Past ACCFs

Curator, Central Research Institute of Culture and History, China

Prof Yuan was born in Wujin, Jiangsu Province. He graduated from the Department of Chinese in Peking University in 1957 and started teaching at the university until now. Yuan was promoted to professorship in 1984 and became doctoral supervisor in 1986.

He was Foreign Visiting Staff at the University of Tokyo, Japan from 1982 to 1983. Less than a decade later from 1992 to 1993, he became Visiting Professor at National University of Singapore and then Visiting Scholar at Harvard-Yenching Institute in 1997 until 1998 when he returned to National University of Singapore as Visiting Professor. He taught as Visiting Professor at Tamkang University, Taiwan in 2001 and at City University of Hong Kong in 2004. He began teaching at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore in 2005 (jointly employed by Peking University). He has also given lectures at Aichi University in Japan, Harvard University, Yale University, Columbia University, University of Washington and University of Hawaii in the U.S., the University of Hong Kong and National Taiwan University and Academia Sinica in Taiwan.

Currently, he is Professor of Department of Chinese Language and Literature, Head of the Division of Humanities, and Head of the Institute of Chinese National Studies of the Peking University, Curator of Central Research Institute of Culture and History, China as well as a member of the Academic Degrees Committee of the State Council.

His main publications include, A Study of the Art of Chinese Poetry, Introduction to Chinese Literature, A Study of Tao Yuanming, Annotations to the Collected Works by Tao Yuanming, Introduction to Chinese Poetry (co-author), The History of Chinese Literature (four volumes, Chief Editor), The History of Chinese Civilization (four volumes, Co-Chief Editor), Self-selected Papers of Contemporary Scholars - Yuan Xingpei's Volume, Artistic Appeal of Tang Poetry and Other Essays, and Annotations to the Selected Works of Chinese Literature (four volumes, Chief Editor).

He is also the winner of a number of academic awards, including National Top Prize for Outstanding Teaching Achievement Prize for National Colleges and Universities (individual), National Book Award, First Prize and Top Prize for the "Excellent Publications in Philosophy and Social Sciences of Beijing Municipality", First Prize for Excellent Textbooks for National Higher Education Institutions, First Prize for Remarkable Achievements on Research on Humanities and Social Sciences for Higher Education Institutions of China, Model Worker of the National Education System and Teacher of the People Medal, as well as winner of the title "Teacher of the People of Beijing Municipality" (the best ten teachers selected by the public).