International Summer Training Workshop
2018年“十六国北朝佛教与民族”
北京大学—哈佛燕京学社青年学者国际研修班
暨第二届研究生暑期学校

 

Held at Peking University from June 23 – July 1, 2018

Application Deadline: April 20, 2018

 

Download Call for Applications [PDF]

Download Call for Applications [Word]
 

Download Application Form [PDF]

Download Application Form [Word]
 

Program Introduction: 

The Sixteen Kingdoms and the Northern Dynasties were an important period in Chinese history in which nomadic groups from the northern steppe expanded southwards. During the two-hundred-year-long reign, from the fourth to the sixth centuries AD，under various ethnic groups the northern region saw severe conflicts erupt among different ethnic groups. Even so, these groups proved able to cooperate, which enabled of Chinese civilization to flourish. Undoubtedly, Buddhism played a central role in this development. How may we achieve a comprehensive understanding of the interaction among foreign religions, heterogeneous ethnic groups and Chinese traditional culture and social structure at that time? This is a key question that inspires many scholars.

Thanks to advances in archeology and art history since the 20th century, a large amount of materials from this period have been uncovered and reinterpreted. Abundant cave-temples and statues, as well as other relics, including monastery sites, storage-holes and tombs, call for interdisciplinary collaboration to yield new insights for Buddhist Studies. It is a challenging but exciting task to build upon recent achievements by historians and archeologists to obtain deeper insight into Buddhism during this period from multiple disciplinary perspectives including religious studies, philosophy, ethnology, archeology and art history. The northern ethnic groups had close political and military ties with Central Asian nations and nomadic powers. Overtly or covertly, there existed exchange and interaction among Chinese culture, Indian culture, Western Asia and even Roman culture. Therefore, the study of “Buddhism and Ethnicity in the Period of Sixteen Kingdoms and Northern Dynasties” must take into account archaeological discoveries and related academic research outside of China.

In June 2017, the Center for Buddhist Education and Research of Peking University held its first postgraduate summer seminar / training workshop of Buddhism and Ethnicity in the Sixteen Kingdoms and Northern Dynasties. Twenty-eight outstanding students from 18 domestic and international universities and research institutes participated in the intensive course. Eight professors from Peking University, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Tsinghua University, and Beijing Normal University gave fine lectures and guided younger scholars toward interdisciplinary academic communication. In the last half-day of the trainee forum, trainees presented their own papers and thereby inspired each other. This year, from June 23 to July 1, 2018, the 2nd International Summer Seminar / Training Workshop for Graduate Students and Young Scholars will be held at Peking University. The program will be hosted by the Harvard-Yenching Institute, the Department of Philosophy & Religious Studies of Peking University and the Center for Buddhist Education and Research of Peking University. In this program we will continue to strive for an in-depth study of Buddhism and ethnic relations during this historical period to develop better understanding of the social and ideological changes underway during the 4th-6th centuries.

Lecturers in this year’s program include Chinese scholars from universities such as Peking University, Tsinghua University and Wuhan University, as well as overseas scholars from Harvard University and other universities in the U.S., Europe and Japan. Their topics will include relations between the Han people and “barbarians”, the “Sinification” of foreign ethnic groups, material culture and intellectual history, Buddhism and Daoism, political-social context, etc. There will be two round-table discussions about (1) the practice of scriptural interpretation in Buddhism, Daoism and Confucianism; and (2) the relationship of Buddhist visual arts to social groups and cultures. In this program, we expect that young scholars will focus on the manifestations and historical process of the early localization of Buddhism in China, as well as the “Sinification” of alien ethnicity and its possible reverse process in Chinese society, and the complex interplay among ethnicity, religion and culture. Students who hope to apply for the program should submit one academic paper (5000-15000 words) and one research proposal (1000 words or more) related to the theme of “Buddhism and ethnicity in the period of Sixteen Kingdoms and Northern Dynasties”.

All graduate students (mainly doctoral students) and young scholars (including young instructors, professors and post-doctoral fellows) from Chinese universities and academic institutions (including Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan) as well as other countries and regions are eligible to apply. Based on the quality of application materials, no more than 20 participants will be selected. Participants’ research proposals will receive individualized guidance from invited experts along with inter-disciplinary communication among peer trainees. Participants’ academic papers will be compiled into volumes to be presented in the student forum.

After the training program, the Harvard-Yenching Institute may offer the opportunity for a very small number of outstanding trainees from Asian universities and institutions to visit the Harvard-Yenching Institute for a one-year research stay during the 2019-20 academic year with support of an HYI fellowship.

