Institute of History and Philology, Academia Sinica
Reading Groups
Our reading groups bring together colleagues and graduate students from Academia Sinica and beyond to read primary sources and archives closely, line by line, with annotated editions, translations, and research articles as their goal.
Ongoing
Reading Group on the Pingding haikou fanglüe
The group reads the Manchu and Chinese versions of the Pingding haikou fanglüe held at the IHP. The work records the Qing conquest of Zheng-ruled Taiwan. Collating the two versions chapter by chapter, the group compares their narratives and vocabulary to examine how the Qing empire constructed historical memory and ethnic identity around Zheng-era Taiwan, while training graduate students to read Manchu sources. For background, see the project Historical Memory and Ethnic Identity in Zheng-Era Taiwan.
PUBLICATIONS
- Ling-Wei Kung, “Textual Comparison of Pingding haikou fanglüe in Manchu and Chinese: Introduction,” Disquisitions on the Past & Present 41 (2023.12): 140–144. In Chinese. PDF
- Ling-Wei Kung and Xin-Ping Li, “Textual Comparison of Pingding haikou fanglüe in Manchu and Chinese: Volume One (1),” Disquisitions on the Past & Present 41 (2023.12): 173–201. In Chinese. PDF
- Ling-Wei Kung and Xiao-Jun Chen, “Textual Comparison of Pingding haikou fanglüe in Manchu and Chinese: Volume One (2),” Disquisitions on the Past & Present 42 (2024.06): 165–207. In Chinese. PDF
Tongdian Reading Group
The group brings together Academia Sinica colleagues and graduate students to read Du You’s Tang-dynasty Tongdian (Comprehensive Institutions) line by line. Approaching the text through source criticism and textual collation, it traces both the events the work records and how the text itself took shape, with annotated translations and research articles as its goal. It is currently reading the Bianfangdian (Frontier Defense); its annotated translations appear in Disquisitions on the Past & Present.
PUBLICATIONS
- Hong-Zhe Lin and Ling-Wei Kung, “An Annotated Translation of the Chapter of the Bianfangdian (Frontier Defense) in the Tongdian (Comprehensive Institutions) (1),” Disquisitions on the Past & Present 42 (2024.06): 209–228. In Chinese. PDF
- Yu-Wei Zhuang and Ling-Wei Kung, “An Annotated Translation of the Chapter of the Bianfangdian (Frontier Defense) in the Tongdian (Comprehensive Institutions) (2),” Disquisitions on the Past & Present 43 (2024.12): 213–227. In Chinese. PDF
- Giap Siong Teo and Ling-Wei Kung, “An Annotated Translation of the Chapter of the Bianfangdian (Frontier Defense) in the Tongdian (Comprehensive Institutions) (3),” Disquisitions on the Past & Present 44 (2025.06): 197–211. In Chinese. PDF
- Jui-Ying Chien and Ling-Wei Kung, “An Annotated Translation of the Chapter of the Bianfangdian (Frontier Defense) in the Tongdian (Comprehensive Institutions) (4),” Disquisitions on the Past & Present 46 (2026.06): 233–253. In Chinese. PDF
Reading Group on Liao, Jin, and Yuan Stone Inscriptions
The group reads stele inscriptions from the Liao, Jin, and Yuan dynasties. Working through transcription, collation, and annotation, it examines the political, religious, and social worlds the inscriptions reveal, with published annotated editions as its goal.
Completed
Reading Seminar on Chinese and Western Archives
The seminar met monthly to read archival documents with colleagues and graduate students from Academia Sinica and beyond. In 2023 it read the Junjichu Yongzheng chao Manwen yifudang yibian, newly published by the First Historical Archives of China, developing research questions across politics, military affairs, the economy, ethnicity, and diplomacy, with published papers as its intended outcome.