Chen Den-wu (; born 1964) is a

Taiwanese Taiwanese may refer to: * Taiwanese language, another name for Taiwanese Hokkien * Something from or related to Taiwan ( Formosa) * Taiwanese aborigines, the indigenous people of Taiwan * Han Taiwanese, the Han people of Taiwan * Taiwanese people, ...

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the stu ...

from

Zhushan, Nantou Zhushan Township () is an urban township in the southwest part of Nantou County, Taiwan, and off the south shore of Zhuoshui River. Geography Population: 56,662 people Administrative divisions Zhushan, Zhongzheng, Zhongshan, Yunlin, Zhuwei, Guil ...

. He has been the chairman of th
Department of History
the vice president for academic affairs, and the director of th
Center for General Education
at National Taiwan Normal University. Chen is currently the dean of th
College of Liberal Arts
and a full-time professor of th
Department of History
at National Taiwan Normal University. His studies focus on the history of the

Sui dynasty The Sui dynasty (, ) was a short-lived imperial dynasty of China that lasted from 581 to 618. The Sui unified the Northern and Southern dynasties, thus ending the long period of division following the fall of the Western Jin dynasty, and layi ...

, the

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...

, the

Six dynasties Six Dynasties (; 220–589 or 222–589) is a collective term for six Han-ruled Chinese dynasties that existed from the early 3rd century AD to the late 6th century AD. The Six Dynasties period overlapped with the era of the Sixteen Kingdoms, ...

, the

rule of law The rule of law is the political philosophy that all citizens and institutions within a country, state, or community are accountable to the same laws, including lawmakers and leaders. The rule of law is defined in the ''Encyclopedia Britannica ...

in China, and visual history. His broad interests outside education and research include hiking and bird watching. Chen cares about the

natural environment The natural environment or natural world encompasses all life, living and non-living things occurring nature, naturally, meaning in this case not Artificiality, artificial. The term is most often applied to the Earth or some parts of Earth. Th ...

, the biological system, society, culture, history, and life in general.

Positions

*Dean, th
Department of History
National Taiwan Normal University. August 2010-August 2013 *Full-time Professor, Dean, th
Department of History
National Taiwan Normal University. August 2010-August 2013 *Visiting Scholar, th
Institute for Advanced Studies in Humanities and Social Sciences
National Taiwan University. *Secretary General
Taiwanese Legal History Association
*Visiting Scholar
Institute of History and Philology

Academia Sinica Academia Sinica (AS, la, 1=Academia Sinica, 3=Chinese Academy; ), headquartered in Nangang, Taipei, is the national academy of Taiwan. Founded in Nanking, the academy supports research activities in a wide variety of disciplines, ranging from ...

. 2006

Research

Chen focuses his studies mainly on the legal history of China, visual history, and the history of the

and the

. He has written th
From the Human World to the Unknown Realm
(《從人間世到幽冥界》) in 2007 to investigate the legal issues throughout the history of China. He extends the studies of law from legal orders to religions and beliefs, which demonstrate the rule of the state against earthly crimes in the form of a judgment in hell. From the diverse perspectives in and insights into the studies of the legal history in China, Chen focuses mainly on how royal powers consolidate its political power through its ways of ruling to maintain social order. Chen’s book covers the crime issues and the legal systems of this world and the judgment in hell of the unknown world to discuss the aspects of the legal systems in the

. His main concerns include investigating the actual practice of the litigation system in the

, the corresponding practices and social security demonstrated through individual criminal cases, and the ways in which religions and beliefs are mobilized to decrease criminal rate and to gain social control during the process of law making on a national level. Chen has also been interested in the ways in which states rule in ancient China. That led him to publis
Hell, Law, and World Order—the Religions, Society, and States in Ancient China
in 2009 to investigate the relationships among religions, society, and states in ancient China. In recent years Chen has been studying the “judging” in the

and has published several academic papers on the “Hundred Ways of Judging” by

Bai Juyi Bai Juyi (also Bo Juyi or Po Chü-i; ; 772–846), courtesy name Letian (樂天), was a renowned Chinese poet and Tang dynasty government official. Many of his poems concern his career or observations made about everyday life, including as g ...

Meanwhile, Chen is also interested in the issues regarding “history and life.” He has been invited by th
San Min Book Co., Ltd.
(三民書局) to write �
History and Life
” He believes there is subject that knows no boundary, limit, or a defined topic. It has no boundary because with all the facets of life anything could be used as a boundary. It has no limit because history could be traced back infinitely. It has no defined topic because of the multifaceted life and infinite history the book could address and discuss. Therefore, all historians could end up with their own version of “History and Life.” “History and Life” is a lifelong topic to write about. All lives end at one time or another, while the wheel of history rolls on. The entanglement between history and life reminds people of such a universal topic. According to

Eric Hobsbawm Eric John Ernest Hobsbawm (; 9 June 1917 – 1 October 2012) was a British historian of the rise of industrial capitalism, socialism and nationalism. A life-long Marxist, his socio-political convictions influenced the character of his work. H ...

, if the proposition of “he should wear clothes” is hidden behind

The Emperor’s New Clothes "The Emperor's New Clothes" ( da, Kejserens nye klæder ) is a literary folktale written by Danish author Hans Christian Andersen, about a vain emperor who gets exposed before his subjects. The tale has been translated into over 100 languages.A ...

Hans Christian Andersen Hans Christian Andersen ( , ; 2 April 1805 – 4 August 1875) was a Danish author. Although a prolific writer of plays, travelogues, novels, and poems, he is best remembered for his literary fairy tales. Andersen's fairy tales, consisti ...

, there should be a certain knowledge that human should possess as self-evident as the emperor should wear clothes. Eric Hobsbawm believes that knowledge should be history. He believes that even laymen could tell that social science and history studies both need history to explain how modern world and social system are formed. It also allows us to conduct all kinds of social studies more analytically. He emphasizes that “all peoples have a history.” The value of “history” is no limited to the “function” under pragmatism or power struggles. The purpose and function of history is providing more information for the human pursuit of love, hope, and peace. Only with this purpose would the function of history be maximized.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chen, Den-Wu 1964 births Living people 20th-century Taiwanese historians Academic staff of the National Taiwan Normal University Taiwanese university and college faculty deans 21st-century Taiwanese historians