Doctor Li Lian

Li Lian – Doctor of History

Chinese Religious History Research at the School of History, Northwest University

Li Lian
Doctor of History, Second – Tier Professor in Chinese Religious History at the School of History, Northwest University, Doctoral Supervisor. Concurrently serves as the Director of the Buddhist Studies Institute and the Director of the Xuanzang Research Institute at Northwest University.

Education and Career:
Enrolled at Northwest University in 1980, successively obtaining Bachelor’s, Master’s, and Doctoral degrees in History. Promoted to Professor in 2001, selected as a Doctoral Supervisor at Northwest University in 2004, and advanced to the second – tier professional technical position in 2016.

Research and Teaching Focus:
Currently primarily engaged in research and teaching on the history and thought of Chinese religions, especially Buddhism, covering areas such as the theory of religious studies and contemporary religious issues.

Social Positions:

• Director of the Chinese Association for the Study of Religions
• Director of the China United Front Theory Research Association
• Invited Researcher at the Center for Buddhist Studies, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences
• Invited Researcher at the Ethnic and Religious Theory Research Base of the China United Front Theory Research Association
• Editorial Committee Member of the “Chinese Buddhist Canon (Continued Edition of the Chinese Section)”
• Advisor for the Ministry of Education’s Chinese Classics Recitation Activity
• Part – time Professor at the Putuoshan Buddhist College of China
• Part – time Professor at Zhejiang Buddhist College
• Expert on Religious Work for the Shaanxi Provincial Government
• Expert in the United Front Theory Think Tank of the Shaanxi Provincial Committee

Major Achievements:
Published 12 papers in authoritative journals such as “Philosophical Research”, “Journal of World Religious Studies”, “History of Chinese Philosophy”, and “Guangming Daily”, with a total of over 190 papers. Authored 10 academic works including “The Origins and Spread of Guanyin Faith”, “A Study on Guanyin Faith in Ancient India”, “Buddhist Bodhisattva View”, and “An Initial Exploration of the Prajna Thought in the Diamond Sutra”. Co – authored more than 10 books including “A General History of World Buddhism” (Volume 3), “The Four Great Bodhisattvas and Popular Beliefs”, “Chronological Compilation of Buddhism in the Northern and Southern Dynasties”, “The Dharma Lineage of Zhongnan Mountain”, “Famen Temple”, and “Biographies of Eminent Monks in China”. Edited series such as “Selected Works from the Abhidharma Pitaka” (25 volumes published), “Cultural Series of Zhongnan Mountain” (6 volumes), and “Series on the Eight Major Schools of Chinese Han Buddhism and Their Ancestral Courts” (8 volumes).