About
- Department: Faculty of Education
- Gender: male
- Post: Full Professor
- Graduate School: The Chinese University of Hong Kong
- Degree:
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- Fax: 86-021-62232258
Education
B.A. (Guizhou Education College) M.A, M.PHIL., PH.D. (CUHK)
Visiting Study
Jan 2020-Feb 2020: Visiting research fellow at Graduate School of Literature and Human Sciences, Osaka City University, Japan. May 2013-Jul. 2013: Junior visiting scholar at the Institute of History and Philology, Academia Sinica, Taiwan. - Oct. 2013-Feb. 2014: Departmental visitor at the College of Asia and the Pacific, Australian National University.
WorkExperience
Professional Experience
2014-Present: East China Normal University, Department of Education - Chenghui Scholar/Lecturer, Associate Professor, Professor
2014-Present: Researcher at the Institute of Basic Education Reform and Development, Key Research Base of Humanities and Social Sciences, Ministry of Education
Administrative and Service Roles
2019-present: Assistant Director, Deputy Director at the Institute of Basic Education Reform and Development, Key Research Base of Humanities and Social Sciences, Ministry of Education
2022-2025: Assistant Dean, Faculty of Education, East China Normal University
2018-2026: Deputy Department Head, Department of Education, East China Normal University (responsible for scientific research, social services, and international exchange)
Resume
萬象奧義，攝於斯語——凡可言者，即可明言；弗可論者，當守緘默。
The whole sense of the universe might be summed up the following words: what can be said at all can be said clearly, and what we cannot talk about we must pass over in silence——Ludwig Wittgenstein.
Other Appointments
Service to Professional Organizations Deputy Secretary-General, The Society for the History of Education, The Chinese Society of Education； Executive Director and Member of the Academic Committee, The Society of Young and Middle-aged Educational Theorists, The Chinese Society of Education
Editorial Service Deputy Editor-in-Chief, Journal of Schooling Studies (CSSCI Journal) Editorial Board Member, History of Education (SSCI Journal)
Peer Review Service Journal of East China Normal University (Educational Sciences); Journal of Educational Studies; Global Education; Tsinghua Journal of Education; Fudan Journal (Social Sciences Edition); Modern Chinese History Studies; The Qing History Journal; Digital Humanities
ECNU Review of Education; Paedagogica Historica; History of Education; History of Education Quarterly; History of Education Review; Educational Philosophy and Theory; Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education; Humanities and Social Sciences Communications
Research Fields
In the realms of teaching, research, and practice, my field of vision and thematic concerns are broadly as follows: 1. Study of Chinese Educational History and Culture The history and culture of education are among the foundational areas at the core of the educational discipline. My research focuses on two pillars of educational history: educational systems and educational thoughts. Specifically, I attempt to concentrate on traditional examinations for talent selection and educational culture, exploring domestic and international archival materials and integrating perspectives and methods from literature, institutional studies, and biographical research. This ongoing effort advances a trilogy of studies on the examinations of the Qing Dynasty: in the liberal arts, military arts, and translation. Moreover, I primarily focus on Confucian core texts and their teaching philosophies, selecting key texts such as the Analects, Mencius, Xunzi, Book of Rites, Zhu Xi's Conversations, and the Record of Discussion on Learning, to interpret the educational philosophy and teaching wisdom contained within traditional educational classics. This includes reflecting on the rationale and pathways for the creative transformation and innovative development of excellent traditional culture. Furthermore, I pay attention to the cultural, everyday life, micro-historical and digital turns in global historiography, thereby exploring humanistic literacy in the age of digital intelligence and the digital intelligence literacy of humanities scholars and thus expanding the study of the history of educational life. This approach examines the life, body, emotions, and related material culture within school education, aiming to develop new topics and realms for traditional educational research, thereby enriching the depth, breadth, and warmth of educational scholarship. 2. Explorations in Modern Politics and Socio-Cultural Studies The global circulation of the early modern period profoundly changed and shaped the global layout and human life, continuing to this day. I attempt to place China, from the Ming and Qing dynasties onwards, within the global context and the East Asian world to ponder its problems, characteristics, and solutions. Specifically, beyond a traditional political history perspective that includes interest in the official system, administrative structure, and institutional documents, I pay special attention to the mobility of people, knowledge, ideas, goods, and diseases since the modern era and their impact. Therefore, beyond the examination system for selecting talent, I expand my thinking to include responses to solar and lunar eclipses in the Ming