The 20th International Congress of Historical Sciences was held from July 3 through 9, 2005 at the University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia. Professor Jiang Sheng, as a member of the Chinese Historians’ Delegation attended the congress and delivered a paper on the history of science and technology in Daoism.
Professor Jiang Sheng attended the International Conference of GPSS（Global Perspectives on Science and Spirituality）held in Paris from July 12 to 18, 2005. Professor Jiang was invited to give an academic report, and exchanged academic opinions with the award-winners from the other countries. Professor Jiang’s wife, Professor Li Shuwen, was also invited to the conference and received a warm welcome during the various activities at the Eiffel Tower, Louvre Museum, Notre Dame, the Seine riverside and royal Castle on the outskirts of Paris.
In February, 2005, Professor Jiang was awarded a prize for his research project on Daoism and Science through the GPSS Research Program. At the end of the conference a grand prize-giving ceremony was held at the royal Palace on the outskirts of Paris, which was a great inspiration to the scholars attending the conference.
On July 27, 2005, the 22nd International Congress of History of Science was held at Youyi (Friendship) Hotel in Beijing. At the conference, Bidare V. Subbarayappa (second right in the photo), an India scholar, and Jean Staune (third right in the photo), General Secretary of Universite Interdisciplinaire de Paris and professor of philosophy, acted as the conveners of the seminar “The Dialogue of Science and Religion: Past and Present” (see the group photo of lecturers). The conference room of Youyi Hotel was crowded with the scholars from different countries. Dr. Paul K. Wason (first left in the photo), Director of the Science and Religion Program of John Templeton Foundation, and Dr. Pranab Das (rear center in the photo), Principle Investigator and Program Director of GPSS attended the conference. Under the sponsorship of John Templeton Foundation, the research of scholars from many different countries, including China, England, France, India, Japan, South Korea, and the United States, was supported. Twelve of these scholars were invited to deliver academic papers discussing the relationship between the major religions and science in the world. The paper “Daoism and Science in Ancient China”, delivered by Professor Jiang Sheng (second left in the photo), aroused a great deal of interest among the scholars.
More than a hundred years ago, in the East and the West, science and religion were regarded as incompatible as fire and water. However, with greater developments in science in the 20th century, interest in the relationship between scientific and human spirituality increased. Different national traditions and cultures ceased being simply symbols of backwardness, but rather became recognized as deserving respect, preservation and exploration with regard to developing scientific civilization in the future.
The conference was the first time that the International Congress of History of Science, called the Olympics of History of Science, was held in China. Preeminent international scholars assembled and discussed diverse appeals of future scientific developments to spiritual resources. With sustained attention, it became obvious that the contribution of Chinese cultural traditions to the coming post-modern scientific civilization was a much-neglected field of study
Professor Jiang Sheng attended the 11th International Conference on the History of Science in East Asia held from August 15 to 20, 2005 at Deutsches Museum, Munich, Germany. He presented a paper entitled “Daoism and Science: A Historical Review.”
In the middle of the conference, the scholars enjoyed an excursion to the old Salt Mines of Berchtesgaden and Bad Reichenhall provided by Professor Paul U. Unschuld, President of the Local Organizing Committee (left in the photo).
Beginning in September of 2005, Associate Professor Kang Siqi (Louis Komjathy) opened a course called “Daoist Studies in the West” for the doctoral candidates and master students of IRSSS. That course attempts to orient students to Daoist Studies as a global field of study, including major scholars, publications and research tools. Associate Professor Kang Siqi (Louis Komjathy) is from Michigan, U.S.A., and received his Ph.D. in Religious Studies from Boston University, with an emphasis on Daoism under Livia Kohn, the internationally renowned scholar of Daoism. Dr. Kang Siqi specializes on Daoist history and practice, with his current research focusing on early Quanzhen Daoism from the perspective of comparative religious studies. From August of 2005 to August of 2006, he is working as a full fellow of the Institute of Religion, Science and Social Studies (IRSSS), Shandong University. The inclusion of Associate Professor Kang Siqi is an important measure for enhancing IRSSS’s academic exchanges with the outside world.
