Call for Asian Humanistic Challenge to Western Theory | CUHK

Call for Asian Humanistic

Challenge to Western Theory

October 2010

P
rof. Leo Lee Ou-fan, Wei Lun Professor of Humanities at CUHK, urged scholars in the
humanities to contemplate how to make a new beginning to challenge Western
philosophical thought from an Asian humanistic point of view a task made more urgent
by the ubiquitous effects of globalization.

Professor Lee was delivering the keynote speech for the Eighth Annual Meeting of the Asian New
Humanities Net (ANHN) held on 15th and 16th October at CUHK. The event, organized by the
Faculty of Arts, the Research Institute for the Humanities and the Centre for East Asian Studies,
marked the first assembly of this prestigious alliance in Hong Kong. The theme was 'Asian
Humanities and/or Humanities in Asia'.

While the task of reexamining and redefining Western philosophical theory should be undertaken by

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 Call for Asian Humanistic Challenge to Western Theory | CUHK

Asian humanistic scholars, Professor Lee believed that the term should not be taken to mean
scholars of Asian descent, but rather all humanistic scholars interested in Asia.

An Asian humanistic scholar in every sense of the term, Professor Lee has famously been much
involved in postmodern theory for the last 20 years. However, he found that he could not bring
himself to accept all of its positions, and this had led him to think, are there Asian ways of doing
humanities? The answer seems to be, tentatively, yes, but a lot of work needs to be done. He
observed that subaltern studies, a school of thought on the postcolonial societies of South Asia and
the developing world, put forward by Indian scholars, can be thought to be a challenge to
traditional Western narratives. He asked, could there be Chinese ways of subverting these
narratives? If so, how do we reexamine and redefine our methodologies?

Professor Lee's words were preceded by a welcome address delivered by Prof. Ping-chen Hsiung,
CUHK Dean of Arts and one of the founders of ANHN. Professor Hsiung expressed high hopes for the
meeting, 'By hosting the first ANHN meeting in Hong Kong, CUHK is poised to become a stronghold
for developing humanities in Asia.'

The two-day event showcased the latest achievements in Asian humanities and explored the idea of
humanities in Asia against the backdrop of academic globalization. Papers were read by leading
scholars in the region, including Prof. Yuezhi Xiong of Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, Prof.
Yifeng Dai of Xiamen University, Prof. Hsien-hao Liao of Taiwan University and Prof. Cheuk Yin Lee
of the National University of Singapore, and Professor Yuko Shimazaki of Waseda University, to
name but a few. The meeting also attracted scholars from top universities in North America and
Europe, such as Freie Universitt Berlin, University of Toronto and Harvard University. Together, the
scholars reflected on the past, present and future of humanities in Asia in the context of academic
research and institution building.

On the second day of the meeting, there was a guided tour for the participants to historically and
culturally significant spots in Hong Kong, such as Tsang Tai Uk in Sha Tin, the Hong Kong Museum
of Coastal Defence, Dr Sun Yat-sen Museum, a heritage trail in Central, and the Peak. Incidentally,
all these sights have been much written about by local and overseas humanities scholars, including
not least, Prof. Leo Lee Ou-fan himself.

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