Torch of Freedom: An International Symposium on Hu Shih

It is perhaps a historical irony or tragedy that we are now experiencing an increasingly derailing world just like the time of Dr. Hu Shih (1891-1962). With the outbreak of a pandemic first in China and then the rest of the world, the massive protests of Hong Kong in 2019-2020, and Russia’s invasion into Ukraine in 2022, it is hard for us to pretend that we are still living in the same world and expect to apply the old rules on the new reality. What does it mean to study Hu Shih in the twenty-first century? How do we evaluate his legacy in various social, cultural, and historical contexts? And how do we account for the different ways in which “Hu Shih studies” were performed in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, north America, and beyond? More importantly, how do we, as contemporaries, respond to Hu Shih’s cultural-political agenda proposed nearly a century ago? One key objective of this symposium is to expand our understanding of Hu Shih, and diversify the ways in which we research this important historical figure. As we stand at the crossroads of China and the world today that is marked by increasingly instability and conflict, which is similar to Dr. Hu’s own time, we invite all those who are concerned of our contemporary world to contemplate on Dr. Hu Shih’s writings, and explore our past, now and future through his eyes.

胡適先生是中國近代史上最具影響力的公共知識分子之一。他一生橫跨政學兩界，生命足跡遍及中國與歐美大陸，他經歷過清帝國的覆滅、民國的建立、新中國的成立、以及兩次世界大戰。胡適先生成名於五四新文化運動，他不僅在中國語言、文化、教育的建設上扮演了重要的角色，同時也在近代中國的政治、社會與外交的發展史中有過獨特的貢獻。在過去近半個世紀裡，關於胡適的研究就如同胡適本人的生命經歷一樣，寬廣而豐富，同時也充滿了張力與戲劇性。對於身處二十一世紀此時此刻的我們而言，閱讀胡適到底意味著什麼？胡適研究又意味著什麼？又該有怎麼樣的發展？香港城市大學敬邀海內外學界同仁先進，參與「薪火相傳：紀念胡適先生誕辰130週年及逝世60週年學術研討會」，一同重新面對、思考這位中國近代史上的重要教育家、文學家、和公共知識份子。

論壇一：中國哲學史中的胡適
Panel 1: Hu Shih and Chinese Philosophy

主持人: 丘慧芬 Josephine Chiu-Duke

黃克武 Ko-wu Huang:
“五四與反五四的內在融合：余英時先生的胡適研究”

季劍青 Jianqing Ji:
“胡適歷史研究中發生學方法的形成”

劉保禧 Po Hei Lau:
“我是開山的人：中國近代哲學史上的胡適”

評議人：席雲舒 Yunshu Xi

論壇二：胡適研究的史料運用
Panel 2: New Avenues for Hu Shih Studies

主持人: 周保松 Po Chung Chow

沈衛威 Weiwei Shen:
“中國第二歷史檔案館胡適文獻介紹”

江勇振 Yung-chen Chiang:
“胡適的「材料重於方法」一說的靈感來源”

席雲舒 Yunshu Xi:
“康奈爾時期胡適對休謨和康德知識論的批評”

評議人：季劍青 Jianqing Ji

論壇三：國際視野中的胡適
Panel 3: Hu Shih in the Global Context
*This panel will be conducted in English.

Chair: Michael Duke 杜邁可

Gang Zhou 周剛:
“Reading Hu Shi and the Chinese Renaissance across Deep Time”

Victor H. Mair 梅維恆:
“A Dunhuang Manuscript formerly in the Possession of Hu Shih”

Selena Orly 孔珍:
“The Official Reappraisal of May Fourth Intellectuals: Hu Shi in the Sinicization of Marxism”

Carlos Yu-Kai Lin 林毓凱:
“Hu Shih’s Dream of a World Government”

Discussant: Yung-chen Chiang 江勇振

論壇四：胡適的香港／時代意義
Panel 4: Hu Shih in Hong Kong, and Beyond

主持人：林毓凱 Carlos Yu-Kai Lin

丘慧芬 Josephine Chiu-Duke:
“胡適與我們這個時代的相關性”

陳學然 Hok Yin Chan:
“胡適的香港因緣”

周保松 Po Chung Chow:
“容忍、自由與權利—對胡適的自由主義的一點考察”

評議人：何杏楓 Carole Hang-fung HOYAN