Du Gangjian (; born August 1956) is a Chinese legal scholar and a representative figure of
New Confucianism in mainland China.
Education and career
Du Gangjian was born in
Hefei
Hefei (; ) is the capital and largest city of Anhui Province, People's Republic of China. A prefecture-level city, it is the political, economic, and cultural center of Anhui. Its population was 9,369,881 as of the 2020 census and its built-up ( ...
,
Anhui in 1956. He received his B.A degree from
Anhui Normal University in 1979
and Master of Law degree from
Renmin University of China Department of Law in 1982.
After graduation, Du joined the faculty of Renmin University of China Department of Law.
He was a professor at
National School of Administration from 1997 to 2004.
He became the Chief Professor () of
Shantou University Law School in 2004 and was appointed the Dean of Shantou University Law School in March 2007. He left Shantou University and joined the faculty of
Hunan University Law School in 2009, and was the dean of the school from 2010 to 2015.
Du was selected as one of 2003 Top Ten Opinion Leaders by ''Caijing Shibao'' (财经时报), a Chinese newspaper, and one of 100 jurists who influenced the process of promoting rule of law in China by ''
China Today
''China Today'' (), until 1990 titled ''China Reconstructs'' (), is a monthly magazine founded in 1952 by Soong Ching-ling in association with Israel Epstein. It is published in Chinese language, English, Spanish, French, Arabic, German and ...
'' in 2017.
Du is the founder of World Civilization Research Association.
Thoughts and research
As an advocate of
New Confucianism and Confucian constitutionalism, Du is known for his idea that
Confucianism can be used as the ideological basis for
constitutionalism and
human rights.
Some of his research, e.g., claiming that
American Indians may descend from
Hunan,
that some ancestors of Korean and Japanese people came from Hunan, and that
Western civilization originated in China,
have attracted public attention.
Selected publications
*''Thoughts on Human Rights in Twentieth-century China'' (中國近百年人權思想),
The Chinese University of Hong Kong Press, 2004,
*''The Origin of Civilizations and the World of Great Unity'' (文明源头与大同世界), Guangming Press, 2017,
References
External links
Introduction to Du Gangjian21cn.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Du, Gangjian
1956 births
Living people
Anhui Normal University alumni
Renmin University of China alumni
Academic staff of Renmin University of China
Academic staff of Hunan University
Chinese legal scholars
Chinese Confucianists
People from Hefei