Biography

Xing Wen is the Presidential Chair Professor of traditional Chinese art and culture at CUHK Shenzhen and the Robert 1932 and Barbara Black Professor in Asian Studies, Emeritus, Dartmouth College. He established the pioneering "Mathematical Art History" course series at CUHK Shenzhen. The TPG (taught postgraduate programme) he initiated and directed, MA in Chinese Language and Literature, has achieved remarkable academic and entrepreneurial success.


His interdisciplinary education includes a PhD in History (1996), an MA in Art History and Theories (1992), and a BA in Economics (1986), complemented by postdoctoral studies at Harvard (Anthropology) and Peking University (Archaeology). As a visionary leader, he strategically proposed and promoted the study of excavated Chinese bamboo-and-silk documents in 1999, founded the first university excavated manuscripts center at Peking University in 2000, and established the first institute of Chinese calligraphy and manuscript culture after successful domestic and international fundraising in 2014. He developed technical calligraphy studies, authentication studies of excavated manuscripts, and cognitive bamboo-and-silk manuscriptology to further advance this interdisciplinary field of excavated manuscripts.


A scholar of algorithmic art history and mathematical humanities, Professor Xing developed computer-generated fractal Chinese calligraphy, advocated data science-informed Chinese studies, and participated in the International AI Training Program for Chinese Universities. His groundbreaking study of Chinese Mathematical Philosophy (History of Chinese Philosophy 2022.3:5-11 & Studies of Zhouyi 2022.3:29-35) revolutionizes the mathematical approaches to art and humanities and beyond.


Professor Xing has authored over ten academic books, including Research on the Silk Manuscript Zhouyi (1989), Dao, Neo-Confucian Principle, and Chan Buddhism in Chinese Calligraphy and Painting (2014), and Explorations in Chu Bamboo-slip Calligraphy (2015). He is the recipient of the CW Chu Scholarship (1989-92) and CW Chu Award (1992), the First National Award for Outstanding Doctoral Dissertations in China (1999), and the 2nd quinquennial China Fine Arts Award (2014), as well as the Prestigious Award at Dartmouth College (2012) and the Humanities in China Fellowship Award from the National Endowment for the Humanities, USA (2012).