Conference · Beijing · 14–15 November 2026

Science and Knowledge-Making across Early Modern Eurasia, 1400–1800

A Scientiae & Department of the History of Science, Tsinghua University Conference.

About the Conference

How did “early modernity” look and feel at the eastern edge of Eurasia? What counted as “science,” and how did knowledge travel, settle, and transform across languages, media, and environments? Focusing on a long early modern period (c. 1400–1800), this conference brings together scholars from interdisciplinary fields to explore knowledge-making across Eurasia, with particular attention to East and Southeast Asia and their global entanglements.

The conference foregrounds situated practices—translation, reading, travelling, crafting, observing, collecting, and other forms of engagement with sociomaterial settings—and asks how early modernity and globality were made through connection and transregional interaction.

Invited Speakers

The conference will feature two keynote lectures and a distinguished lecture.

Keynote speaker Jongtae Lim 임종태 Seoul National University
Keynote speaker Stuart M. McManus The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Distinguished Lecture Professor Alain Touwaide Scientific Director, Institute for the Preservation of Medical Traditions

Confirmed Participants

The following scholars have confirmed their participation. Participants are listed alphabetically by surname; affiliations reflect the current conference registration list and may be updated.

Måns Ahlstedt ÅbergThe University of Hong Kong
Constantin CanavasHamburg University of Applied Sciences
Qun Cao 操群Minzu University of China
Hailian Chen 陈海连Max Planck Institute for the History of Science
Barbara DzierżanowskaUniversity of Warsaw
Maria FloruțǎuUniversity of Cambridge
Yaliang Fu 付亚亮Beijing Normal University
Ilay GolanUniversity of Cambridge
Yunting Gu 辜韵汀Fudan University
Stefano GuliziaCa’ Foscari University of Venice
Jingyi Han 韩静怡Beijing Forestry University
Lingjun He 何凌珺Jinan University
Kun Hu 胡琨Beijing Foreign Studies University
Tian Huang 黄田Institute for the History of Natural Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Zongbei Huang 黄宗贝Tsinghua University
Che Jiang 蒋澈Tsinghua University
Lu Jiang 江璐Sun Yat-sen University
Shan Jiang 姜姗Peking Union Medical College
Kristina KleutghenWashington University in St. Louis
Albert KozikUniversity of Warsaw
Yichao Li 李奕潮Peking University
Jongtae Lim 임종태Seoul National University
Xitong Ma 马喜桐University of Oxford
Stuart M. McManusThe Chinese University of Hong Kong
Margaret Ng Wee-Siang The College of Wooster
Joo Hyeon OhUniversity of Minnesota
Sergio Orozco-EcheverriUniversity of Antioquia
Qian Rao 饶倩University of Chinese Academy of Sciences
Luyao Shi 石路遥Soochow University
Shuyang Shi 时舒阳University of Pittsburgh
Ulrike SpringUniversity of Oslo
Christina Anne StackpoleUniversity of Warsaw
Chengsheng Sun 孙承晟Tsinghua University
Duo Tang 唐朵Beijing Foreign Studies University
Yan Wang 王琰University of Science and Technology Beijing
Wei'ao Xing 邢玮傲University of Waterloo
Mingfan Yang 杨明繁Tsinghua University
Hanning Yao 姚晗宁Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine
Wuyutong Yao 姚梧雨童University of Oxford
Ailing Zheng 郑艾玲University of Chinese Academy of Sciences
Zexing Zheng 郑泽星Peking University
Zhongtian Zheng 郑中天Tsinghua University
Xin Zhuang 庄新Institute of Historical Theory, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences

Practical Information

A separate practical-information page provides initial guidance on arriving in Beijing, using public transport, paying for metro journeys, taking taxis or ride-hailing services, and reaching Tsinghua University.

Travel & Practical Information

Programme & Registration Updates

Please note: due to ongoing administrative procedures, we are not yet able to publish the finalized conference programme or the payment arrangements for the conference fee administered through Tsinghua University.

Both items will be posted on this website as soon as the relevant arrangements have been confirmed.

Working Language

English

Conference Format

Primarily in person at Tsinghua University, with limited hybrid participation by prior arrangement.

Organizers

Scientiae

Department of the History of Science, Tsinghua University

Conveners: Stefano Gulizia (Ca’ Foscari University of Venice); Che Jiang 蒋澈 (Tsinghua University); Chengsheng Sun 孙承晟 (Tsinghua University); Zongbei Huang 黄宗贝 (Tsinghua University).