and Qing dynasties, involving astronomy, technology, religion, and political implications. I discuss the evolution and impact of blackboards and related teaching aids, as well as issues such as teacher's tuberculosis in modern schools and their countermeasures. We must acknowledge that the Earth is round, and the trend towards globalization is irreversible, but it must be understood and fowesaw appropriately. The Earth is also quite unique, but all of this is merely a moment in the vast expanse of time and space, not to be taken lightly or overly seized upon. 3. Curriculum, Teaching, and Schooling Improvement What distinguishes humans from other species is that, in addition to reproduction and upbringing, humans have systematic education to pass on and renew the collective experience of life, thereby ensuring the continuity of tribes and the continuation of civilization. The importance of the basic education stage, both for individual lifelong growth and for the improvement of the educational system, is self-evident. I always attempt to understand, think about, and advance educational research and practice from a humanistic standpoint. Combining my early teacher education and training, experience teaching Chinese and history in middle schools, recent years as a researcher at the Institute for Schooling Reform and Development under China's Ministry of Education, and insights gained from visiting and learning from schools abroad, I provide consultation and guidance on curriculum and teaching, teacher professional development, educational research project design, and comprehensive school reform, promoting collaborative learning. The ultimate goal is to ground in rigorous academia to serve educational teaching and research practice; and within teaching and practice, to verify and deepen the academic research findings. Although I am engaged in the teaching and research of Chinese history and culture, I always strive to sharpen my academic thoughts and insights within a multi-lingual, cross-cultural international and comparative perspective, seeking a convergence and balance between tradition and modernity, the East and West, and the theory and practice. Currently, I am able to conduct academic work comprehensively using Chinese, English, Japanese, and Manchu documents; I maintain curiosity and interest in expanding my learning of other languages, knowledge, and cultures. To learn with practice, there is endless joy within!
Enrollment and Training
Admissions and Collaborations: Recruiting academic master's and doctoral graduate students in Chinese Educational History Recruiting international students (including New Sinology program students, with supervision available in Chinese or English) Recruiting postdoctoral researchers in Chinese Educational History and Chinese-Foreign Educational Culture Accepting domestic and international visiting scholars in Educational History and Basic Education Reform Students and scholars with interdisciplinary backgrounds are welcome to apply and collaborate. Serious inquiries only.
Work Email: lli*dedu.ecnu.edu.cn (please replace * with @)
Course
Doctoral Courses
Master's Courses Selected Readings in Traditional Chinese Education Classics (Required, Sole Instructor) Readings in The Analects (Elective, Sole Instructor) Qualitative Research Methods in Education: Life History Research and Writing (Elective, Sole Instructor) Education in China: Tradition and Transformation (Elective, Taught in English, Sole Instructor) Essentials of Traditional Chinese Culture (Elective, Sole Instructor) History and Philosophy of Educational Inquiry (Elective, Co-Instructor)
Undergraduate Courses Human Thinking and Disciplinary History: Pedagogy (Elective, Co-Instructor) History of Chinese and Foreign Educational Thought (Part I: China) (Required, Co-Instructor) History of Chinese and Foreign Educational Administration (Part I: China) (Elective, Co-Instructor) Readings and Research on the Four Books (Elective, Sole Instructor) Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism in Chinese Culture (Elective, Sole Instructor) The Spirit and Wisdom of Great Chinese Educators (Elective, Sole Instructor) History of Education in China (Required for Continuing Education/Evening Program, Sole Instructor)
Scientific
Research ProjectsI. Principal Investigator 2023: East China Normal University Youth Pre-research Project: Research on the Translation Examination in the Qing Dynasty (清代翻译科考试研究) (Grant No. 2023ECNU-YYJ011). In progress. 2022: Shanghai Shuguang Program Project: A Study on the Manchu Translations of the Four Books and Culture & Education in the Qing Dynasty (满文译本<四书>与清代文教之研究) (Grant No. 22SG27). In progress. 2020: Fok Ying Tung Education Foundation of the Ministry of Education (Young Teachers' Fund): Instrument of Conveying 'Dao' and Instrument of Changing 'Dao': 'Blackboard' and the Transformation of School Education since Modern Times from the Perspective of Global History (传“道”之器与变“道”之器：全球史视域下“黑板”与近代以降学校教育的变迁) (Grant No. 171092). In progress. 2018: National Social Science Fund of China (Later-stage Funding): Research on the Military Civil Service Examinations in the Qing Dynasty (清代武科考试研究) (Grant No. 18FZS007). Completed. 2015: National Social Science Fund of China (Later-stage Funding): Research on the Jinshi Institute in the Late Qing Dynasty (晚清进士馆研究) (Grant No. 15FZS012). Completed.
