The Institute of Anthropology was founded in 1949 by the renowned Chinese anthropologist Woo Ting-liang, one of the first Academicians of the Academia Sinica. It stands out in the history of Chinese anthropology for its broad anthropological research concentrations, including a wide spectrum of subfields from the humanities and sciences. In its early days, it brought together an assorted range of scholars, including Hsia Nai, Ma Changshou, Jin Zutong, Zhang Zonghan and T’ien Ju-kang. The institute was formally reestablished by anthropologist Zhuang Kongshao in 2010. Its present members include five Professors, one Associate Professor, one 100 Talent Junior Professor and one Distinguished Associate Researcher. 

The institute’s current key research areas include overseas studies, ethnicity, cultural heritage, technology and society, rural development, animal behavior, urban culture, visual and linguistic anthropology. Geographically, its members focus on Han Chinese society, Chinese ethnic minority areas, the Asia-Pacific region, Europe and Africa. The institute has completed a variety of national and provincial-level government projects and its members have published widely in well-known national and international journals. The institute also hosts its own journal, “Chinese Journal of Anthropology.” Furthermore, in close collaboration with the Zhejiang University Library, it has established the “Minpaku Collection,” a generous donation of the National Museum of Ethnology, Japan, and organizes the “Zhejiang University Anthropology Lecture Series” on a regular basis. The institute provides Masters and PhD students with comprehensive training and offers a range of university-wide General Education courses, including classes at Zhejiang University’s prominent Chu Kochen Honors College. 

The institute is committed to building an interdisciplinary exchange platform for a “comprehensive anthropology” and draws its strength from an extensive network and cooperation with anthropologists from many departments and institutes in China and abroad. 

Current Members:

Ruan Yunxing, Jian Zhixiang, Liu Zhaohui, Liu Zhijun, Jia Y Liang (director), Dong Shaochun, Philipp Demgenski