In the 1950s, following a proposal by Dong Biwu, former Prime Minister Zhou Enlai initiated a committee to compile a full history of Qing Dynasty. After a preliminary examination, in 1972, a “Qing History” research group was founded to carry out the directives of Zhou Enlai and other leaders. By this time, a separate proposal to organize an Institute of Qing History at Renmin University of China had also been put forward. Thus, building on the development of the research group and with the approval of the Ministry of Education, the Institute of Qing History was officially established in 1978. In 2000, the Institute of Qing History was recognized as one of China’s “Key Research Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences at Universities.” Since then, the Institute of Qing History has consistently focused on research and graduate education in Qing History, as well as on the Qing History compilation project that began with Dong Biwu. Past directors of the Institute of Qing History include Luo Tiaoyu, Dai Yi, Luo Ming, Wang Junyi, Li Wenhai, Cheng Chongde, Huang Xingtao, Xia Mingfang and Zhu Hu. The current director of the Institute of Qing History is Professor Hu Heng, and the director of the “Key Research Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences at Universities” is Prof. Yang Nianqun.

Over the past forty years, with the support of renowned historians like Li Wenhai, a considerable number of energetic young and middle-career scholars have contributed to the growth of the Institute of Qing History and the training of specialists in Qing History studies. During this time, the Institute of Qing History has steadfastly focused on academic research and graduate education, continuing to maintaining its strength in traditional academic areas, while venturing into emerging and interdisciplinary frontiers such as ecological history, medical history, digital history, and public history.

Scholars at the Institute of Qing History have published impressive and distinctive historiographical works, including Eighteenth-Century China and the World, Chronicles of Qing History and The Collected Works of Dai Yi. In addition, the Institute of Qing History organizes and publishes two CSSCI-indexed journals, The Qing History Journal（《清史研究》） and New Historiography（《新史学》）, along with Qing History Research Correspondence(《清史研究国际通讯》).

The Institute has trained prominent scholars such as Huang Aiping, the first female PhD in History in the People’s Republic of China; Sabine Dabringhaus, the first foreigner to obtain a doctoral degree in the humanities in China; Norbu, the first Tibetan PhD in history; and Xia Mingfang, the recipient of the 1999 inaugural National Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation Award. The Institute also organized the first dissertation defense after the restoration of Renmin University in June 1981. With over fifty provincial and national awards, the Institute of Qing History has made outstanding contributions to the construction and development of the History discipline in China, as well as to the program of Renmin University of China, helping each to achieve world-class status.

In this context, the Institute of Qing History is a key advocate and promoter of the largest cultural project since the founding of People’s Republic of China: the Qing Dynasty History Project. It has also been a driving force in the development of the “New Historiography” movement in China over the past two decades, gaining prestigious academic reputation both domestically and internationally.

Looking ahead, the Institute of Qing History at Renmin University of China will further develop its organization, engage in disciplinary innovation, commit to developing a world-class discipline rooted in Chinese characteristics, establish a center for talent cultivation and research innovation, and advance the creation of an autonomous knowledge system in Qing history.

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