In order to expand the public appeal and influence of the Palace Museum, advance research in Gugong Studies, and promote Gugong Studies in higher education disciplines, with the support of Longfor Group and Longfor Foundation and organization by the Palace Museum, the Institute of Gugong Studies of the Palace Museum hosted the 9th Gugong Studies Workshop for University Instructors from 23 July to 6 August 2021 in the Forbidden City. The Palace Museum’s primary aim for this workshop was to develop and train qualified university teachers in Gugong Studies and provide university teachers aspiring to engage in Gugong Studies research and instruction with a systematic understanding of the basic methods and chief content of Gugong Studies to facilitate its teaching in university classrooms all while hoping to provide a place of exchange for Gugong Studies scholars and university instructors in which interdisciplinary dialogue may produce inspiration in an inclusive atmosphere and joint advancement of Gugong Studies research. Over thirty teachers from a total of twenty-seven schools in thirteen provinces and cities including Peking University, Tsinghua University, Beijing Normal University, University of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Jilin University, Shandong University, Wuhan University, Sichuan University, and Jinan University participated in the workshop. Eighteen experts in fields such as museum management, Gugong Studies, Ming and Qing palace history, heritage architecture, historical calligraphy and painting, arts and crafts, and cultural heritage preservation presented academic topics to the attendees. The workshop was successfully completed after fifteen days of systematic instruction.

The successful completion of this workshop has great significance. Gugong Studies emphasizes the Palace Museum’s two-in-one world heritage and museum dual identity, which determines the extensity and inclusivity of Gugong research. Gugong Studies research combines the resources of the Palace Museum and diligently integrates fragmented and isolated research topics to develop an important platform for the academic influence of Gugong Studies. This workshop for university teachers strengthens the connection between the Palace Museum and society at large, especially institutions of higher education, and attracts the attention of a large body of scholars to the culture of the Palace Museum and Gugong Studies while advancing the promulgation of the Palace Museum’s culture and the development of Gugong Studies as an academic discipline and field of study.

Translated and edited by Adam J. Ensign and Kang Xiaolu