On November 15, the inauguration ceremony for the Key Laboratories of CASS (Key Laboratories of UCASS) took place in Beijing. Gao Xiang, President and Party Secretary of CASS, and Peng Jinhui, Vice President and Deputy Party Secretary of CASS, unveiled the Key Laboratory of Archaeometry and Cultural Heritage Conservation, the Key Laboratory of Linguistics, and the UCASS Institute for Collaborative Innovation in Rare and Endangered Studies. The event was attended by Zhen Zhanmin, Vice President and Party Group Member of CASS; Hang Yuanxiang, Head of the Discipline Inspection and Supervision Group and Party Group Member of CASS; and Zhao Zhimin, Secretary-General and Party Group Member, with Zhao Rui, Vice President and Party Group Member, presiding over the proceedings.
Prior to the event, President Gao Xiang and the leaders visited the ready-for-debut laboratories, reviewing progress in infrastructure development, talent cultivation, and key research initiatives in details.
As explained, the laboratories represent CASS’s efforts to thoroughly implement General Secretary Xi Jinping’s spirits and directives, known as the Three Consensus, on advancing philosophy and social sciences laboratories through institutional, theoretical, and methodological innovation. Their goal is to build a nationally influential cluster of social science laboratories characterized by “practical impact within the academy, distinctive strengths across disciplines, and broad recognition nationwide.” In 2024, CASS leadership consolidated resources to relocate and upgrade its Archaeometry and Cultural Heritage Conservation Laboratory and the Linguistics Laboratory to UCASS. Concurrently, the Institute for Collaborative Innovation in Rare and Endangered Studies was initiated to revitalize the disciplines in question.
The former comprises 13 specialized archaeometry sub-laboratories, 5 cultural heritage conservation units, and 5 joint interdisciplinary research hubs, integrating advanced technologies from biology, molecular biology, chemistry, geoscience, and physics for interdisciplinary and cross-organizational research efforts in the field.
The Linguistics Laboratory includes three sub-laboratories on speech and language science, cognitive psycholinguistics , and language resources and intelligent technology. By employing cutting-edge methods in phonetics, lexicography, cognitive linguistics, computational linguistics, AI, and cognitive neuroscience, they seek to prioritize and address language-related challenges in public services and basic data and resource development.
The Institute for Collaborative Innovation in Rare and Endangered Studies is dedicated to talent cultivation in disciplines such as Manchu studies, bamboo-and-silk manuscript studies, Turkic studies, and classical studies. The institute offers core courses in Manchu language, introduction to bamboo-and-silk manuscript studies, overview of Western Xia studies, Ancient Greek, Latin, and ancient script studies, while spearheading a national alliance with fellow universities and research institutions to preserve academic heritage.
The event, hosted by CASS and co-organized by CASS Bureau of Scientific Research Management and UCASS, drew representatives from the National Office for Philosophy and Social Sciences, the National Cultural Heritage Administration, as well as institutions affiliated to CASS. Attendees also toured an exhibition showcasing CASS laboratory development and participated in a symposium on social science laboratory development.
