The Tang Prize () is a set of biannual international awards bestowed in four fields: Sustainable Development, Biopharmaceutical Science, Sinology, and Rule of Law. Nomination and selection are conducted by an independent selection committee, which is formed in partial cooperation with the

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 fro ...

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the no ...

's top research institution.

Philosophy

In the advent of

industrialization Industrialisation ( alternatively spelled industrialization) is the period of social and economic change that transforms a human group from an agrarian society into an industrial society. This involves an extensive re-organisation of an econo ...

and

globalization Globalization, or globalisation (Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), is the process of interaction and integration among people, companies, and governments worldwide. The term ''globalization'' first appeared in the early 20t ...

, humanity has greatly enjoyed the convenience brought about by science and technology. Yet, humanity also faces a multitude of critical environmental, socio-cultural, and ethical issues on an unparalleled scale, such as

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...

, inequality, and moral degradation. Against this backdrop, Taiwanese billionaire entrepreneur

Samuel Yin Samuel Yen-Liang Yin (; ) is a Taiwanese billionaire businessman and philanthropist. He is best known for the establishment of the Tang Prize, and as chairman of the Ruentex Financial Group. Education Yin studied history at Chinese Culture Unive ...

established the Tang Prize Foundation in December 2012. With the aim to recognize and support contributors for their revolutionary efforts in the research fields critical to the 21st century, the Tang Prize is global in reach. Laureates are selected on the basis of the originality of their work along with their contributions to society, irrespective of gender, religion, ethnicity, or nationality.

Award categories

The award categories of the Tang Prize include

Sustainable Development Sustainable development is an organizing principle for meeting human development goals while also sustaining the ability of natural systems to provide the natural resources and ecosystem services on which the economy and society depend. The ...

, Biopharmaceutical Science,

Sinology Sinology, or Chinese studies, is an academic discipline that focuses on the study of China primarily through Chinese philosophy, language, literature, culture and history and often refers to Western scholarship. Its origin "may be traced to the e ...

, and

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 Britannic ...

. The Prize in Sustainable Development recognizes those who have made extraordinary contributions to the sustainable development of human societies, especially through groundbreaking innovations in science and technology. The Prize in Biopharmaceutical Science recognizes original biopharmaceutical or biomedical research that has led to significant advances towards preventing, diagnosing and/or treating major human diseases to improve human health. The Prize in Sinology recognizes the study of Sinology in its broadest sense, awarding research on China and its related fields, such as Chinese thought, history, philology, linguistics, archaeology, philosophy, religion, traditional canons, literature, and art (excluding literary and art works). Honoring innovations in the field of Sinology, the Prize showcases Chinese culture and its contributions to the development of human civilization. The Prize in Rule of Law recognizes individual(s) or institution(s) who have made significant contributions to the rule of law, reflected not only in the achievement of the candidate(s) in terms of the advancement of legal theory or practice, but also in the realization of the rule of law in contemporary societies through the influences or inspiration of the work of the candidate(s).

Laureates

Each laureate receives
Tang Prize medal
an
diploma
In addition, NT$40 million (US$1.3 million) cash prize is awarded in each category, as well as a research grant of NT$10 million (US$0.33 million), for a total of NT$50 million (US$1.63 million). Should two, or up to three, candidates receive an award in the same category, the cash prize and research grant are shared.

List of countries by laureates

Until 2022.

Selection Committee

Nomination and selection
for the first and second Tang Prize cycles (2013–2014 and 2015–2016, respectively) were conducted by the Academica Sinica on commission of the Tang Prize Foundation; beginning with the third prize cycle (2017–2018), nomination and selection are now conducted by an independent selection committee which is formed in partial cooperation with the Academia Sinica. The Tang Prize Selection Committee is composed of four separate committees, one per prize category. The committees invite respected scholars and institutions from around the world, including many Nobel laureates, to submit nominees, ensuring those nominated have attained a sufficient level of achievement.

Timeline

Events during the award year:

References

External links

Official Website
{{Tang Prize winners Academic awards Awards established in 2014 Environmental awards International awards Science and technology awards 2014 establishments in Taiwan