On December 16, the Inauguration Ceremony of NJU-Oxford Center for Study of Excavated Manuscripts and the Launching Ceremony of the journal Manuscript and Text Cultures were held on Xianlin Campus. Dirk Meyer, Professor of Chinese Philosophy at the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, Fellow of The Queen's College, and Founding Director of the Center for Manuscript and Text Cultures (CMTC) of Oxford University, joins NJU as an Adjunct Professor and the first Mei'an Chai Professor of the School of Liberal Arts. Chen Yunsong, Vice Chair of the University CPC Council, attended the ceremony and delivered a speech.
Chen said that the establishment of the Center is an important event for NJU's humanities and social sciences, which marks the joining of the two prestigious universities to promote the exchange and mutual understanding of human civilization. He emphasized that NJU will actively respond to the national cultural development strategy, relying on the its deep tradition of palaeography and expanding pragmatic cooperation with Oxford University, thus further promoting the development of China's palaeography and classical studies.
Meyer extended his gratitude for NJU, and introduced the preparatory work of the Center. He confirmed that he would continue to promote in-depth cooperation and synergistic efforts to explore new issues of the ancient world more extensively, establish a platform for cross-field exchanges among international researchers, and carry out cross-disciplinary and cross-linguistic academic discussions.
Chen prensented Meyer the Adjunct Professor's Letter of Appointment and NJU badge
Meyer and Ni Jiao, Chair of the School of Liberal Arts CPC Council released Manuscript and Text Cultures, a journal founded by two sides. Dong Xiao, Dean of the School of Liberal Arts unveiled the plaque for the Center with Meyer, and presented him the Mei'an Chair Professor's Letter of Appointment.
The Mei'an Chair Professor is established by the School of Liberal Arts to appoint high-level experts from leading international universities. In addition to co-founding the Center and the journal, Nanjing University and the Oxford University will also take turns to organize academic conferences on the theme of World Classics, and cooperate closely in the study of excavated documents and ancient texts, exchanges of scholars, and the training of undergraduate and postgraduate students.
