July 24th-25th, 2016, an academic seminar on "China's Frontier Research and History Writing", co-organized by the School of History and Culture, the Collaborative Innovation Center for Security and Development of Western Frontier China of SCU, and Shanghai’s Academic Monthly journal, was convened in Chengdu, Sichuan Province. More than 60 representatives from various academic institutions in China participated in this conference.

On the morning of the 24th, at the opening ceremony presided over by Professor Shi Shuo from our School, Prof. Luo Zhongshu, Vice Chairman of SCU University Council, delivered an opening speech. After that, Prof. Zhao Dingxin from Sociology Department of the University of Chicago, Prof. Yao Dali of the Institute of Chinese Historical Geography of Fudan University, Prof. Ding Yizhuang, researcher of the Institute of History under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, and Prof. Huo Wei, Dean of our School, gave their keynote speeches successively. And the topics include: Empires, National States and Ethnic Groups, About "Local Historical Material is the First": The Meaning and Literature Processing Technique, Where is the Hometown? North of the Great Wall under White Clouds"- Ethnic Consciousness of the Manchus’ in Late Qing Dynasty Reflected from the Poems of Nasonlanbo and Her Son Sheng Yu, and Archaeological Discoveries and the Writing of Tibetan Ancient History.

On the afternoon of 24th plus 25th, the participants made relevant keynote speeches, comments and discussions in two groups.

The scholars attending this conference were from different regions and different disciplines with diverse emphasis on academic theory and methodology, whose research fields encompass a variety of domains like historical sociology, linguistics, philology, literature, historical geography, archaeology, religiology and academic history. They have tapped extensive academic fields and a wide range of topics. For example, Prof. Liu Zhengyin, Prof. Li Hongbin and Prof. Yu Fengchun discussed about the importance of religious belief in the process of ethnic identity from their respective research areas; Prof. Huang Dayuan and Associate Prof. Wang Penghui believe that the Western Frontier China should be redefined; Associate Prof. Zhang Yahui and some other scholars focused on the interactive relations between Tibet and the central dynasties; while Dr. Sun Hao paid attention to the historical evolution of ethnic groups including Manchu. The ardent and in-depth discussions are believed to be propellant for the research of Chinese borderland history, ethnic history, ethnography and related disciplines.

At 17:45 of 25th, the conference came to a close. The closing ceremony was presided by Prof. Wang Dongjie of our School. Prof. Liu Zhengyin, Editor-in-chief of Ethnic Studies, and Prof. Li Hongbin, Dean of the School of History and Culture of Minzu University of China, made summary statement respectively. Zhou Qi from the editorial department of Academic Monthly delivered a closing speech.