Department of Chinese Language and Literature
Dean: Wang Yao
Tel: 029-82667897 E-mail: wangyao2014@xjtu.edu.cn
Office: E-814, Main Building, Xingqing campus
Office: 5-4094, Hanying Building, iHarbour campus
Based on the educational philosophy of “being rooted in the western region, serving the nation, and pursuing world-class,” and on the purposes of fostering virtue and cultivating talents, as well as being rooted in the tradition of Chinese language, literature, and culture, the Department of Chinese Language and Literature of Xi’an Jiaotong University is committed to cultivating outstanding talents with humanistic disposition and global vision and will be devoted to improving the soft power of Chinese culture in the new era under the strategic initiative of “the Belt and Road.”
The department has five subdivisions: classical literature, modern and contemporary literature, theory of literature and art, comparative literature & world literature, and linguistics. It has been authorized as the site of the first-class undergraduate major in Shaanxi Province since 2022. It currently has the right to confer bachelor’s degrees in Chinese language and literature, as well as master’s degrees in journalism and communication (with the “theory of literature and art” as its affiliated field). The department is dedicated to developing distinctive academic fields, such as classical literature and culture, modern and contemporary literature and philology, film & television and creative culture.
Department History
The Chinese discipline of the XJTU can be dated back to the Department of Chinese Literature established in 1908 at Nanyang College. Famous alumni, such as the playwright Ding Xilin 丁西林, educator Ling Hongxun 凌鸿勋, publisher Zou Taofen 邹韬奋, and Proletarian Revolutionist Lu Dingyi 陆定一, have all been well- nurtured by the Department of Chinese Literature.
At the beginning of the 1980s, the university resumed the Chinese teaching and research section.
In 1996, the university restarted the Department of Chinese Language and Literature and enrolled undergraduate students the following year.
In 1999, Peking University and Nanjing University initiated a liaison meeting for directors of the Chinese literature department in top Chinese universities and launched the Forum of Development of Chinese Language and Literature in Chinese Top Universities. The Department of Chinese Language and Literature of Xi’an Jiaotong University was one of the first thirteen members of the Forum.
In 2011, the master’s program in the theory of literature and art was established and started to enroll postgraduates the following year.
In 2005, the department successfully applied for the first level discipline of the master’s degree program in Journalism & Communication, expanding the degree program in Journalism and Communication. Both majors, Chinese Language and Literature and Journalism & Communication, have been developed simultaneously since then.
In 2008, the department successfully organized the tenth Forum for the Development of Chinese Language and Literature in top Chinese universities.
In 2015, the two disciplines of Literature and Communication within the department were separated.
In 2019, the Institute of Literature and Film & Television Communication in Western China Science and Technology Innovation Harbour was founded. In the same year, the secondary discipline of the theory of literature and art enrolled students under the affiliation of the upper major Journalism and Communication, with two research directions of “research and communication of literature and philology” and “film & television and creative culture.”
In 2022, the department has been authorized as the site of the first-class undergraduate major in Shaanxi Province.
Academic staff
The department has 30 faculty members, including 5 Professors, 16 Associate Professors, and 9 Assistant Professors, among whom two members are entitled “Outstanding Young Talent” at the University level and four are entitled “Excellent Youth Talent.” Our staff have excellent research and teaching abilities and a well-established knowledge structure with research fields covering various secondary disciplines of the major, including linguistics, theory of literature and art, classical literature, modern and contemporary literature, and comparative literature & world literature. All the scholars have obtained Ph. D. degrees from top Chinese universities, and most have exchange experience in overseas prestigious universities.
Research and funded projects
The department covers a wide range of research directions with prominent cutting-edge characteristics; the featured majors possess outstanding advantages and have achieved remarkable research results in recent years. In the past five years, more than 40 papers have been published in CSSCI-indexed journals, and over ten papers have been published in both domestic and international top journals, such as Literary Review, Literary Heritage, Studies of the Chinese Language, Cultural Relics, Journal of Peking University, Translation Studies, Humanities & Social Sciences Communications, and Religions. Regarding research projects and funding, the department has undertaken more than ten projects granted by the National Social Science Fund and ten more provincial and ministerial projects. The department has obtained multiple provincial and ministerial scientific research awards and published monographs, textbooks, and translation works in authoritative presses.
Talent cultivation
Based on the university’s educational philosophy of “being rooted in the western region, serving the nation, and pursuing world-class,” and on implementing the talent cultivation ideas of “integrating liberal arts and science, upholding tradition and innovation, rooted in the local area, collaborating in education, insisting Chinese characteristics, and possessing international horizon,” our department has played an essential role in the innovative talent cultivation system of the university.
The department actively conducts a talent cultivation program for undergraduate, postgraduate, international students, and continuing learning students and has gradually established a multi-level education system. In recent years, the department has been awarded multiple teaching awards at provincial and ministerial levels. We stick to three major characteristics of education:
The first is to integrate liberal arts and science and uphold tradition and innovation. The department actively promotes the construction of “new liberal arts,” transforms and enhances traditional majors, implements the policy of “liberal art education” plus “broad scope disciplinary education,” strengthens the cross integration of scientific and humanistic cultivation, and builds featured courses, such as “Chinese cultural and literary essence,” “Science fiction and imagination,” “Comparative Literature Studies,” and so on.
The second is to be rooted in the local area and collaborate in education. The department has cooperated with cultural enterprises and institutions, such as Maoling Museum, Yixuntong Technology Co., Ltd., and Xi’an Rongxin Cultural Industry Development Co., Ltd., to establish internship bases and cultivate students’ practical capabilities and provide talents for the social and cultural development of the central and western of China.
The third is to insist on Chinese characteristics and possess an international horizon. The department has developed a joint undergraduate program with the Department of East Asian Language and Culture of the University of Notre Dame in the United States and has cooperated with the University of Hong Kong in developing undergraduate courses. We are devoted to building an international platform for teaching, research, and cultural exchange, expanding students’ horizons, enhancing cultural confidence, and making the excellent Chinese culture inherited, reconstructed, and disseminated.
Academic institutes
Institute of Literature and Film & Television Communication (/info/1064/9929.htm)
Multimedia Digital Cultural Lab of Voice and Film & Television (/info/1064/9930.htm)
