Academia Sinica scholar awarded Germany's Humboldt Research Award

Taipei, Dec. 4 (CNA) Wang Fan-sen (王汎森), a distinguished research fellow at Academia Sinica, has been awarded the 2023 Humboldt Research Award by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation in Germany.

Wang, an academician with the Institute of History and Philology, received the award in recognition of his achievements and impact on historical scholarship, Academia Sinica said in a news release Monday.

The Humboldt prize is one of the most prestigious honors in Germany for internationally renowned scientists and scholars who work outside of Germany in recognition of their lifetime's research achievements, Taiwan's top research institute said.

Wang is an historian specializing in the cultural-intellectual history of early modern and modern China (circa 1500 to 1930), Academia Sinica said.

He has written 12 books on the intellectual history of China from the Ming Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty and the early republican era, including "Fu Ssu-nien: A Life in Chinese History and Politics," "The Rise of the Ku-shih-pien Movement," and "The Historian and the Historiography in Modern China."

Other than being a research fellow at Academia Sinica, Wang also currently serves as chair professor at National Cheng Kung University, National Chengchi University, National Taiwan Normal University and National Sun Yat-sen University, it said.

According to Academia Sinica, Wang was director general of the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences at the National Science Council from 2000-2002, director of Academia Sinica's Institute of History and Philology from 2003-2009, and vice president of Academia Sinica from 2010-2016.

Established in 1860, the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation is one of the most important research foundations in Germany, Academia Sinica said, indicating that the Humboldt prize carries a reward of 60,000 euros (US$65,217) and recipients are also invited to conduct research projects of their own choice in cooperation with specialist colleagues in Germany to promote international scientific cooperation.