The symposium drew over 20 scholars from eminent institutions such as University of Oxford, King’s College London, and of course Peking University.

Peking University, May 12, 2025: An international symposium was recently held at the School of Languages, Cultures, and Linguistics (SOAS) of the University of London in early May, with collaboration from the PKU School of Foreign Languages. It explored how geography and history have impacted the culture and languages in regions surrounding the Indian Ocean.

Drawing over 20 scholars from eminent institutions such as University of Oxford, King’s College London, and of course Peking University, the symposium was titled “Cultural and Literary Exchanges in the Indian Ocean Region: Networked Geographies: Language, Materiality and History”.

Keynote speakers at the symposium included Chen Ming, Dean of PKU School of Foreign Languages, and Hugh Kennedy, professor at SOAS, whose speeches focused on different aspects of the Silk Road.

Chen Ming analysed the spread of medical knowledge from Indian Ocean to South China Sea, underscoring the global impact of Maritime Silk Road on medicine. While Hugh Kennedy focused on the historical evolutions of Silk Road both on land and on the sea.

Featuring multiple languages and multimedia content material, this symposium examined from different perspectives cultural phenomenon both ancient and contemporary, displaying the latest achievement of Chinse scholars and boosting cross-border communication among academia.

Chen Ming and his delegation also had discussions with British academic institutions on the sidelines of the symposium, where multiple agreements were reached on academic exchanges and research cooperation.

This symposium marks the first time of collaboration between SOAS and a key project of the National Social Science Foundation of China. Aiming to study exchanges among world civilizations in the Indian Ocean region, this project is also the sponsor of the symposium.

The successful hosting of this event underscored the importance of cross-cultural academic exchanges in strengthening the ties between PKU and leading global academic institutions.

Written by: Teo Si Min
Edited by: Rachel Lee, Chen Shizhuo
Source: PKU News (Chinese)