II. Participating Projects Key Construction Projects of Textbook for the Marxist Theory Research and Construction Project in the New Era: Research Methods in Education (教育研究方法) (PI: Prof. YUAN Zhenguo) and History of Education in China (中国教育史) (PI: Prof. SHI Kecan). In progress. Major Project of Key Research Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences, Ministry of Education: Research on the Inheritance and Development of 'Typical Experiences' in the Historical Transformation of Basic Education in China towards High Quality (中国基础教育迈向高质量历史变革中“典型经验”的传承与发展研究) (Grant No. 22JJD880020). In progress. PI: Prof. HUANG Shuguang. General Project of the National Education Science Planning: Research on the Integration of Chinese Values into International Large-scale Education Assessments and the Construction of Chinese Discourse in Assessment Value Systems (国际大规模教育测评的中国价值融入及测评价值体系的中国话语建构研究) (Grant No. BAA200018). In progress. PI: Assoc. Prof. YOU Yun. Project of Key Research Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences, Ministry of Education: Indigenous Exploration of the Modernization Development Path of Basic Education Schools in China (中国基础教育学校现代化发展道路的本土探索). Completed. Authority: Ministry of Education; PI: Prof. HUANG Shuguang. Sub-project of Shanghai Basic Education Curriculum Reform: Theoretical Research on Curriculum Schemes for Primary and Secondary Schools Oriented toward Core Competencies (指向核心素养的中小学课程方案理论研究). Completed. Authority: Shanghai Municipal Education Commission; PI: Prof. CUI Yunhuo.
Academic Achievements
I. Academic Monographs LI Lin, Imperial Military Examinations in the Qing Dynasty (清代武科考试研究), Beijing: Zhonghua Book Company, 2022. LI Lin, Imperial Elites in Transformation: A Study of the Jinshi Academy and Relevant Jinshi Scholar-bureaucrats in Modern China (最后的天子门生——晚清进士馆及其进士群体研究), Beijing: The Commercial Press, First edition 2017, Reprinted 2022. LI Lin, Seeing through the Quotidian: Research Approaches and Writing Cases in Life History (凝视日常：生活史的研究理路及写作案例), Shanghai: East China Normal University Press, First edition 2023, Reprinted 2024.
II. Major Journal Articles
(I) Sole-Authored Articles LI Lin, Following the Name to Find the Reality: An Inquiry into the Historical Forms, Purport, and Challenges of 'Large Unit Teaching' (循名责实——“大单元教学”的历史样态、旨趣及挑战探论), Global Education, No. 3 (2025), pp. 14-30. LI Lin, Metropolitan Graduates of Imperial Military Examination in Late Qing Dynasty: An Investigation of the Group Recruited in 1844 (清季武科金榜题名考论——以道光二十四年甲辰科为实证案例), Historical Review, No. 6 (2024), pp. 103-114. LI Lin, Xinhua Dictionary and Its Implications and Inspirations as a 'Learning Resource' (<新华字典>及其作为“学习资源”的意蕴与启示), Chinese Teachers, No. 12 (2024), pp. 14-19. LI Lin, An Investigation of the Educational Metaphors in Early Confucian Philosophy (早期儒家哲学中的教育隐喻探微), Journal of East China Normal University (Educational Sciences), No. 7 (2024), pp. 100-113. LI Lin (2024), Teaching as Learning: Etymological Investigation, Canonical Analysis and Experiential Reflection in Chinese Cultural Context, ECNU Review of Education, 7(3), pp. 490-509. LI Lin, Discussion on the Translation, Circulation, and Study of the Four Books in Manchu Script (满文<四书>翻译、研究及其流通探论), New Asia Journal, Vol. 41, No. 1 (June 2024), pp. 226-265. LI Lin, History informs the future: a preliminary discussion of the 'mirror of history' for futures literacy (历史汇通未来：试论未来素养的“历史之镜”), Distance Education in China, No. 6 (2024), pp. 62-71. LI Lin, An Examination of the Metropolitan Examination Paper and Life of Military Jinshi Sun Kaitu in the Early Qing Dynasty (清初武进士孙开图会试考卷及其生平考论), Qing History Review, Issue 2 (2023), pp. 161-173. Lin Li (2023), Revisiting ‘blackboard’: Transformation of medium, space and pedagogy in school education, Educational Philosophy and Theory, 55(7), pp. 773-786. LI Lin, Teachers' Tuberculosis: Implications and Responses to a Modern 'Occupational Disease' (教员肺痨：一种近代“职业病症”的意涵及应对探微), Historical Review, No. 5 (2022), pp. 91-107. LI Lin, Effective Teaching Research: Rethinking Key Components, Awareness and Strategies (有效教研：关键环节、意识与策略再思), Journal of The Chinese Society