Feng Shi born in October 1958 in Beijing. He graduated from the Department of History at Peking University with a Bachelor’s degree in Archaeology in June 1982, and joined the Institute of Archaeology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) in July of the same year.
He currently serves as a Member of the Academic Divisions of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (Academician), a National First-Class Professor in Humanities, and a First-Class Research Fellow at the Institute of Archaeology, CASS. He is also a Professor and PhD supervisor at the University of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Acta Archaeologica Sinica, a Distinguished Professor at Zhengzhou University, and the Academic Leader for the discipline of Paleography at CASS. He is a recipient of the Government Special Allowance issued by the State Council.
His concurrent positions include Member of the Academic Advisory Committee of the Chinese Academy of History (CAH), Vice Chairman of the Center for Comparative Studies of Ancient Civilizations at CAH, Council Member of the Society for the Study of Chinese Palaeography, and Vice Director of the Academic Committee of the Alliance for the Protection and Inheritance of the Twenty-Four Solar Terms. Previously, he served as Vice President of the Guo Moruo Research Society of China, Visiting Professor at Fu Jen Catholic University and Soochow University, and Guest Researcher at the Getty Research Institute in Los Angeles, USA.
His primary research fields encompass palaeography and astronomical archaeology, with secondary expertise in Shang-Zhou archaeology, pre-Qin history, astronomical chronology, historical philology, ethnic ancient script studies, ancient intellectual history, and the history of science and technology. His major scholarly contributions include: 1. Pioneering the establishment of China's astronomical archaeology discipline system; 2. Formulating the dual-origin theory of Chinese script (Yi and Xia); 3. Establishing the theory of Chinese civilization and reconstructing its eight-thousand-year history; 4. Reconstructing the chronology of the Shang and Zhou dynasties based on oracle bone inscriptions and bronze inscriptions; 5. Rebuilding the fundamental theories of Chinese paleography and comprehensively studying Shang-Zhou institutional systems using paleographic materials. His achievements have been honored with the Second Prize and Third Prize of the Outstanding Scientific Research Achievement Awards at the Fifth and Eleventh sessions of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. He has published 14 academic monographs, authored over 300 papers, and served as chief editor of the Compilation of Bronze Inscription Literature.
Publication:
•Archaeoastronomy in China. Social Sciences Academic Press, 1st ed. 2001; China Social Sciences Press, 2nd ed. 2007, 3rd ed. 2010, 4th ed. 2016, 5th ed. 2017, 6th ed. 2021.
•Continuity of the Illustrious Culture: Astronomy, Thoughts and Institutions in Ancient China. China Social Sciences Press, 1st ed. 2018, 2nd ed. 2019, 3rd ed. 2020, 4th ed. 2022, 5th ed. 2023.
•Astronomy and Human Culture in Ancient China. China Social Sciences Press, 1st ed. 2006, revised ed. 2009, 3rd ed. 2018.
•Introduction to Chinese paleography. China Social Sciences Press, 1st ed. 2016, revised ed. 2022.
•Studies on the Yin Astronomy and Calendar Recorded in Oracle Bone Inscriptions. China Social Sciences Press, 1st ed. 2011, 2nd ed. 2022.
•History of Material Culture in Ancient China: Astronomy and Calendar Volume. Kaiming Press, 1st ed. 2013.
•New Perspectives on Ancient Scripts and Historical Research. Taiwan Bookhouse Publishing Co., Ltd., 1st ed. 2007.
•Collected Works from the Shangputang Studio. China Social Sciences Press, 1st ed. 2021.
•“A Study on the Abdication System in Ancient China.” Chinese Culture, no. 55, Spring 2022.
•“An Examination of Kunlun.” Chinese Culture, no. 56, Autumn 2022.
