The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) is a Chinese research institute and

think tank A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governmental ...

. The institution is the premier comprehensive national academic research organization in the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones an ...

for the study in the fields of philosophy and social sciences, with the obligation of advancing and innovating in the scientific research of philosophy, social sciences and policies. It was described by ''

Foreign Policy A state's foreign policy or external policy (as opposed to internal or domestic policy) is its objectives and activities in relation to its interactions with other states, unions, and other political entities, whether bilaterally or through ...

'' magazine as the top think tank in

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

. CASS is under the auspices of the

State Council of the People's Republic of China The State Council, constitutionally synonymous with the Central People's Government since 1954 (particularly in relation to local governments), is the chief administrative authority of the People's Republic of China. It is chaired by the ...

. It is the country's second oldest such institution, after the

Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences The Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences (SASS; ) was founded in 1958 and is China's oldest think tank for the humanities and social sciences. It is the country's second largest such institution, after the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CA ...

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...

. It also holds the Graduate School of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and later become the University of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

History

The CASS was established in May 1977, based on the 14 research units of the Department of Philosophy and Social Sciences of the

Chinese Academy of Sciences The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS); ), known by Academia Sinica in English until the 1980s, is the national academy of the People's Republic of China for natural sciences. It has historical origins in the Academia Sinica during the Republ ...

, with the aim of promoting the development of philosophy and social sciences, under the instruction of

Deng Xiaoping Deng Xiaoping (22 August 1904 – 19 February 1997) was a Chinese revolutionary leader, military commander and statesman who served as the paramount leader of the People's Republic of China (PRC) from December 1978 to November 1989. After CCP ...

. The first president was

Hu Qiaomu Hu Qiaomu (4 June 191228 September 1992) was a Chinese sociologist, Marxist philosopher and politician. Hu Qiaomu is a controversial figure for opposing the reform and opening up era of economic reform that followed the death of Mao Zedong. He ...

, and the current president is

Shi Taifeng Shi Taifeng (; born September 1956) is a Chinese politician currently serving as the head of the United Front Work Department of the Chinese Communist Party, a member of the Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party, and a secretary of the Secreta ...

. The quantity of scholars participating in academic exchanges has gone from dozens of people divided into 10 batches in 1979, to over 4,100 people divided into 1398 batches in 1995. In the meanwhile, CASS has established a constructive relationship with over 200 research organizations, academic communities, institutions of higher learning, foundations and related government departments, covering more than 80 countries and regions. The Dictionary Editing Office of the Institute of Linguistics edits

A Dictionary of Current Chinese ''Xiandai Hanyu Cidian'' (), also known as ''A Dictionary of Current Chinese'' or ''Contemporary Chinese Dictionary'' is an important one-volume dictionary of Standard Mandarin Chinese published by the Commercial Press, now into its 7th (2016) edi ...

. The predecessor of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences was the Department of Philosophy and Social Sciences of the Chinese Academy of Sciences established in 1955.

Structure

CASS currently has over 3,200 resident scholars. As of November 2020, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences has 6 university departments, 42 research institutes, 6 functional departments, 5 directly affiliated institutions, and 3 directly affiliated companies. Of its functional departments, five are focused on research.

Predecessor

The China Social Sciences Publishing House was established on 14 June 1978 under the auspices of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

Publishing house

The China Social Sciences Press () was established in June 1978 under the auspices of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, and has published over 8,000 books since its inception.

List of presidents

(): 1977–1982 # Ma Hong (): 1982–1985 #Hu Qiaomu: 1985–1988 #

Hu Sheng Hu Sheng (11 January 1918 – 5 November 2000), was a Chinese Marxist theorist and historian. He was President of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences from 1985 to 1998, and also served as Vice-Chairman of the seventh and eighth National Commi ...

(): 1988–1998 #

Li Tieying Li Tieying (; born 1936) is a retired politician of the People's Republic of China. He held many positions since 1955, including Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress and President of the Chinese Academy of Soc ...

(): 1998–2003 #

Chen Kuiyuan Chen Kuiyuan (; born January 1941) is a former Chinese politician. In a lengthy public career, Chen served variously as the vice chairman of Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), the president and the Party chief of Chine ...

(): 2003–2013 #

Wang Weiguang Wang Weiguang (; born February 1950) is a Chinese politician who served as president of the University of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences from 2017 to 2018 and president of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences from 2013 to 2018. He previousl ...

(): April 2013 – March 2018 #

Xie Fuzhan Xie Fuzhan (; born 9 August 1954) is a Chinese economist and politician who served as the President of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and the Communist Party Secretary and governor of Henan province. Before that, he was the Director of ...

(): March 2018 – May 2022 #

(): May 2022 – Incumbent ''Source: China Social Science Network''

References

External links

Official website

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chinese Academy Of Social Sciences 1977 establishments in China Organizations based in Beijing Organizations established in 1977 Research institutes in China Science and technology in the People's Republic of China Think tanks based in China Members of the International Science Council National academies of arts and humanities