Recently, the Conference on “Major Achievements in Learning and Implementing the Spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s Congratulatory Letter to the Founding of the Chinese Academy of History for the Fifth Anniversary of the Chinese Academy of History”, organized by the Chinese Academy of History, was held in Beijing, in which 12 major historiographical achievements published by the national historiographical community under the guidance of Xi Jinping’s Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era since 2019 were released. The “General History of African Arab Countries” (8 volumes) edited by Prof. Wang Tiezheng of Northwest University, and the “General History of Dunhuang” edited by Prof. Zheng Binglin, the chief expert of the Famous Artist Workshop, and Prof. Li Jun, the deputy editor-in-chief, were successfully selected.
General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out during a discussion at the Dunhuang Research Institute that it was necessary to strengthen research on Dunhuang studies and strive to grasp the right to speak on Dunhuang studies. In response to the General Secretary's call, Dunhuang academics planned to compile and publish a general history of Dunhuang, which was later incorporated into the “14th Five-Year Plan” national key book publishing program. At the conference, the seven-volume Dunhuang General History was released as a major achievement of the Chinese Academy of History. The editor-in-chief of Dunhuang General History is Prof. Zheng Binglin, the chief expert of Prof. Zheng Binglin’s studio and a part-time researcher of the research base of the four central ministries of NWU forging a strong sense of community of the Chinese nation, and the deputy editor-in-chief is Prof. Li Jun of the School of History of NWU. Prof. Zheng Binglin also undertook the preparation of Dunhuang General History - Volume of the Two Han Dynasties, and Prof. Li Jun wrote Dunhuang General History - Volume of the Late Tang Dynasty Returned Volunteers. The General History of Dunhuang shows the history of the Dunhuang region from the pre-Qin to the Ming and Qing dynasties in many aspects, including politics, economy, culture, society, ethnicity, and religion, and will play a significant role in promoting the study of Dunhuang and even the study of Chinese history. The compilation and publication of the General History of Dunhuang not only highlights the research strength of NWU’s Sui and Tang Dynasty history and Dunhuang studies, but also expands NWU’s academic influence in the discipline of Chinese history.
The General History of the African Arab Countries is the final result of a major project of the National Social Science Foundation, published in November 2022 by the Commercial Press. Guided by the materialistic view of history, the book focuses on 10 Arab countries in Africa, systematically explains the evolution of these countries from the origin of civilization to the contemporary era from the perspective of civilization exchanges and mutual understanding, and analyzes the internal historical laws of civilization change in the region, which helps to make up for the lack of research on the history of the Arab countries in Africa in our country, and excavate the many problems of the contemporary Arab countries in Africa from the deeper level of history. Prof. Yan Shaoxiang of the School of History and Culture of Capital Normal University commented on the General History of the African Arab Countries (8 Volumes) at the launching ceremony, saying that this set of books fills in the academic gaps in the related fields, reveals the characteristics of the African Arab countries very well, and is a very important document for the understanding of the history and current situation of the African Arab countries, and is also the starting point for the understanding of the African Arab countries in the future, reflecting a new level of understanding of the history of the Arab countries. It is also the starting point for future understanding of the African Arab countries, reflecting a new level of understanding of the history of the Arab countries. Prof. Wang Tiezheng introduced the innovations of this work in response to questions from the media.
