Professor Yi Pingce, from Gaomi City, Shandong Province, wasborn in September 1956. He holds a PhD in Literature and is currently a Professor at the School of Literature and JournalismCommunication (now the School of Literature) and at the Research Center for Literary and Artistic Aesthetics at Shandong University, as well as a Dissertation Advisor for PhD students in the area of Literature and Art.Professor Yi is also a Member of the Chinese Democratic League.

In 1980, Professor Yi matriculated as an undergraduate at the Department of Chinese Language and Literature Department of Shandong University, where, in 1984, he started MA studies in the area of Literature and Art. After graduating with an MA degree in 1987, he stayed on at Shandong University as a member of the faculty in the Department of Chinese Language and Literature (now the School of Literature and Journalism) and has been here since that time. He became a Lecturer in 1989, an Associate Professor in 1997, and a Professor at the Research Center for Literary and Artistic Aesthetics in 2000. Professor Yi obtained his PhD degree in Literature in 2003, and became a Professor in the School of Literature and Journalism in 2004. In June 2006, he was appointed to serve as a Dissertation Advisor for PhD students in the area of Literature and Art.

Professor Yi is primarily engaged in teaching and research work in the area of Aesthetics in the field of Literature and Art. He has published more than ten academic monographs, including: A History of Chinese Aesthetic Culture (the volume on the Qin, Han,Wei, Jin, and the Southern and Northern Dynasties periods), An Interpretation of Chinese Aesthetic Culture, A General Study of Aesthetic Culture in China’s Medieval Era, and Aesthetics and Gender Culture. He has also published more than a hundred academic papers and articles in core Chinese-language periodicals such as Studies in Literature and Art, Our Literary Legacy, Literary Review, Social Sciences Periodicals, Academic Monthly, Chinese Cultural Studies, Comparative Literature in China and Wen-Shi-Zhe (A Journal of Literature, History and Philosophy).Among these periodical publications, “A Study of Ecological Aesthetics from the Perspective of Modern Anthropological Paradigms”has been reprinted in full text in Xinhua Digest, and nineteen others, including “The May Fourth Spirit and Literature of the New Era”, “Wang Bi’s Metaphysics and Chinese Aesthetics”, “Motherhood Worship and Fatherhood Worship”, “The Aesthetic Effect in Model Operas and the Reform in Traditional Operas”, “The Academic Status, Value and Significance of Western Aesthetics in the Context of Chinese Cultural Discourse in the Twentieth Century”, and “Five Basic Paradigms of the Concept of Rationality” have been reprinted in full text in The People’s University’s Reprints of Newspaper and Periodical Materials. Many of Professor Yi’s articles and other writings have been republished, quoted, cited, introduced, and reviewed, in some cases repeatedly, in other publications such as A Digest of Academic Journals of Colleges and Universities, Xinhua Digest, Guangming Daily, and Digest News. Altogether, Professor Yi’s published works amount to over 2.5 million words/characters.

Professor Yi has won more than a dozen awards and prizes for his research work and publications, including a Level-1 Prize for Outstanding Achievement in the Humanities and Social Sciences conferred by the Ministry of Education, and a dozen or so Level-2 and Level-3 prizes for Outstanding Achievements in the Social Sciences in Shandong Province (conferred by the Shandong Province Social Sciences Federation,) in the East China Region, and at Shandong University. At present, he is undertaking as a sole principal researchera research project under the aegis of the National Foundation for the  Social Sciences, and is responsible for a major research project in Humanities and the Social Sciences sponsored by the Ministry of Education. He is also the Principal Topic Leader of a Major Break-Through Research Project for the Ministry of Education, and a major participating member in many research projects sponsored by the national government, the State Council and the Ministry of Education.

Professor Yi’s primary research orientations include Aesthetic Theory andAesthetics in Literature and Art. His academic expertise lies in various major areas, including: Chinese Aesthetics, Comparative Aesthetics, Aesthetic Cultural History, and Aesthetic Cultural Anthropology.

The most representative of Professor Yi’s academic works over the years include the following:

· A General Study of Aesthetic Culture in China’s Medieval Era, Shandong People's Publishing House, 2007

· A History of Chinese Aesthetic Culture (the volume on the Qin, Han,Wei, Jin, and the Southern and Northern Dynasties periods), Shandong Pictorial Publishing House, 2000

· An Interpretation of Chinese Aesthetic Culture, Capital Normal University Press, 2004

· “The Aesthetics of Living: New Aesthetic Forms in the Twenty-first Century”, Wen-Shi-Zhe (A Journal of Literature, History and Philosophy), no. 2, 2003

· “A Study of Ecological Aesthetics from the Perspective of Modern Anthropological Paradigms”, Xinhua Digest, issue 6, 2003

