Institute of History and Philology

The Institute of History and Philology was established at Canton's Chung-shan University in July 1928. Under its first director, the scholar Fu Ssu-nien, the Institute moved to Peking (1929), Shanghai (1931), Nanking (1934) and several other locations during the war years. After re-locating to Taiwan in 1948, the Institute eventually settled in Nankang in 1954. The present research divisions-History, Archaeology, Anthropology and Paleography-are the results of the Institute掇 prior consolidation into three research divisions in Peking, the addition of the Anthropology division in Shanghai, and the departure of the Linguistics division in 1997.

Research Projects

  1. History
    The collection and organization of historical materials holds the same importance as individual research. Recent individual research interests include political, military, social-economic, intellectual-cultural, technological, legal histories and the study of commoners.
  2. Archaeology
    Apart from continuing to analyze the archaeological materials excavated at An-yang, excavation efforts have begun and are in process at various sites in Taiwan. This division has also expanded to cover archeological work in Southeast Asia, art history, ethno-archaeology, and ecological archaeology. In recent years, researchers have played an important role in assisting the government in preserving several significant historical sites throughout Taiwan.
  3. Anthropology
    Scholars employ the methodologies of traditional history and the social sciences in their anthropological research. Relying chiefly on historical documents and fieldwork, scholars work on topics such as ethnic history, popular belief, social history, the history of technology, and the history of medicine.
  4. Paleography
    Research has focused on oracle bones and other forms of writing of the Han and pre-Han period. Studies continue on the Oracle bone inscription images, meanings, and reconstruction, Warring States bronze inscriptions, Han silk inscriptions and the organization of the Oracle bone and bronze inscriptions in the Institute掇 collection.
Significant Contributions

Collective projects include the (early) An-yang excavation, Chinese dialects, historical reconstruction and (later) state and society in modern China, medical history, and the archaeology of Taiwan. Collective archival activity include the organization of Han bamboo slips, rubbings, Ming/Ch掂ng documents, Fu Ssu-nien files, rare books, and archaeological artifacts. The Institute remains the world leader in creating a large full-text database of Chinese texts. Aside from its periodicals, BIHPAS, Disquisitions on the Past and Present, and Asia Major, publications of collective projects and individual researchers can be found in the Bibliography of Publications from the Institute of History and Philology.