Ge Jianxiong (; born 15 December 1945) is a Chinese

historical geographer Historical geography is the branch of geography that studies the ways in which geographic phenomena have changed over time. In its modern form, it is a synthesizing discipline which shares both topical and methodological similarities with histor ...

. He is a professor and the former Director of the Institute of Historical Geography of

Fudan University Fudan University (FDU) is a public university, national public university in Yangpu, Shanghai, Yangpu, Shanghai, China. It is affiliated with the Ministry of Education (China), Ministry of Education and is co-funded with the Shanghai Municipal ...

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

, and Director of the Fudan University Library. His research focus is on historical population movements and human geography. Ge is also a well-known public figure in China. He is a member of the Standing Committee of the

Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference The Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) is a political advisory body in the People's Republic of China and a central part of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)'s United front (China), united front system. Its members adv ...

(CPPCC) and is on the Advisory Committee of the Shanghai Municipal Government.

Biography

Ge Jianxiong was born on 15 December 1945 in Nanxun, Wuxing County (now

Huzhou Huzhou (, ; Huzhou dialect: Romanization of Wu Chinese, ''ghou² cieu¹'') is a prefecture-level city in northern Zhejiang province (Hangzhou–Jiaxing–Huzhou Plain, China). Lying south of the Lake Tai, it borders Jiaxing to the east, Hangzho ...

Zhejiang ) , translit_lang1_type2 = , translit_lang1_info2 = ( Hangzhounese) ( Ningbonese) (Wenzhounese) , image_skyline = 玉甑峰全貌 - panoramio.jpg , image_caption = View of the Yandang Mountains , image_map = Zhejiang i ...

, China. He graduated from Chang'an Middle School and Shibei High School. After a year of teacher's training, he taught at Gutian High School in

Zhabei Zhabei, formerly romanized as Chapei, is a neighborhood and a former district of Shanghai with a land area of and a resident population of 847,300 as of 2013. It is the location of the Shanghai railway station, one of the main railway station ...

, Shanghai. When the National Higher Education Entrance Examination was restored after the end of the

Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a Social movement, sociopolitical movement in the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). It was launched by Mao Zedong in 1966 and lasted until his de ...

, Ge took the graduate examination. Despite having never attended college, he excelled in the exam and was admitted to the graduate school of

to study historical geography under the famous scholar, academician Tan Qixiang. In 1981 he earned a master's degree in history, and in 1983, Ge and his classmate Zhou Zhenhe became the first two recipients of the doctoral degree in humanities (文科博士) in the People's Republic of China. His dissertation, ''Population Geography of the Western Han Dynasty'', was published as a

monograph A monograph is generally a long-form work on one (usually scholarly) subject, or one aspect of a subject, typically created by a single author or artist (or, sometimes, by two or more authors). Traditionally it is in written form and published a ...

by the People's Publishing House in 1986. Ge has been a faculty member of the Institute of Historical Geography of Fudan University since 1981, and became a full professor in 1991. He served as Director of the Institute of Historical Geography from 1996 to 2006. He is also Director of the Fudan University Library. He was a visiting scholar at

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

(1985–1986) and the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

(1998), and a visiting professor at the

School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences The School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences (, EHESS) is a graduate ''grande école'' and '' grand établissement'' in Paris focused on academic research in the social sciences. The school awards Master and PhD degrees alone and conjo ...

(1991) and the

International Research Center for Japanese Studies The , or Nichibunken (日文研), is an inter-university research institute in Kyoto. Along with the National Institute of Japanese Literature, the National Museum of Japanese History, and the National Museum of Ethnology (Japan), National Museum ...

(1997–1998). Ge also writes popular columns and blogs in the mainstream media and is a well-known public figure in China. He is a member of the Standing Committee of the

(CPPCC) and is on the Advisory Committee of the Shanghai Municipal Government.

Selected publications

Ge has published numerous books and articles, including: *''Population Geography of the Western Han Dynasty'' 西漢人口地理, 1986. *''Unity and Fragmentation'' 統一與分裂, , 1994. *''History of Migrations in China'' 中国移民史, , 1997. *''Changes in Boundaries and Administrative Divisions in Chinese History'' 中国历代疆域的变迁, , 1997. *''Population and Modernization in China since 1850'' *''China's Historical Geographic Studies in the Twentieth Century'' *''Emigrants and Chinese Traditional Culture'', , 2004. *''Population History of China'' 中国人口史, , 2005.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ge, Jianxiong 1945 births Living people Fudan University alumni Academic staff of Fudan University Chinese historical geographers 20th-century Chinese historians 21st-century Chinese historians People from Huzhou Historians from Zhejiang Members of the Standing Committee of the 11th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference Members of the Standing Committee of the 12th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference