The Research Center for Local Literature

The Research Center for Local Literature of Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU) is one of the first four research centers of liberal arts founded in 2011. As the first key project of social science in SJTU, the Center was supported by Shanghai Philosophy and Social Sciences Foundation in 2008. Apart from that, it was also supported by National Social Sciences Foundation, Social Sciences Foundation of Ministry of Education, Pujiang Talents Program of Shanghai, Key Project of Shanghai Educational committee, etc. From 2010 to 2012, the Center was supported by “Medium-term and Long-term Program of the Third Period of 985 Program” and obtained 15 million yuan to buy 310,000 pieces of contracts and documents, which turns SJTU into a unit owning the most historical documents within the country.

The research fields of the Center include: first, social and economic history, including structure of land ownership, industrial development and market vicissitude, and population changes; second, social history of architecture and history of art; third, social history, including social organization, clan and religion; fourth, data compilation.

The Center’s projects supported by Shanghai Social Sciences Foundation and National Social Sciences Foundation were all completed in 2012 and all appraised as an A-level projects. In past five years, the Center’s researchers had published 10 CSSCI papers and 3 papers were published in Historical Research. In addition, one paper was published in Taiwan’s journal Bulletin of the Institute of History and Philology Academia Sinica. Two of them won the second prize and the third prize for Shanghai Excellent Research Achievements of Philosophy and Social Sciences respectively; one was awarded 2012 Excellent Research Achievements of Social Sciences of Ministry of Education.

Currently, the Center has embarked on the collation of documents. Part one and Part two of Shicang Contracts (16 volumes in total) has been published and Part three to Part five are being edited. Other local historical literatures will also be published soon, such as The Collections of Contracts and Documents in Poyang Lake Area of SJTU Library (12 volumes in total, granted by General Administration of Press and Publication of China), Bei’an Douments of She County in Huizhou Area of SJTU Library (20 volumes in total) and Shaolian Documents of She County in Huizhou Area of SJTU Library (20 volumes in total).

Faculty:

Cao Shuji (Special Term Professor, a PhD in History of Fudan University)
Wang Yuan (Associate Professor, a PhD in Architecture of Tongji University)
Zhang Yi (Associate Professor, a PhD in History of the Chinese University of Hong Kong)
Jiang Qin (Lecturer, a PhD of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology)
Pan Xinghui (Associate Professor, a PhD in History of Peking University)
Liu Xiao (Lecturer, a PhD in History of East China Normal University)