On the morning of October 21, 2025, the symposium of "World Literature: Formation, Dissemination, and Reading" opened at the Zhuhai Campus of Beijing Normal University(BNU). More than 30 distinguished scholars from 21 universities, including Harvard University, Beijing Normal University, Tsinghua University, Nankai University, and Shandong University, gathered for a three-day, high-level academic exchange focusing on the emergence and influence of research paradigms in world literature.

The symposium was hosted by the Department of Chinese Language and Literature of the Faculty of Arts and Science and the Institute of Foreign Literature of the School of Foreign Languages and Literature at BNU. It was co-organized by Jingshi Academy, the Center for the Overseas Communication of Chinese Literature, Peking University Press, and the editorial office of Russian Literature & Arts. The event aimed to engage with emerging paradigms in the development of world literature in the 21st century, encouraging comparative literature to move beyond Eurocentric frameworks. It also addressed the challenges brought by the globalization of literary studies, while fostering in-depth dialogue and mutual learning among diverse literary traditions and civilizations.

The symposium’s programme encompassed a full slate of academic activities: on the evening of October 20, David Damrosch (Harvard University) delivered a lecture; this was followed by a new-book launch and a dialogue with Chen Yongguo of Tsinghua University. On October 21, keynote speeches and a round table forum further characterised the event.

Scene from the Academic Lecture on the Evening of October 20

On the morning of October 21, Professor Yao Jianbin, Director of the Department of Chinese Language and Literature at the Faculty of Arts and Science, presided over the opening ceremony. Professor Zhong Jiayong, Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Science, and Xiao Kai, Deputy Dean of Jingshi Academy, delivered welcome speeches on behalf of the organizers. Professor David Damrosch, former Chair of the Department of Comparative Literature at Harvard University, delivered the keynote address.

Zhong Jiayong delivered the speech

Xiao Kai delivered the speech

Yao Jianbin introduced the overview of the symposium

David Damrosch delivered the keynote speech

In the subsequent keynote session, six scholars presented their insightful perspectives from different academic angles, including Professor Zhang Jian (Beijing Foreign Studies University), Professor Hao Lan (Nankai University), Professor Liu Wenfei (Capital Normal University), Professor Luo Yirong (Shandong University), Professor Wang Lixing (Zhejiang Yuexiu University), and Professor Yang Junjie (Beijing Normal University).

On the afternoon of October 21, the symposium continued with parallel roundtable forums, where Professor Zhang Bing from Peking University, Professor Lü Li from Beijing Normal University, and sixteen other scholars engaged in in-depth discussions on topics such as the formation of world literary canons and the contemporary relevance of world literature. Professor Liu Hongtao and Professor Wang Nan delivered concluding remarks, bringing the three-day symposium to a close.

Group photo of the participants at the symposium