of Education, No. 11 (2022), pp. 33-37. LI Lin, Books, Blackboards and Internet: A Micro-narrative and Reflection on Online Teaching during the COVID-19 Pandemic (纸书、黑板与网络——新冠疫情期间在线教学的一则微观叙事与省思), Digital Humanities, No. 3 (2021), pp. 110-136. LI Lin, Celestial Phenomena and the Heavenly Mandate: Analysis of Eclipse-responding during the Reigns of Emperor Taizu, Chengzu, Yingzong and Shizong in the Ming Dynasty (天象与“天命”——明代太祖、成祖、英宗、世宗四朝交食应对论析), Essays on Chinese Humanities, Vol. 35 (Issue 1, 2021), pp. 73-87. LI Lin, Problematize the Problematic: Exploration to the Questions Raised by Confucius' Disciples in The Analects (提问与问题——<论语>所见孔门弟子发问探析), Global Education, No. 5 (2021), pp. 78-94. LI Lin, School city: the practice and effect of a kind of 'student autonomy' during republican China (学校市：民国时期一种“学生自治”的实践及得失), Modern Chinese History Studies, No. 3 (2020), pp. 149-159. LI Lin (2020), Teaching beyond words: ‘silence’ and its pedagogical implications discoursed in the early classical texts of Confucianism, Daoism and Zen Buddhism, Educational Philosophy and Theory, 52(7), pp. 759-768. LI Lin, No Standing without Being Trustworthy: Connotations and Implications of the Word 'Xin' (信) in The Analects (无信不立——<论语>所见“信”义内涵与启示), Universitas: Monthly Review of Philosophy and Culture, Vol. 46, No. 2 (February 2019), pp. 137-151. LI Lin (2017), Education, Culture, and Politics: The Evolution of Chinese Education at The University of Hong Kong, 1911-1941, History of Education: Journal of the History of Education Society, 46(6), pp. 711-729. LI Lin, Fraudulent Practices and Relevant Countermeasures in Imperial Military Examinations in the Qing Dynasty (清代武场防弊与舞弊问题述论), Journal of Traditional Chinese Studies, Issue 16 (August 2017), pp. 158-171. LI Lin, Rescuing the Sun and Rescuing the Country: Political and Cultural Implications of Reactions to the Solar Eclipse in 1901 (“救日”与救国——1901年辛丑日食的政治史及文化史意蕴), Qing History Review, Issue 33 (May 2017), pp. 255-272. LI Lin, On the Recruitment Quota of Provincial Military Examinations and the Group Structure of Provincial Military Graduates in the Qing Dynasty (清代武科乡试中额及武举人群体结构试探), Historical Review, No. 6 (2016), pp. 68-80.
(II) Co-authored Articles
CAI Shangzhi and LI Lin, Inquiry into Key Dimensions, Awareness, and Strategies for High-Quality School Operation (学校高质量办学的关键维度、意识及策略探论), Basic Education, No. 5 (2025), pp. 27-37. Wang, Qiaohan, and Lin Li (2025). Perspectives from the ‘Others’: Educational Review and the Underexplored Facets of Modern Transformation of Education in China, 1907–1938, History of Education 54 (1): 23–55. WANG Zhiqiu and LI Lin, 'Leaving Blank' in Time: An Analysis of the Evolution and Implications of the School Vacation System in China since Modern Times (时间的 “留白” ———近代以降中国学校假期制度沿革及其意涵论析), Basic Education, No. 5 (2023), pp. 100-112.
III. Research Reviews and Public History
Li, Lin. An Overview of Chinese Educational Historiography: Key Themes, Methodological Shifts, and Emerging Trends (2000-2025). Histoire de l’éducation, no. 165 (2026): 211-235. LI Lin, Echoes of the Classics: Listening to the Study and Recitation of the Four Books in a Village School in Western Guizhou during the 1940s (经典余响：聆听1940年代黔西村塾的《四书》习读), in Private History column, The Paper, April 21, 2026. Li Lin. Review of The Civil Examination and Society in Taiwan During the Qing Dynasty [清代科举考试与台湾社会], by Yang Qifu. History of Education 55, no. 1 (2026): 379-381. LI Lin, A Fleeting Hundred and Twenty Years: Implication, Retrospect, and Prospect of Research on the 'Last Jinshi' (倏忽百廿：“末科进士”研究之意蕴、回溯与前瞻), in Private History column, The Paper, September 25, 2025. URL: https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_31617748. LI Lin, Normal School Students of the World, the 'World' of Normal School Students (天下的中师生，中师生的“天下”), in Private History column, The Paper, April 12, 2025. URL: https://m.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_30542984. LI Lin, See·Observe - Images, AI and Humanities (看·见——图像、AI与人文), in Private History column, The Paper, January 21, 2025. URL: https://m.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_29975806.
