Introduction
Academician Keng-wang Yen (art name Guitian, 1916–1996) graduated from the Department of History at Wuhan University in 1941. He joined the IHP in 1945 and was promoted to Research Fellow in 1959. From 1964 to 1981, Yen held a teaching position at The Chinese University of Hong Kong and was elected Academician of Academia Sinica in 1970. Following his retirement, he was reappointed as a Corresponding Research Fellow. Yen was a notable specialist in the history of medieval Chinese institutions and historical geography, and his more representative works include Zhongguo difang xingzheng zhidu shi (History of the regional and local administration in China) and Tangdai jiaotong tukao (Study of Tang dynasty transportation and geography), among other monographs. Renowned for his rigorous scholarship and patience, Yan excelled at meticulous textual analysis and was admired for unearthing new historical directions through broad perspectives.
The fonds of Keng-wang Yen includes the recordings of four of his lectures, reading and research notes, reference maps, reports on research tools, as well as the hand-written manuscripts and proofs of his following works: Han Tang difang xingzheng zhidu (Regional and local administration in the Han and Tang dynasties), Tang pu shang cheng lang biao (The tables of left and right deputy directors, ministers of the six ministries, right and left assistant clerks, and vice-ministers in [the] Tang dynasty), “Bei Wei Shangshu zhidu kao” (On the [systems] of Shangshu of the Northern Dynasties), Du shi dawen (Questions and answers on reading history), and “Qin Han difang xingzheng zhidu” (Regional and local administration in the Qin and Han dynasties). Interested parties are invited to listen to one of Yen’s lectures online: “Wo zhishi de licheng yu qianzhan” (My process for and outlook of historical studies, 1988).
The fonds of Keng-wang Yen includes the recordings of four of his lectures, reading and research notes, reference maps, reports on research tools, as well as the hand-written manuscripts and proofs of his following works: Han Tang difang xingzheng zhidu (Regional and local administration in the Han and Tang dynasties), Tang pu shang cheng lang biao (The tables of left and right deputy directors, ministers of the six ministries, right and left assistant clerks, and vice-ministers in [the] Tang dynasty), “Bei Wei Shangshu zhidu kao” (On the [systems] of Shangshu of the Northern Dynasties), Du shi dawen (Questions and answers on reading history), and “Qin Han difang xingzheng zhidu” (Regional and local administration in the Qin and Han dynasties). Interested parties are invited to listen to one of Yen’s lectures online: “Wo zhishi de licheng yu qianzhan” (My process for and outlook of historical studies, 1988).