During this year, as a member of the GPSS award project of “Daoism and Science: Past and Present”, Professor Guo Shuchun opened a course “Jiuzhang suanshu九章算術 and the History of Mathematics in Ancient China” for a Japanese scholar of mathematics and as part of the course of study for master’s students and doctoral candidates in the Institute of Natural Science History, Chinese Academy of Science, Beijing. In the course he taught that under the influence of philosophical and the religious Daoism, Liu Hui wrote his Shuxue jiyi (Analects of Mathematics).
From February to September of 2005, as a member of the GPSS award project of “Daoism and Science: Past and Present”, Professor Hu Fuchen gave several academic lectures for the doctor candidates, foreign students and students from Taiwan at the Institute of Philosophy, Chinese Academy of Social Science, introducing the knowledge of inner alchemy. He explained the basic ideas of his New Daoist Study (Xin daoxue) that he initiated. At the same time, Professor Hu Fuchen and other Daoist-culture-loving scholars as well as people from various societal backgrounds engaged in discussions and exchanged research information. All these activities received a great deal of interest and support in the academic circle and thus extended the influence of Daoism and the culture of New Daoist Study.
Professor Hu Fuchen also taught the course “Survey of China” for the Institute of Graduates and for the foreign students and the students from Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan, in the Chinese Academy of Social Science. He expounded systematically the historical development, the basic features of Daoist culture and introduced the ideas of New Daoist Study in the 21st century.
On Mar. 10th, invited by the organizer of serial lectures “Panorama of Humanities”, Professor Jiang Sheng gave teachers and student of SDU a lecture titled “Cultural Ethos, Spirituality and Science”.
Prof. Jiang’s lecture consists of three parts: “Traditional Culture: Fertile Basis of Ancient Science”, “Religious Belief: A Method of Exploration of Universe”, “Orientation of Our Culture: Reconstructive and Creative”.
Professor Jiang analyzed the relation between culture and science and elucidated the fundamental function of culture in evolution of science, focusing on the internal kernel of Taoism. He supported the opinion that our civilization will be in existence with his new evidences. The Shandong University Weekly commented: “At the start of new scientific epoch, the lecture of Professor Jiang, should not be merely taken as a clarification on concepts of Culture and Science”, more instructs us to meditate the questions “what orientation will be our civilization choose” and “how to refresh our science”.
On evening of Apr. 12th, Room 201, Letters and History Building, accepting the invitation of Prof. Jiang Sheng, Well-known scholar Guo Shu-chun gave a lecture “Ancient Mathematics and Traditional Culture”.
Professor Guo’s lecture started from the brief history of Chinese mathematics, which is disparted three main periods, from the Spring and Autumn Period to Qin and Han Dynasties, the Northern and Southern Dynasties, and Song and Yuan Dynasties, enumerating representatives of each period and concluding their achievement. In second part He summed up the traits of Chinese ancient mathematics and furthermore discussed the influence of Confucian thoughts on the development of mathematics, mainly on that of Master Xun Zi. Lastly Prof. Guo discussed with students of IRSSS and other colleges their relevant questions.
On April 19th, 2005 Professor Jiang Sheng is invited by SDU Center of Space Calorifics to give a lecture of “Humanity and Inbeing of Science”.
This lecture presided by Prof. Luan Tao is part of “Inspiration of 2005” forum. Prof. Jiang expounded his opinion on human nature through questing the essence of science. He suggested that religion is just an attitude absurd demand on life, neither vulgar nor superstitious, and a dimension exhibiting human nature. While science essentially is an extrinsic system created by human nature. Human possessing a dread feeling on unrecognizable parts of outer world, need science as implement to “know” and medium to “touch” the outer world. Thus people believe that implement is effectual to eliminate or release the tension between subject and object.
Furthermore Dr. Jiang introduced his cultural theory of “energy-grabbing”. Each being tends to seize and consume energy by drive of its instinct, but that is a process of energy import and export. However, human activity is a deliberate “energy-grabbing” determined by consciousness and culture. Such inclination of energy is inner tendency of conflict and confluence among diverse cultures.
Lastly he introduced the thought of Lao Zi on space expressed in Dao De Jing, and pointed out that every person owns multi-selfhood, answering warmly the questions from audience.