· “Motherhood Worship and Fatherhood Worship”, Academic Monthly, no. 10, 1996

· “On the Aesthetic Implications of the ‘Yin-Yang’ Dualistic Mode of Thought”, Academic Journal of Central China Normal University, no. 3, 2007

· “The Modern Anthropological Restoration of the National Identity of Literature”, Wen-Shi-Zhe (A Journal of Literature, History and Philosophy), no. 3, 2007

Professor Yi’s published academic research achievements since 2000 include the following:
Monographs

1. A General Study of Aesthetic Culture in China’s Medieval Era, Shandong People's Publishing House, January 2007, (sole author, 340,000 characters)

2. A History of Chinese Aesthetic Culture (the volume on the Qin, Han,Wei, Jin, and the Southern and Northern Dynasties periods), Shandong Pictorial Publishing House, October 2000, (sole author, 300,000 characters)

3. An Interpretation of Chinese Aesthetic Culture, Capital Normal University Press, August 2003, (sole author, 270,000 characters)

4. A Comprehensive Review of Cutting-Edge Theories In Literature and Art, Shandong University Press, December 2001, (co-author, contributed writing 30,000-plus characters)

5. Biographies of Thinkers and Philosophers in the Field of Aesthetic Education in China and Abroad,Guangxi Normal University Press, December 2002, (co-author, contributed writing 30,000 characters)

6. From the Classical to the Modern: The Question of Nationality in Chinese Literary Aesthetics, Qilu Shushe Publishers, 2004,(co-author, contributed writing 30,000 characters)

7. A Curriculum in Literary Aesthetics,Higher Education Press, October 2005, (contributed writing Chapter 8, 25,000 characters)

Papers and articles

1. “The Modern Anthropological Restoration of the National Identity of Literature”, Wen-Shi-Zhe (A Journal of Literature, History and Philosophy), no. 3, 2007,(11,000 characters), Classification A, CSSCI

2. “The Aesthetics of Living: New Aesthetic Forms in the Twenty-first Century”,Wen-Shi-Zhe (A Journal of Literature, History and Philosophy), no. 2, 2003,(10,000 characters), Classification A, CSSCI

3. “The Theory of Standing Up”,Literary Review, no. 6, 2001,(5,000 characters), Classification A, CSSCI

4. “A Study of Ecological Aesthetics from the Perspective of Modern Anthropological Paradigms”, Xinhua Digest, no. 6, 2003, (10,000 characters),

5. “The Question of Nationality in Ecological Aesthetics from the Perspective of Modern Anthropology”, Collected Papers in the Social Sciences,no. 6, 2005, (10,000 characters), Classification A, CSSCI

6. “On the Aesthetic Implications of the ‘Yin-Yang’ Dualistic Mode of Thought”, Academic Journal of Central China Normal University, no. 3, 2007, (10,000 characters), Classification B, CSSCI

7. “On the Two Major Paradigms of theConcept of Harmony, In Chinese Aesthetics  and Western Aesthetics Respectively”, Academic Monthly, no. 1, 2000,(9,000 characters),  Classification B, CSSCI

8. “Toward an Anthropology of Aesthetic Culture”, Eastern Serial Periodicals,no. 4, 2001,(12,000 characters) , Classification B

9. “To Cultivate and Magnify the Chinese Nation's Aesthetic Spirit”, People's Daily, January 7, 2002, (3,000 characters),Classification B

10. “Five Basic Paradigms of the Concept of Rationality”,originally published in Journal of Theoretical Studies, no. 4, 2003, CSSCI; reprinted in The People’s University’s Reprints of Newspaper and Periodical Materials, Literary and Artistic Theory, no. 9, 2003, (12,000 characters), Classification B

11. “A Cultural Interpretation of the Aesthetic Significance of the Imperial Court Palace-Centered Poetry”, Seeking Truth, no. 5, 2003, (9,000 characters), Classification B

12. “An Anthropological Interpretation For the Femininity Tendencies in Chinese Aesthetic Culture”, Eastern Serial Periodicals,no. 3, 2003, (11,000 characters), ClassificationB

13. “Uphold Steadfastly the Viewpoint of ‘Practice Is Number One,’ But Promote Without Ceasing Innovation in Theory”, Guangming Daily, September 23, 2003, Classification B

14. “The Paradigm of Moderation and Harmony, The Dualism of Yin and Yang, and Binary Thinking”, Research on the Zhou Classic of Change, no. 1, 2004, (10,000 characters), Classification B, CSSCI

15. “On the Five Major Stages in the Development of Aesthetics Thought in Chinese Classical Literature and Art”, originally published in Journal of Theoretical Studies, no. 6, 2007; reprinted in The People’s University’s Reprints of Newspaper and Periodical Materials, Literary and Artistic Theory, no. 7, 2011

16. “An Interpretative Reading of the Works of Weng Kejia, China’s Poetof the Century”, Guangming Daily,April 29, 2004, (2,500 characters), Classification B

