History 'Olympics' comes to Shandong

The 22nd International Conference of Historical Science, the world's most influential academic event on historical science, will be held in Jinan, the capital of East China's Shandong province from Aug 23 to 29.

It is the first time the international event will be held in an Asian country in the past 100 years. The conference has taken place every five years since 1900 and enjoys a reputation as the "Olympics of historians" because of its far-ranging influence.

This year's event is sponsored by the International Committee of Historical Science and co-organized by the Association of Chinese Historians and Shandong University.

It is expected to attract more than 2,000 scholars from all over the world who will have in-depth discussions on historical science issues of common concern.

"After successfully hosting the Olympics in Beijing, the 22nd ICHS comes as another great opportunity to showcase China's long history and profound culture to the world," Zhang Rong, president of Shandong University, told China Daily.

"It will have a positive and farreaching influence, displaying the vitality of Chinese civilization and promoting cultural self-confidence, as well as raising China's international image," Zhang said.

Zhang believes that winning the organizing rights for the event was an important reflection of China's international influence. He said it was also recognition of Shandong University, which is known for its literature and history expertise, and Shandong, a prominent cultural province that was the home of famous Chinese philosophers Confucius and Mencius.

According to the conference's organizing committee, preparations including the arrangement of conference agendas, scholar registration, paper submission and volunteer recruitment are well underway.

To date, a total of 1,602 experts and scholars from 66 countries and regions including the United States, Australia, France, Germany and South Korea have confirmed their participation. The roster includes 705 foreigners, said the organizing committee. Zhang highlighted the high academic level of the event.

"We have deliberately arranged more than 150 symposiums and round-table conferences during the week-long event," he said.

The conference will mainly involve four major themes - China from Global Perspectives, Historicizing Emotions, Revolutions in World History: Comparisons and Connections and Digital Turn in History. Zhang said they hoped to showcase Chinese and Shandong culture through the event and encourage more graduate and doctoral students to participate.

The cities of Jinan, Qingdao, Zibo, Tai'an, Jining and Liaocheng will host six specialized themed discussions to display their unique cultural history. Participants will focus on world cultural heritage items in Shandong, including Mount Taishan in Tai'an, the Grand Canal in Liaocheng and the Confucius Temple in Jining, the hometown of Confucius. The conference is open to graduate and doctoral students from all over the world. A poster session will be organized to showcase participants' thesis and research findings and the top 10 students will be awarded prizes for the best paper, Zhang said.

Marjatta Hietala, president of the International Committee of Historical Science, said that the ideal result of this kind of international conference is to open a new platform to discuss history, establish new perspectives and raise the status of history in the world. "For years, we have aimed to bring the conference from a solely European orientation towards a true global community of historians. It seems that we will certainly reach that goal in 2015 at the 22nd session," she said.

During the conference, participants will have the chance to enjoy Shandong's friendly hospitality and its fascinating history and culture, said Robert Frank, secretary of the International Committee of Historical Science.

"We believe it will be an unprecedented international historical gala," he said.

wangqian2@chinadaily.com.cn