Research Interests

Diao Shan’s research interests lie in the transformation of concepts of science and scientific cultures. She holds a Ph.D. in Modern Sinology at Georg-August-University Göttingen. In her dissertation, she examined the reception of the philosophy of life (Lebensphilosophie / Vitalismus) in early 20^th China, highlighting competing conceptions of science and the discursive spectrum concerning the relationship between science and life. Her current research focuses on the institutionalization of science and the history of science policy in Germany.

Education

2019.05 – 2024.11 Ph.D. in Modern Sinology, Georg-August-University of Göttingen

2016.09 – 2019.01 M.A. in Intercultural German Studies, Georg-August-University of Göttingen

2012.09 – 2016.06 B.A. in German Studies, Renmin University of China

Work Experience

2025.03 – present   Postdoctoral Fellow, Institute for the History of Natural Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences

2019.10 – 2025.01  Assistant Researcher (Wissenschaftliche Mitarbeiterin), Department of East Asian Studies, Georg-August-University of Göttingen

2023.02 – 2024.06 Research Collaborator, Göttingen Municipal Museum

Publications

Monography:

Diao, Shan: Was hat die Wissenschaft mit dem Leben zu tun? – Konkurrierende Wissenschaftsauffassungen am Beispiel der Rezeption der Lebensphilosophie im China der 1920er-Jahre (What Does Science Have to Do with Life? – Competing Conceptions of Science Through the Reception of Philosophy of Life in 1920s China) in: SUB Göttingen, http://dx.doi.org/10.53846/goediss-10870, 2024.11.

Articles:

1. Diao, Shan: “Wissenschaft und Leben - Die Rezeption des Vitalismus in den 1920er-Jahren in China”, in: Lena Henningsen / Daniel Leese / Damian Mandzunowski (ed.), XXXII Jahrbuch der Deutschen Vereinigung für Chinastudien (DVCS), Wiesbaden: Harrasowitz Verlag, 05.2025.

2. Diao, Shan:《生机论为中国新文化带来哪些新气象》(What New Perspectives Did Vitalism Bring to the New Culture Movement in China?),《中国科学报》(Science Times), 2024-09-05.

3. Ernst Böhme, Shan Diao: “Zwischen Göttingen und Tsingtau. Stadtgeschichte und koloniales Erbe: der Nachlass Lehmann”, in: Göttinger Jahrbuch, 2023.

Talks and Presentations:

1. “Psychology as a Bridge Between Philosophy and Science: Using the Example of Hans Driesch´s Lectures on Problems of Modern Psychology (1923)”, the 16th International Conference on the History of Science in East Asia (ICHSEA) at Goethe University in Frankfurt, 2023.08.24.

2. 《“科学”本土化与科学无国界：以德国生物哲学家杜里舒1922–1923年间的洲际讲演为例》(The Localization of "Science" and Science Without Borders: The Intercontinental Lectures of the German Biophilosopher Hans Driesch, 1922–1923), “新汉学计划”历史学工作坊暨第四届欧亚博士生论坛：全球史视野下的知识迁移与语言接触，北京外国语大学 (“China Studies Program” Workshop on History & The Fourth Eurasian Doctoral Forum: Knowledge Transfer and Language Contact from the Perspective of Global History, Beijing Foreign Studies University), 2023.03.25

3. “Mr. Science aus dem Westen: die Rezeption der Wissenschaft im modernen China (Mr. Science from the west: the reception of science in modern China)”, China Competence Lecture Series, University of Braunschweig, 2021.12.15

Contact:

Address: Institute for the History of Natural Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences,

55 Zhongguancun East Road, Beijing, 100190

Email: diaoshan@ihns.ac.cn