Renowned Qing Historian Wang Junyi, Former Director of the Qing History Institute at Renmin University, Has Passed Away

Renowned Qing Dynasty Historian Professor Wang Junyi, Former Director of the Qing History Research Institute at Renmin University of China, Passed Away in Hong Kong on November 21, 2024, Aged 87.

Professor Wang Junyi was born on January 9, 1937, in Fengqiu County, Henan Province. He graduated from the Department of Party History at Renmin University of China in 1960 and stayed on as a faculty member in the Department of Philosophy. In 1972, he joined the newly established Qing History Research Group. He joined the Communist Party of China in 1976. After the establishment of the Qing History Research Institute in 1978, he successively served as the graduate student class advisor, research room director, and deputy director, and from 1989 to 1991, he served as the director. He was promoted to associate professor in 1986 and professor in 1991. In the same year, he transferred to the China Social Sciences Press, where he successively served as deputy editor-in-chief and editor-in-chief. He retired in 1999.

Professor Wang Junyi was directly involved in the establishment of the Qing History Research Institute and personally witnessed its development. He assisted Professor Dai Yi, the academic leader, in contemplating the long-term development of the institute and formulating the overall plan for Qing history research. During the early stages of the institute’s establishment, important works such as “A Brief History of the Qing Dynasty,” “A Chronological History of the Qing Dynasty,” and “Biographical Sketches of Qing Dynasty Figures” were written, and archival materials such as “Data on the Resistance Struggles of Urban and Rural People During the Kangxi, Yongzheng, and Qianlong Periods,” “The Heaven and Earth Society,” and “Mining in the Qing Dynasty” were compiled. Professor Wang Junyi either directly participated in the research or assisted in organizing and planning, playing a significant role in establishing the academic reputation of the Qing History Research Institute. To establish a research platform, he also assisted the institute in organizing “Qing History Research Collections,” “Qing History Research Series,” and “Qing History Knowledge Series,” and co-founded “Qing History Research Newsletter” (later renamed “Qing History Research”) with the Qing History Research Room of the Institute of History, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. These greatly promoted the development of Qing history research. Professor Wang Junyi vigorously promoted external academic exchanges for the Qing History Research Institute, and many renowned overseas Qing history scholars subsequently visited or established academic connections with the institute. Overseas graduate students came to study and further their education, teachers from the Qing History Research Institute went overseas for visits, lectures, and conferences, and students also went abroad for advanced studies, greatly expanding the academic influence of the Qing History Research Institute overseas. Professor Wang Junyi made unremitting efforts and outstanding contributions to the establishment and development of the Qing History Research Institute. Even after leaving the institute, he continued to care about its development, and in 2018, on the 40th anniversary of the institute’s establishment, he donated all his books to it.

Professor Wang Junyi had long been engaged in the study of academic thought during the Qing Dynasty and traditional Chinese culture. His main works include “Academic Thought and Culture in the Qing Dynasty” (co-authored), “A Historical Discourse on Academic Culture in the Qing Dynasty” (co-authored), “Exploration of Academic Thought in the Qing Dynasty,” and “Collected Works of Junyi.” He also edited or co-edited “Traditional Culture and Modernization,” “Yan and Huang Culture and the National Spirit,” and “A Collection of Thoughts by Modern Chinese Thinkers.” Professor Wang Junyi achieved fruitful results and had many innovative ideas in the study of academic thought during the Qing Dynasty, especially the Qian-Jia School. He played a positive leading role in the restarted research on Qing history during the early stage of reform and opening-up. Professor Wang Junyi cared about academic development and actively supported emerging scholars. He was open-minded, upright, and courageous in conducting criticisms and debates, making great efforts to promote the healthy development of academia.

Professor Wang Junyi participated in the work of the China Yan and Huang Culture Research Association since 1991 and long served as its vice president and executive deputy director of the academic committee. Later, he served as the honorary vice president of the association. In 2003, he participated in the national compilation of Qing history and was a specially appointed expert of the National Qing History Compilation Committee, making positive contributions to the cause of Qing history compilation.