Recapping the World History Seminar “Learned Connections: Hellenistic Rhodes and Graeco-Roman Learning” conducted by Dr. Thomas R. P. COWARD on 9 February 2023

Dr. Thomas R. P. COWARD from the Scuola Superiore Meridionale, Naples, was invited by the Centre for Comparative and Public History to deliver a lecture entitled “Learned Connections: Hellenistic Rhodes and Graeco-Roman Learning” on 9 February 2023. The talk began by exploring the locality of Rhodes as an island and the city of Rhodos, providing a brief overview of Rhodian history. It then delved into the various facilities available in the city, particularly those within the Acropolis of Rhodos during the republic era of Rhodes. The speaker highlighted the significance of the island’s position at the crossroads of trade routes and lines of communication, making it a center for commercial and cultural exchange. He drew on a diverse array of sources, such as literary works, archaeological discoveries, and epigraphic evidence, to illustrate the intellectual climate of the island at the time. The purpose of this was to examine the educational practices and scholarly endeavors that took place on Rhodes, which served as a finishing school for Greeks and Romans and played a crucial role in shaping the Graeco-Roman culture.

World History Seminar (2022-23)

Organisers: Centre for Comparative and Public History, Department of History, CUHK
Enquiry: 3943 8541

Exhibition - Bringing Together China and the West: Books of Early Modern Western Sinology in the Chinese University of Hong Kong Library

CUHK was envisaged as “a two-arched bridge between the past and the present, the East and the West.” While conflict arguably outweighed collaboration during the second half of the nineteenth century, the much longer span of time between the Ming and early Qing-dynasties saw an encounter between our two great traditions that took place on a much more equal-footing.

The encounter is visible in the books published in this period, which the CUHK Library has been collecting. These books highlight the most important areas of mutual interest in early China-Western relations, which to a large extent mirror the modern faculties and departments of our University. Using the Library’s growing collection of rare books, this exhibition shows how the geographical and cultural distance between China and Europe was bridged. As such, it invites visitors to consider the overlapping and connected Chinese and Western origins of many of the most dynamic areas of our modern University, from the study of China’s philosophy and earliest dynastic history, to biomedical science and mechanical engineering.

For teachers and students who have information to share with the Department, please email your articles in both Chinese and English to chanfiona@cuhk.edu.hk by 4:00pm every Monday.