Jin Guantao (Chinese: 金观涛; born 1947) is a Chinese scholar who is currently the chair professor of the Department of Chinese Literature at the

National Chengchi University National Chengchi University () is a public research university in Taipei, Taiwan. First established in Nanjing in 1927, the university was subsequently reestablished in 1954 in Taiwan as the first reestablished "National University". The u ...

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

. Jin was an influential figure in the New Enlightenment movement in the 1980s in

mainland China "Mainland China", also referred to as "the Chinese mainland", is a Geopolitics, geopolitical term defined as the territory under direct administration of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in the aftermath of the Chinese Civil War. In addit ...

, creating the '' Towards the Future Book Series'' with Bao Zunxin and others in 1984. In 1990, he founded the academic journal '' Twenty-First Century'' with his wife Liu Qingfeng at the

Chinese University of Hong Kong The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) is a public university, public research university in Sha Tin, New Territories, Hong Kong. Established in 1963 as a federation of three university college, collegesChung Chi College, New Asia Coll ...

Biography

Jin Guantao was born in Yiwu, Zhejiang in 1947, and graduated from

Peking University Peking University (PKU) is a Public university, public Types of universities and colleges in China#By designated academic emphasis, university in Haidian, Beijing, China. It is affiliated with and funded by the Ministry of Education of the Peop ...

in 1970 with a degree in chemistry. During the

Chinese 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 ...

(1966–1976), he became interested in humanities and social sciences. Jin was an active figure during the New Enlightenment movement in

in the 1980s, creating the popular '' Towards the Future Book Series'' with Bao Zunxin and others in 1984. He also served as the director of the Philosophy of Science in the Research Institute of the

Chinese Academy of Sciences The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS; ) is the national academy for natural sciences and the highest consultancy for science and technology of the People's Republic of China. It is the world's largest research organization, with 106 research i ...

. In 1986, he spent a year as a visiting researcher at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. In 1988, he became the main advisor to the influential TV documentary '' River Elegy''. After the

Tiananmen Square Massacre The Tiananmen Square protests, known within China as the June Fourth Incident, were student-led demonstrations held in Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China, lasting from 15 April to 4 June 1989. After weeks of unsuccessful attempts between t ...

in 1989, Jin moved to the

where he founded the academic journal '' Twenty-First Century'' and built "the Database for the Study of Modern Chinese Thought (1830-1930)" with his wife Liu Qingfeng. Jin was a Senior Research Fellow of the Institute of Chinese Studies in the Chinese University of Hong Kong from 1989 to 2008. Since 2009, Jin has been a professor at the

References

{{reflist, 2 1947 births Chinese social scientists Living people Academic staff of the National Chengchi University