LI Lin, With Strings and 'Without Strings', All Concern 'Heartstrings': An Exploration of a Path and Artistic Conception in Traditional Chinese Aesthetics (有弦“无弦”，皆关“心弦”——中国传统审美的一种路径及意境探微), Guangming Daily, March 16, 2024, Page 11 National Studies. LI Lin, Book review of A Century of Seeking the Path: National Rejuvenation and Curriculum Reform in Modern China by Zhou Yong. History of Education: Journal of the History of Education Society (online 2024).
LI Lin, State, Education, and Society: Reading Zhou Huimei's Series on 'Modern Chinese Social Education' (国家、教育与社会——周慧梅“中国近代社会教育”系列著作读后), Research in History of Education, No. 1 (2023), pp. 166-177. LI Lin, From School Funds to Education Finance: A Review of Jiang Baolin's Late Qing Schools and the Origin of Modern Chinese Finance (从学堂经费到教育财政——蒋宝麟<清末学堂与近代中国财政的起源>评介), Shanghai Book Review, November 15, 2022. LI Lin, Exploring the Chinese Expression of 'Governance' Implications (探求“治理”意蕴的中国表达), Basic Education, No. 5 (2021), Preface. LI Lin, Seeing People through 'Events', Imparting Reason in 'Events': Reading Dai Haibin's Liu Shui Ji (Flowing Water Collection) (因“事”见人、寓理于“事”——戴海斌著<流水集>读后), Shanghai Book Review, November 3, 2021. LI Lin (compiled), Bibliography of Works on Chinese Imperial Examinations Published outside Mainland China during the Last Two Decades, 1999-2018 (最近二十年海外科举研究著作类目（1999-2018）), in Department of History, Fudan University (ed.), Spilt Water Cannot be Gathered: Rethinking the Centennial of the Abolition of Imperial Examinations (Shanghai: Shanghai Guji Publishing House, 2020), pp. 535-543. LI Lin, New Explorations in Modern Chinese Educational History (中国近代教育史新探), Journal of Educational Studies, No. 5 (2019), p. 80. LI Lin, An Overview of Overseas Research of Chinese History of Education during 2004 and 2016: Important Trends, Representative Scholars and Selected Bibliography (最近十余年海外中国教育史研究概览——重要动态、代表学者及著作类目（2004-2016）), excerpt in Branch of History of Education, The Chinese Society of Education (ed.), Research and Review of History of Education (Beijing: People's Education Press, 2017), Vol. 4, pp. 397-420. LI Lin, Review on ‘Learning for One's Own Self: Education in Traditional China’ by Thomas H. C. Lee (“为己之学”与“权威人格”——李弘祺教授<学以为己：传统中国的教育>读后), excerpt in Jiefang Daily, September 2, 2017.
IV. Academic Translations (I) Manchu to Chinese/English LI Lin, Mavis Hing-yu FUNG, CHONG Man-lung, Loretta E. KIM, “Heritage in Translation: ‘A Dagur Story’ as Historical Fiction and Sample Text for Learning Manchu – Part One”, in SAKSAHA: A Journal of Manchu Studies, Vol. 13 (2015), pp. 63-73.
(II) Japanese to Chinese TSUCHIYA Hiroshi (Auth.), LI Lin (Trans.), The First Monograph on History of Chinese Education: A Study of Jiang Fu and His Materials on History of Chinese Education (“中国教育史”的诞生——蒋黼及其<中国教育史资料>考论), Renmin University of China Education Journal, No. 1 (2016), pp. 158-172.
Honor
Talent Programs 2024: Changjiang Scholar (Young Scholar Program), Ministry of Education 2022: Shuguang Scholar, Shanghai Municipal Education Commission
Teaching Awards 2025: Outstanding Master's Thesis Supervisor Award, East China Normal University 2022: Graduate Education Excellence in Teaching Award (Outstanding Teaching Award), East China Normal University 2021: Outstanding Master's Thesis Supervisor Award, East China Normal University
Research Awards (I) Individual Awards 2025: Second Prize, Academic Monograph Category, 17th Shanghai Philosophy and Social Science Outstanding Achievement Award 2018: First Prize, Academic Monograph Category, 14th Shanghai Philosophy and Social Science Outstanding Achievement Award
(II) Collaborative Awards
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