17. “On the Paradigm of Anthropological Thinking and Its Development from Classical to Modern”, Folklore Research, no. 3, 2004, (10,000 characters), Classification B, CSSCI

18. “A Modern Aesthetic Interpretation of the Classical World of Immortals and the Supernatural”, Journal of Theoretical Studies, no 4, 2004, Classification C

19. “A Summary of the Proceedings of the International Symposium on Aesthetics and Art Education”, Studies in Literature and Art, no. 6, 2002, (3,000 characters), Classification A

20. “Similarities and Differences Between the Models of Thought in Classical Anthropology and Modern Anthropology: An Exploration of the Theoretical Basis of the Anthropology of Aesthetic Culture”, Eastern Serial Periodicals,no. 3, 2005, (10,000 characters), Classification B

21. “Man and Nature: Aesthetics and Literature in the Perspective of Contemporary Ecological Civilization (A Summary of the Proceedings of the International Symposium on Aesthetics and Literature)”, Literary Review, no. 2, 2006,(5,500 characters),Classification A

22. “Three Major Transitions in the Concept of Beauty in Art in the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties”, Humanistic Writings,no. 9, 2004, (10,000 characters)

23. “The Development of Contemporary Aesthetic Culture from the Perspective of the Chinese CulturalSpirit of ‘The Way is Never Distant From Humanity’”, Humanistic Writings, no. 10, 2005, (10,000 characters)

Since 2000, Professor Yi has undertaken the following research projects:

1. Modern Anthropological Research on the Nationality of Chinese Aesthetic Culture.Sponsored by the National Foundation for the Social Sciences,approved by the National Planning Office;started in 2003, concluded in 2005; approval number: 03BZW011. (Sole independent researcher.)

2. Research on the Status and Positioning of Literary Aesthetics as an Academic Discipline, and Its Developmental Trending. A Major Research Project of the Ministry of Education’sKey Research Base in the Humanities and the Social Sciences, approved by the Ministry of Education; started in 2003, concluded in 2005; approval number: 02JAZJD750.11-44009. (Supervisor in charge of Project.)

3. A Comparative Study of Modern and Contemporary Art Education in China and in the West. AMajor Target Research Projects of the Ministry of Education,approved by the Ministry of Education;started in 2005, concluded in 2008. (Leader of the primary topical orientation in the Project.)

4. Research on the Current Status of China's Contemporary Cultural Industry and the Development of Aesthetic Culture, and the Strategies for Coping with the Situation. A Major Research Project of the Ministry of Education’s Key Research Base in the Humanities and the Social Sciences, approved by the Ministry of Education; started in 2002, concluded in 2004. (Number 3 Investigator.)

Also since 2000, Professor Yi has received the following awards and prizes for his achievements in research:

1. For A History of Chinese Aesthetic Culture, Level-1Prize for Outstanding Achievement in the Humanities and Social Sciences, conferred by the Ministry of Education, October 2002. (Number 2 Investigator.)

2. For A Comprehensive Review of Cutting-Edge Theories In Literature and Art, Level-2 Prize for Outstanding Achievement in the Social Sciencesin Shandong Province, December 2002.(Number 3 Investigator.)

3. For A History of Chinese Aesthetic Culture, Level-2 Prize for Outstanding Achievement in the Social Sciencesin Shandong Province, 2001.(Number 2 Investigator.)

4. For A Comprehensive Review of Cutting-Edge Theories In Literature and Art, Level-1 Prize forOutstanding Achievement in the Social Sciences, conferred by the Shandong Provincial Department of Education, 2002. (Number 3 Investigator.)

5. For A History of Chinese Aesthetic Culture, Level-1 Prize for Teaching Material Development, Shandong University, 2002. (Number 2 Investigator.)

6. For “The Academic Status, Value and Significance of Western Aesthetics in the Context of Chinese Cultural Discourse in the Twentieth Century”, Level-3 Prize for Outstanding Achievement in the Social Sciences, Shandong University, 2000. (Sole author.)

7. For “A Study of Ecological Aesthetics from the Perspective of [Modern] Anthropological Paradigms”, Level-3 Prize for Outstanding Achievement in the Social Sciencesin Shandong Province, 2005.(Sole author.)

At this time, Professor Yi is carrying out research on the following topics, and his research plans for the short term (within the next 3-5 years) are as follows:

1. Research on the status and positioning of literary aesthetics as an academic discipline, and its developmentaltrending. (To be published as a monograph, expected date of completion: By the end of 2008.)

2. Tracking the anthropological origins and sources of the aesthetic culture of China. (To be published as a monograph, expected date of completion: By the end of 2008.)

3. Comparative studies of aesthetic culture in China and in the West. (To be published as a monograph, expected date of completion: By the end of 2009.)