Theme: Ethnicity, Religion and Cultural Construction: Buddhism in Northern China during the 4th-6th centuries

Sub-themes:

1. The Relationship among Ethnic Groups, Politics, Society and Buddhism in the Period of Sixteen Kingdoms and Northern Dynasties
2. Translation and interpretation of Buddhist scriptures, system of practice and regional centers of Buddhism
3. Buddhist arts in Pingcheng, Luoyang, Chang’an, Qingzhou and other places
4. Argument on Hua-xia and “barbarians”, aristocrats, imperial power and conflicts between Buddhism and Daoism
5. The interaction of Indian Buddhism, Central Asian Buddhism and Chinese Buddhism in the 4-6th centuries AD

Lecturing Faculty: 5-6 Chinese faculty, 3-4 English-speaking faculty and 1 Japanese faculty

Languages: Chinese and English

Round-table Discussion: 

1. Chinese Metaphysics, Confucianism and Buddhism – Practice of Interpreting Classics in the Northern Dynasties
2. Belief, Ethnicity and Art – The Evolution of Medieval Buddhist Visual Art

Student Forum: Panels depending on the papers of trainees

Admission: This training program will recruit 20 trainees under 35 years old, mainly young college teachers, postdoctoral fellows, doctoral students and upper-level master’s degree students. The professional background of all trainees shall be in academic fields related to this training program, including but not limited to religious studies, ethnology, archeology, art history, Chinese philosophy, Chinese history, Central Asia history, and linguistics.

Students and young scholars from China (including Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan) and other countries and regions are eligible to apply. Applicants from overseas must be able to read, understand and communicate in Chinese. English proficiency is also required for every participant.

Outstanding trainees may be invited to join the research team of the Center for Buddhist Education and Research, Peking University in follow-up research. They may also be considered for a fellowship to spend an academic year in residence at the Harvard-Yenching Institute.

Trainees who successfully complete the training program will be issued an official certificate.

Cost and Subsidy: All trainees are exempt from tuition fees. Accommodation fees for trainees outside of Beijing are covered by Peking University. Accommodations are not provided for Trainees from Beijing.

All trainees should pay for their own meals and transportation.

Master’s and Ph.D. students from mainland China who complete the training program will receive a subsidy of RMB500-1000.  

Application:

1. Application Form [Download – PDF]  [Download – Word]
2. One academic paper (5000-15000 characters)
3. Research Proposal (1000 characters or more)
4. Applicants from mainland China are required to submit proof of school or institution (with official seal); Students outside of mainland China need to submit a recommendation letter from their advisor.

Applicants are also welcome to offer other materials, such as certificates of language levels.

Please send the electronic version (WORD or PDF) of application materials by email or WeChat to the following contacts by April 20, 2018

The program public email address: sixteen_kingdoms@126.com

If there are any questions, please contact the following secretaries:
Zhang Yansen:  zhang.ys@pku.edu.cn  WeChat:  zhang82300503
Wang Kang:  soccerr10@sina.com   WeChat: IsciyAna

项目介绍

十六国北朝，是中国历史上北方草原民族南下的重要时期。公元四至六世纪，北方地区在持续两百年的异族执政期间，爆发了严峻的民族矛盾，但最终实现了胡汉民族的交融与中国文化的繁荣。佛教在其中发挥了关键的缓和作用，如何综合认识当时外来宗教、外来民族与中国传统文化、社会结构之间的深层互动？这是激励许多学者为之不懈探索的理论问题。

缘于20世纪以来的考古学、艺术史等学科的发展，这一时期的大量实物资料不断被发现，并被不断地重新诠释，尤其是其中珍贵而丰饶的石窟寺与佛教造像，以及佛寺遗址、窖藏坑和墓葬文物等，亟需学者们把不同领域的研究成果及时汇总起来，融入到当前的佛学与思想史研究。如何借鉴历史学界与考古学界所取得的重要学术成果，并从宗教学、哲学、民族学、考古学与艺术史等跨学科的角度深入研究这段佛教史，将是一项极具挑战性的学术课题。组织一批有志于此的青年才俊，共同汇总并解读现有的学术成果，是探讨上述理论问题的重要基础和前提。北方外来民族与中亚民族、草原王朝有着密切的政治军事关系，当时的中国思想、信仰与广义的西域文明，包括印度文化、西亚乃至罗马文化有着或隐或显的交流与互动。因此，“十六国北朝佛教与民族”研究，必须兼顾中国域外的考古发现与相关的学术研究。

