On November 29, the 16th ‘Boya Academic Lecture’ of Liaoning University was held in Room 113 of the Administrative Building at Puhe Campus. Professor Chen Jianli, the Party Secretary of the School of Archaeology and Museology at Peking University, served as the keynote speaker. Professor Qiu Huanguang, the Vice President of Liaoning University, attended the lecture and introduced the keynote speaker. The lecture was chaired by Professor Zhang Hongjie, the Party Secretary of the History Department of Liaoning University.
Professor Chen Jianli delivered a lecture titled ‘Early Metallurgical Technology Exchange and Dissemination in Northeast Asia’. He introduced the origin, dissemination, and exchange of early metallurgical technology in Northeast Asia, as well as the impact of metallurgical technology on social progress. He then provided an in-depth explanation of field survey methods in metallurgical archaeology, the discovery and identification of mining and smelting sites, and the role of metallurgical archaeological techniques in the social development of Northeast China. Finally, he discussed the existing issues in the field of metallurgical archaeology in Northeast Asia and the future directions for its development, emphasizing the importance of exploring precious metal casting techniques and building a database of metallurgical remains.
Professor Chen Jianli’s report demonstrated profound academic grounding and presented theoretical issues in a clear and accessible manner. The report not only provided new perspectives for the study of metallurgical archaeology but also offered new ideas for the future academic development of the School of Archaeology and Museology. It was highly enlightening and elicited a strong response among the faculty and students.
Following the lecture, Prof. Qiu Huanguang, Vice President of LNU, presented Prof. Chen Jianli with an Honorary Professorship Certificate from LNU. Prof. Hua Yubing, from the Department of History at Liaoning University, awarded Prof. Chen with a commemorative certificate for the ‘Boya Academic Lecture’. A student representative from the School of Archaeology and Museology, Faculty of History at Liaoning University, presented flowers to Prof. Chen Jianli as a gesture of respect.
Introduction to Prof. Chen Jianli:
Professor Chen Jianli serves as the Party Secretary and a professor at the School of Archaeology and Museology, Peking University. He concurrently holds positions as a member of the Executive Committee and the Secretary of the Advisory Committee of the Beginnings of the Use of Metals and Alloys (BUMA), a council member of the Chinese Society for the History of Science and Technology, and a member of the Academic Committee of the Chinese Numismatic Society. He has led over ten research projects funded by the National Natural Science Foundation, the National Social Science Foundation, the National Cultural Heritage Administration, and the Beijing Municipal Commission of Science and Technology. Professor Chen has conducted surveys at hundreds of mining and smelting sites in China and analyzed numerous metallurgical artifacts, focusing on the application of modern scientific and technological methods in archaeology and museology.
He has authored one monograph, ‘Metallurgical Archaeology III: New Explorations in Ancient Chinese Metal Casting Civilization’, and co-authored six books, including ‘Steel Technology in Central and Northern China during the Han and Jin Dynasties’, ‘Metallurgical Archaeology II: Technical Studies of Metal Artifacts from the Ma Jiayuan Tomb and the Cultural Exchange in Northwest China during the Late Warring States Period’, ‘Archaeometallurgy IV: Gold in Ancient China 2000-200 BCE’, ‘Metallurgical Archaeology V: Cast Iron at Tai Cheng’, and ‘Quantitative Archaeology’. He has also edited one book, ‘Metallurgical Archaeology I: Studies on the Clay Mould Casting Techniques of Shang and Zhou Bronzes’, and participated in the translation of one book, ‘Metallurgical and Microstructural Studies of Ancient and Historical Metal Artifacts’.
Professor Chen has published over 230 academic papers, participated in the development of two industry standards for the National Cultural Heritage Administration, and holds one national patent. He has organized and planned multiple exhibitions, including ‘Exemplary China: Form, Techniques, and Patterns of Shang and Zhou Bronzes’. Four of the metallurgical archaeological field projects he has been involved in have been awarded the Top Ten Archaeological Discoveries of China.
