Welcome to the EACP Website

Our Association aims to

• encourage and advance academic and scholarly activities related to Chinese philosophy in all countries across Europe;
  
• create and maintain a platform for a fruitful cooperation and exchange of ideas;
• open a dialogue between scholars of Asian, especially Chinese intellectual history;
• offer a platform for the presentation and discussion of recent topical researches;

detail from "Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove", by Li Shida 李士達 (Wikimedia commons)

Main activities

• organization of regular biennial conferences;
• organization of seminars, thematic conferences, workshops, symposia, study events, lectures;
• support for young scholars;
• publication projects;
• establishing platforms for contacts and cooperation between scholars and students conducting research in and teaching in the fields Chinese philosophy and intellectual history;
• facilitation of cooperation with other organizations and institutions with similar aims;
• dissemination of information and resources related to Chinese philosophy.
  

Short history

Until the beginning of the 21st century, European scholars and experts on traditional and modern Chinese philosophy mostly tended to work on their particular topics independently and in isolation. However, some felt an urgent need for a common platform that could unite our knowledge beyond scattered panels at different conferences and the mutual reading of our works. This need was first addressed through a series of written conversations between Bart Dessein, Jana S. Rošker, and Geir Sigurðsson in 2012.

A wider circle of scholars on Chinese philosophy delved deeper into this issue at a conference on Contemporary Confucianism and Chinese Modernization, which was organized by Geir Sigurðsson and Magnús Björnsson at the University of Iceland in September 2013. This event marked the beginning of the first concrete initiative towards the establishment of such an association.

Jana S. Rošker officially established the EACP in February 2014 in Ljubljana, Slovenia. The inaugural session was held during a conference on Contemporary East Asia and the Confucian Revival, hosted by the Department of Asian Studies at the University of Ljubljana in October 2014.

The founding members of the EACP, listed in alphabetical order, were Ivana Buljan, Bart Dessein, Du Lun, Raoul David Findeisen, Fabian Heubel, Gad C. Isay, Marcin Jacoby, Hans Kühner, Lee Ming-huei, Helena Motoh, Jana S. Rošker, Téa Sernelj, Geir Sigurðsson, Vytis Silius, Christian Soffel, Ady Van den Stock, Jan Vrhovski, and Ralph Weber. During this inaugural session, the first executive committee and board were elected from among the founding members. Jana S. Rošker was elected to become the association's first president and later (2019) its honorary member.

The inaugural General Assembly also nominated local representatives of different European regions (countries) who would be responsible for the dissemination and collection of information, relevant for the Association, in their particular areas (countries) during the work-up phase of the EACP.

The inaugural conference of the association was hosted by the Vilnius University (Lithuania) and organized in June 2016 by the first vice president of the association, Vytis Silius who assumed the function of the new president in the same year. The second conference was held in September 2017 and organized by the vice president Ralph Weber at the University of Basel (Switzerland) under the presidency of Vytis Silius. The third conference was held in September 2019 at Ghent University (Belgium) by vice president Bart Dessein and Ady Van den Stock under the presidency of Ralph Weber. The fourth conference was held in June 2023 at the University of Macerata (Italy) and organized by the current president Selusi Ambrogio.

Since its inception, the EACP has published two anthologies on Chinese philosophy.

Contact

If you want more information about us and our activities, please feel free to contact us by clicking here.