Harvard scholar Patrick Mendis has been appointed as a visiting fellow at Peking University's School of International Studies (SIS). A yearlong visiting fellowship allows Prof. Mendis to continue his studies on Sino-American relations and research on Confucian philosophy in modern political governance.

Professor Mendis presenting a copy of his book, Peaceful War, to Prof. Yang Chaoming, Director of the Confucius Research Institute in Qufu.

"I am deeply appreciative of this appointment and delighted to associate with a world class faculty at the leading university of China," he said.

He is a Rajawali senior fellow at the prestigious Harvard Kennedy School of Government's Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation as well as a distinguished scholar and senior expert at the US Confucius Institute of George Mason University.

This is a part of promoting international understanding and academic discussion between China and the United States.

Vice Dean Prof. Fan Shiming of SIS explained that, given his "expertise in IPE [international political economy] studies, especially in comparative analysis of Sino-American relations and the future prospects of creating a commercial civilization, we believe that [his] visit will make a contribution to our academic community."

Apart from lecturing at Peking University, Prof. Mendis has served as a frequent visiting professor to a number of other Chinese universities, including Fudan, Nanjing, Renmin, Tsinghua, Tongji and Wuhan. He is currently a distinguished visiting professor of international politics at Zhejiang University in Hangzhou.

Over the past two years, he has been traveling around the country to better understand "the influence of Confucian and ancient culture on the changing dynamics of Chinese people, especially the younger generation".

He said he wanted "to climb the most sacrosanct Chinese mountains and visit major museums and architectural sites" for his next book project.

This year Prof. Mendis has climbed the Wudangshan, Huangshan, and Taishan as well as visited the birthplace of Confucius. "I often dreamt about visiting Qufu, the Confucian cradle of Chinese civilization," the scholar says after hiking Taishan and visiting the historic Dai Temple in Shandong Province.

In July, the Confucius Research Institute in Qufu honored Prof. Mendis by appointing him as a distinguished visiting researcher after his participation in the Institute's philosophical discussions and the public lecture at the Qufu Normal University.

At Peking University, Prof. Mendis will join seminars, discussions, and co-teaching with other SIS faculty colleagues during his fellowship.

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)