On 29 July 2024, Fangtang Institute at Tsinghua University launched the inaugural Fangtang Innovation Doctoral Dissertation Award. Supported by the Fangtang Research Fund, the award encourages early-career scholars to pursue academic frontiers and develop original ideas.
The review took six months and involved 21 senior reviewers. Five doctoral graduates of Tsinghua University received the inaugural award for research in history, philosophy, Chinese language and literature, public administration, and architectural history.
The inaugural ceremony was held in April 2025. Award recipients shared the questions and breakthroughs that shaped their dissertations, then joined senior scholars in a discussion of what makes strong humanities research. At the ceremony, Fangtang Research Fund donor Yang Jinfang described the Institute’s mission, vision, and hopes for the field: rapid advances in AI do not necessarily signal a decline of the humanities and social sciences. New questions can instead create new opportunities, provided scholars remain forward-looking, identify essential questions, and explore new approaches.
Honorees
| Recipient | Awarded Dissertation (original Chinese title) |
|---|---|
| Chen Yunqing | 秦汉官吏用印研究 |
| Liu Yutong | 以元统天——董仲舒春秋学五始思想研究 |
| Shi Congbin | 楚简常用词研究 |
| Wang Peijie | 我国现发展阶段企业税费征管问题研究 |
| Zheng Yihua | 永乐宫元代彩画研究 |
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