2017年6月，北京大学佛学教育研究中心举办了首届“十六国北朝佛教与民族”研究生暑期学校。来自海内外18所高校、研究所的28位优秀学员参加集中学习，北京大学、中国社会科学院、清华大学、北京师范大学等单位的8位专家学者为这一暑期班授课，并引导青年学者展开跨学科的学术交流与资源共享。在最后半天的学员论坛上，学员发表各自的专业论文，相互启发。今年，2018年6月23日至7月1日，第二届研究生暑期学校暨青年学者国际研修班将在北京大学举办，由哈佛燕京学社、北京大学哲学系主办，北京大学佛学教育研究中心承办，并被列入2018年度北京大学“研究生教育创新计划”，继续以跨学科的方式深入探讨这段佛教史、民族关系史，进一步研究公元四至六世纪中国的社会结构与思想变迁。                                                                       

参加今年授课的教师，有北京大学、清华大学和武汉大学等高校的中国学者，还有来自美国哈佛大学以及欧洲、日本等地高校的海外学者。他们将会讲述：十六国北朝胡汉关系、外来民族的华夏化、南北朝隋代佛教物质文化的造型与思想、佛教道教与北朝政治社会等议题，并有两场圆桌会议，分别讨论：1）北朝儒家、佛教与道教的解经实践；2）十六国北朝佛教造像与族群、文化的关系。在本次研修班上，我们期待青年学者能关注佛教在中国早期本土化的表现形式与历史进程，以及外来民族的“华化”与中国社会的“胡化”现象，关注当时民族、宗教与文化间的复杂关系。报名参加本次研修班的学员，请提交与“十六国北朝佛教与民族”主题相关的1篇学术论文和1份研究计划。

我们将围绕上述主题，以公开报名、择优录取的方式，在中国（含港、澳、台）及其他国家和地区各高校和研究所的青年研究人员（含青年教师、博士后）、研究生（以博士生为主）中遴选不超过20名学员参与本次研修班。学员的研究计划将得到特邀专家的针对性指导，以及跨学科同行的交流互动；学员的学术论文，将被汇编成册，并在学员论坛发表和讨论。

本次研修班结束后，哈佛燕京学社将计划从来自亚洲高校和研究所的优秀学员中选拔极少数优秀学员，于2019-2020学年前往哈佛燕京学社访学研修一年。

【时间地点】

时间：2018年6月23日至7月1日   [6月23日报到，7月1日离校]

授课地点：北京大学人文学苑2号楼

【研讨主题】

民族、宗教与文化建构：公元4-6世纪中国北方佛教

分主题：

1. 十六国北朝的民族关系、政治社会与佛教传播
2. 十六国北朝的佛典翻译、经典诠释、修持体系与佛教区域中心
3. 邺城、洛阳、平城、长安、青州等地的佛教艺术
4. 夷夏论、士族、皇权与佛道之争
5. 公元4-6世纪印度佛教、中亚佛教与中国佛教的互动

【课程安排】主要围绕上述分主题展开，由北京大学等国内学者、哈佛大学等海外学者主讲。授课语言：中文和英文。

【圆桌会议】

第一场：玄学、儒学与佛学——北朝解经学的实践

第二场：信仰、族群与艺术——中古佛教造像的演变

【学员论坛】根据学员提交的论文分组讨论

【招生说明】

本次研修班招收学员20名,主要招收35周岁（含）以下的高校青年教师、博士后、博士生、高年级硕士生。所有学员的专业背景，须与本次研修班研讨主题的专业领域相关，主要包括（但不限于）宗教学、民族学、考古学、艺术史、中国哲学、中国历史、中亚史、语言学等。

本次研修班招收中国(含港澳台地区)和国际的学生或青年学者。中国学员须能熟练使用英语，海外学员须能阅读中文资料，并能以汉语交流。

优秀学员将进入北京大学佛学教育研究中心的研究团队，参与后续研究；研修班结束后，来自亚洲高校的学员将有申请哈佛燕京学社的访学机会，学社计划择优录取极少数优秀学员于2019-20学年赴哈佛燕京学社访学进修。

顺利通过各门课程及相关研讨的学员，将会获得结业证书。

【经费说明】

所有学员免学费；外地学员的住宿费由北大主办方承担，北京学籍的学员不提供住宿。

学习期间的伙食费，由学员自理；往返交通费，由学员自理。全程参加学习与研讨的中国大陆硕、博士生，将会得到人民币500-1000元的津贴。

【报名方式】

提交以下材料：报名表、学术论文1篇（5000-15000字）、研究计划1份（1000字以上）、国际与港澳台学员需交1份导师推荐信、国内学员需交院系在校证明（盖公章）。

以上材料为必备材料，学员可以提供其他相关资料，譬如英语或汉语的水平证书。

请在2018年4月20日前将报名材料的电子版（WORD或PDF）以电子邮件或微信的方式发给本项目的公共邮箱：sixteen_kingdoms@126.com

若有任何疑问，请与以下两位项目联系人联系：
张焱森：zhang.ys@pku.edu.cn  微信号zhang82300503
汪  康：soccerr10@sina.com   微信号IsciyAna