Wang Weiguang (middle), president of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, attends the second plenary session of the fourth editorial board of Social Sciences in China. (PHOTO: CSST)

 

Chinese and English versions of Social Sciences in China (PHOTO: CSST)

 

At its second plenary session on Jan. 21 in Beijing, the fourth editorial board of Social Sciences in China, a prominent monthly journal run by the Social Sciences in China Press (SSCP) under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), lauded the journal as the leader in China’s academic development.
 
CASS President’s suggestions
Wang Weiguang, president and secretary of the leading Party members’ group of CASS and director of the editorial board, delivered an important speech at the event.

Applauding the good job done by SSCP, Wang Weiguang  said: “SSCP has become an important weather vane for the state of philosophy and social sciences in China. Its team and business expansion show increasing promise.”

Furthermore, he offered eight suggestions regarding the future development of Social Sciences in China.
 

First, it should be guided by Marxism while adhering to a correct political and academic orientation to serve socialism with Chinese characteristics.
 

Second, it should strive to build academic innovation and discourse systems with Chinese characteristics, Chinese style and a Chinese manner for philosophy and social sciences under the banner of socialism with Chinese characteristics.
 

Third, it should insist on the policy of “letting a hundred flowers bloom, a hundred schools of thought contend” while integrating politics with academics to fuel the innovation and development of theoretical academics with Chinese characteristics.
 

Fourth, it should place equal emphasis on basic and applied research, be aware of major theoretical and real-world issues that are of concern to the Communist Party of China and the Chinese people, and attach importance to the study of important schools of ethos at home and abroad in history in an effort to upgrade the academic level of Social Sciences in China.
 

Fifth, it should stress scientific rigor and seeking truth from facts. The journal should serve as an academic home for Chinese scholars, especially young ones, by holding democratic and open academic discussions.
 

Sixth, it should strategically promote the globalization of Chinese academics and strengthen international academic exchanges to enhance the clout and discourse power of theoretical academics with Chinese characteristics in the world.
 

Seventh, it should take up the mission to safeguard the lasting legacy of traditional Chinese culture by organizing, researching and exploring brilliant traditional academic ideas in an effort to integrate excellent contemporary Chinese ideological culture with the splendid traditional culture.
 

Eighth, it should prioritize the management of influential journals and strengthen institution building to cultivate leadership, a support staff and an editorial team with high political and academic qualities.

Fruitful results in 2014
Briefing the editorial board, Wang Limin, executive deputy editor-in-chief of SSCP, reviewed and summarized the achievements of Social Sciences in China in 2014.
 

Wang Limin said a total of 125 articles were published in the 12 issues of Social Sciences in China in 2014, with an average of 1.9 out of every 100 contributions accepted. Articles predominantly came from seven disciplines, including Marxism, economics, law, philosophy, sociology, history and literature. Each discipline accounted for roughly 14 to 19 articles, and there were five on public administration, five about political science and two about international relations.

In terms of author distribution, the overall number of authors who published articles in Social Sciences in China last year totaled 178, and they came from diverse backgrounds. In terms of sources, CASS, Renmin University of China and Peking University were the top three. Of particular mention is that Social Sciences in China gave equal treatment to all contributions with regard to examining and selecting articles for publishing, with no bias toward author positions or titles.
 

It placed great emphasis on cultivating young academic talents, giving more opportunities to young people. Many of the authors in 2014 are still students. Ordinary colleges and universities that rarely had chances to publish articles in the journal before also stood out conspicuously in 2014.
 

The leadership of SSCP says that it is the journal’s responsibility to drive Chinese academic development. A large number of academic achievements featured in the publication are recognized by academia and society as a whole. It has consistently ranked first place in journal rankings in recent years, outperforming other comprehensive academic journals and widening its gap with the second place. According to statistics, at least 63 articles published in Social Sciences in China in 2014 won awards at and above the provincial level.

The following details more breakthroughs by Social Sciences in China in 2014:

The SSCP staff has pledged to keep an open mind and has organized a series of academic forums, the most notable of which is the Forum on Frontiers of China’s Social Sciences. These forums have become important platforms for finding excellent authors, fostering fine topics, nurturing outstanding articles and leading academic development.
 

SSCP actively engaged in foreign academic exchanges by co-hosting the China-Germany High-Level Academic Forum, the China-Latin America High-Level Academic Forum and other international academic forums with major academic institutes in the world, which greatly enhanced its global impact and promoted the globalization of China’s scholarship.
 

SSCP vigorously promoted communication and cooperation among academic journals in China. Through the China Humanities and Social Sciences Journal High-Level Forum, World High-Level Forum on Chinese Academic Journals and other forums, it gathered a plethora of excellent academic journals on humanities and social sciences to discuss plans for development and for leading the overseas expansion of China’s academic journals.
 

Editorial board members spoke highly of these achievements and said that these achievements would lead to more gains in the future. They all agreed that although the workload has doubled since Social Sciences in China was changed to a monthly journal in 2012, its academic and social impact was on the upswing, which should be applauded.
 

“I read all the issues of Social Sciences in China,” said Yin Yungong, director of the Research Center for the Theoretical System of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics at CASS. Although many fields were quite different from his, he said he could always obtain useful information and knowledge from them. He noted that this journal was of high quality and consistently led the pack in 2014.
 

Besides stacks of journals, piles of newsletters for editors in SSCP were displayed on the table in front of the editorial board members. Newsletters record every working link of the journal. “You are really meticulous and rigorous with your management work,” said Pei Changhong, director of the Institute of Economics at CASS, addressing attendees with admiration. He said that success of the journal largely depends on well-organized management.
 

Academic progress over 35 years
2015 marks a special juncture in the development history of Social Sciences in China: the 35th anniversary of publication.
 

Gao Xiang, secretary-general and member of the leading Party members’ group of CASS, editor-in-chief of SSCP and deputy director of the editorial board, said that since it began publication the journal has been always at the forefront. The journal has observed and guided contemporary Chinese academic development while promoting the prosperity of philosophy and social sciences with Chinese characteristics.

Gao also emphasized that it is worthwhile to seriously reflect upon the past 35 years, not only in terms of experience but also lessons. Currently, further clarification of its orientation and adherence to the correct direction on the basis of analyzing the new situation at home and abroad is needed to promote the establishment of Chinese academic discourse, Gao added.
 

One of the priorities for SSCP is to successfully hold events for celebrating the 35th anniversary, Gao said, including a symposium on Social Sciences in China and the direction of Chinese academics in the new period, as well as the selection of 100 excellent papers from Social Sciences in China.
 

The development of Social Sciences in China is in sync with China’s reform and opening-up, and its prospects are promising. “The journal is a remarkable flag for leading the development of Chinese academic journals and has attained fruitful achievements over the past 35 years,” said Li Jingyuan, former director of the Institute of Philosophy at CASS, adding that academic nature is the life of the journal.
 

“Social Sciences in China stands for the highest level of studies of philosophy and social sciences in China, and I hope it can prioritize academic standards, further promoting the internationalization of Chinese academic research,” said Li.
 

Chen Zhongyi, director of the Institute of Foreign Literature at CASS, said that Social Sciences in China has earned a good reputation in Chinese academic and theoretical circles over the course of its development over 35 years. “I hope it will further pay attention to young scholars and their research achievements,” Chen said, adding that the press should better report academic ideas and concepts among young scholars by organizing national academic forums.
 

Chaired by Gao, the meeting was also attended by Zhang Jiang, Li Peilin and Cai Fang, all of whom are vice-presidents and members of the leading Party members' group of CASS and editorial board members.  

 

Mao Li is a reporter from Chinese Social Sciences Today.