Lectures & Other Activities

The Frontiers in Sino-Humanitas Lecture series organized by the Mr. Simon Suen and Mrs. Mary Suen Sino-Humanitas Institute, is glad to invite two important scholars—Professor Shaoxuan Cheng and Professor Lizeng Wang. In mid-June, they will both visit Hong Kong Baptist University to jointly deliver a public lecture entitled "Divination and Literature," where each will share their insights on different topics. For more details about the event, please refer below.

Frontiers in Sino-Humanitas Lecture: Divination and Literature

Organiser: Mr. Simon Suen and Mrs. Mary Suen Sino-Humanitas Institute, HKBU
Date: 11 June 2026, Thursday
Time: 3:30 – 5:30 pm
Venue: Room RRS903, 9/F, Sir Run Run Shaw Building, Ho Sin Hang Campus, Hong Kong Baptist University
Language: Mandarin

Registration: https://forms.office.com/r/Ff31AtuE4U

Titles and Speakers: 

The Diverse World of Divination and Numerology Texts
Prof. Shaoxuan Cheng (School of Liberal Arts, Nanjing University)

Ban Gu’s Reconstruction of the Han yuefu Institution as Idealized Creation
Prof. Lizeng Wang (School of Chinese Language and Literature, Jiangsu Normal University)

Abstract (in Chinese only):

The Diverse World of Divination and Numerology Texts

在出土文獻研究領域，數術文獻一直被當作獨立的研究門類，有較爲專門的研究方法。這類文獻的研究方法之所以專門，與其文本的特點密切相關。數術文獻往往並非單純的文字文本，圖像、表格遠多于其它文獻。同一種意思，既可以以圖、表、文三種基本形式來表達，也可以以圖、表、文結合的形式來呈現。深入理解數術文獻形式上的「不拘一格」，可以幫助我們總結數術文獻研究方法，更好地解析數術文本和探討數術原理。

Ban Gu’s Reconstruction of the Han yuefu Institution as Idealized Creation

關於「樂府」的原初性描述出自班固《漢書》。班固將「樂府」分散記述於各個部類，其中紀、傳中的書寫依據朝廷檔案文書，比較符合史實，《禮樂志》《藝文志》中的書寫帶有想像與虛構的成份，使用了多種書寫策略。比如，將「立樂府」一事安置於武帝朝，是為了突出武帝功績，並給「樂府」安排一個有序的歷史邏輯。在《禮樂志》中為了回避「樂府」表演俗樂的尷尬而避實就虛，進行模糊性處理。而且，他通過對歷史的勾連、賦值、評論等種種手段，把「樂府」建構為「采風觀政」的理想化音樂官署。班固對「樂府」的書寫與建構，對後世產生了很大影響：塑造了人們的樂府觀念；引發了文人對樂府的青睞與追捧；開啟了美化與粉飾樂舞表演的先河。

About the speakers:

CHENG Shaoxuan received a BA from the Department of Intensive Instruction for Arts at Nanjing Universtity in 2006, and earned a Ph.D from the Center for Research on Chinese Excavated Classics and Paleography at Fudan Universty in 2012.  His research interests focus on Chinese paleography and excavated manuscripts, particularly in hemerological bamboo and silk books of the Warring States, Qin, and Han. His Ph.D thesis was published as a monograph titled On a Lost Ancient Book about Shizhan in Fangmatan Bamboo-slips in 2018. He participated in the research project of the reorganization of the Mawangdui manuscripts. Years of work on the Mawangdui hemerological manuscripts of Xingde and Yinyang Wuxing produced a series of articles such as “On the Calendars in the Mawangdui Xingde and Yinyang Wuxing: Centered on the Yinyang Wuxing B” (The Bulletin of the Institute of History and Philology Academia Sinica, 2016, Vol.87.2). Currently working on cosmic diagrams seen in excavated manuscripts and archaeological relics. 

Prof. WANG Lizeng, 王立增，甘肅甘谷人，文學博士，現為江蘇師范大學文學院教授、院長，兼任中國樂府學會常務理事、江蘇省方志學會常務理事等。主要從事中國古代樂府詩、唐宋詩詞、文學地理學方面的研究，主持完成國家社科基金項目3項，出版專著《唐代樂府詩體研究》《中國古代詩歌音樂傳播研究》等，在《文學遺產》《江海學刊》等學術期刊發表論文40餘篇，榮獲江蘇省社科優秀成果二等獎。