Hoʻomaikaʻi to History PhD candidate Xinli Zhang for his recent presentation at Fudan University in Shanghai, China!
His talk, titled “儒门道者”李俊民：金元易代之际华北文人的多重文化身份 ("Li Junmin, A 'Daoist Confucian': The Multicultural Identity of Literati in North China during the Jin-Yuan Transition") took place on May 8, 2026. The seminar was hosted by Rostislav Berezkin, Senior Professor at Fudan University's Institute for Advanced Humanistic Studies.
A copy of Xinli's talk may be found below:
The report takes the case of Li Junmin, a literatus from Zezhou during the Jin-Yuan transition, as a lens to examine North China society, aiming to address issues overlooked by North American historiography in its discussion of "the Song-Yuan-Ming Transition in Chinese History"—specifically, the historical significance of North China during this period. Although Li Junmin was later venerated by Ming and Qing Confucians as a pioneer of Neo-Confucianism, he also maintained close ties with emerging elites within Buddhist and Daoist institutions. The unique social, economic, and cultural landscape of North China during the Jin-Yuan transition stood in sharp contrast to the developmental trajectory of Jiangnan society at the same time. Moreover, interpreting this individual case offers fresh perspectives on understanding the historical evolution of China's great unified multi-ethnic state.
报告以金元易代之际泽州文人李俊民的个案作为观察华北社会的一个切入点，以补充讨论北美史学界在“中国历史上的宋元明转型”中未涉及的问题，即这一时期华北地区的历史地位。李俊民虽被明清儒生标榜为儒家先贤，却也与佛道机构中的新兴精英关系密切。金元易代之际华北独特的社会、经济与文化景观与同时期的江南社会的发展路径形成鲜明对比。同时，这一个案的解读也为理解中国统一多民族国家的历史发展进程提供了新视角。
