Positions:

Boya Distinguished Professor, Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies, Peking University

Chair, Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies, Peking University

Research Areas:

Early Daoist thought, Medieval Daoism, Han Dynasty intellectual history, Methodology of Chinese philosophy

Education and Professional Appointments

• 1995–1999   B.A. in Philosophy, Peking University
• 1999–2002   M.A. in Philosophy, Peking University
• 2003–2006   Ph.D. in Cultural and Religious Studies, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
• 2006–2011  Lecturer/Associate Professor, School of Philosophy, Renmin University of China
• 2011–2017    Associate Professor, Department of Philosophy, Peking University
• 2017–2022    Professor, Department of Philosophy, Peking University
• 2022–Present  Boya Distinguished Professor, Department of Philosophy, Peking University

Academic Affiliations

2021–Present: Council Member, Chinese Society for the History of Philosophy

2021–Present: Adjunct Professor, Beijing Institute of Socialism

2020–Present: Vice Chair, Daoism Branch, Chinese Association for Religious Studies

2006–Present: Research Fellow, Institute for Buddhist and Religious Theory (MOE Key Research Base), Renmin University of China

2019–Present: Research Fellow, Center for Aesthetics and Aesthetic Education (MOE Key Research Base), Peking University

Monographs

• 《耽玄与尘局：唐宋道教研究》 (Between Mysticism and Mundanity: Studies in Tang-Song Daoism). Religious Culture Press, 2022. Awarded Third Prize, 9th MOE Outstanding Humanities and Social Sciences Research Achievements.
• 《身体、不死与神秘主义：观念史视角下的道教》 (Body, Immortality, and Mysticism: Daoism from the Perspective of Intellectual History). Peking University Press, 2017. Awarded Second Prize, 15th Beijing Outstanding Humanities and Social Sciences Research Achievements (2018).
• 《中古道教类书与道教思想》 (Medieval Daoist Encyclopedias and Daoist Thought). Religious Culture Press, 2017. Awarded Youth Achievement Prize, 8th MOE Outstanding Humanities and Social Sciences Research Achievements (2020).
• 《即神即心：茅山真人之诰与陶弘景的信仰世界》 (Divine as Mind: The Declarations of Maoshan Zhenren and Tao Hongjing’s Religious World). Renmin University Press, 2010.

Selected Papers (2020–Present)

Cheng Lesong. "The Fractured In-Between: Reinvention of Modern Chinese and Its Intellectual Consequences." Philosophical Trends 2024(10): 31–39.

——. "Adapting to Change: Narratives of Divinity in Early Chinese Thought." Journal of Sun Yat-sen University (Social Science Edition) 64.4 (2024): 103–111.

——. "Textures of Efficacy: An Analysis of Ritual Acts." Studies in World Religions 2024(5): 1–8.

——. "Efficacy and Piety: Two Dimensions of Faith." Journal of Peking University (Philosophy and Social Sciences) 61.3 (2024): 16–23.

——. "Boundary-Sense and Liminality: ‘Knowing’ and ‘Not Knowing’ in Early Chinese Thought." Modern Philosophy 2024(2): 118–126.

——. "The Possibility of Returning to Experience: The Philosophical-Historical Foundation of Chinese Philosophy and Its Reflection." Social Sciences in China 2023(10): 124–140.

——. "Daoism in Singular or Plural? From Daoist Studies to the Construction of Daoist Doctrine." World Religious Cultures 2023(3): 70–77.

——. "Two ‘Strangers’: The Misplacement of Confucian Ethics in Modernity." Philosophical Research 2023(5): 44–53.

——. "The Voiding of Language: ‘Names’ and Presumptions of Order in Pre-Qin Thought." Social Science Front 2023(5): 30–38.

——. "‘Nature’ Between Word and Concept: On Conceptualization Methods in Ancient Chinese Thought." Philosophical Trends 2023(1): 41–51.

——. "Insight and Divide: On Family: Individual and Qinqin and the Reconstruction of Family Philosophy." Fudan Journal (Social Sciences Edition) 64.2 (2022): 32-39.

——. "Textures of Discourse: The Situational Nature of Early Chinese Thought." Zhejiang Social Sciences 2022(3): 107-114.

——. "Grounding and Opening: The Coherence and Divergence of Xuan (Profundity) in Han-Wei Period." Philosophical Research 2022(2): 45-55.

——. "Eclipse and Manifestation: 'Canonicity' Through the Lenses of Classical Studies and Philosophy." Journal of Sun Yat-sen University (Social Science Edition) 62.1 (2022): 121-130.

——. "Rational Presuppositions, Normativity, and Plural Expressions: A Cross-Cultural Perspective on the 'Universality of Philosophy'." Social Sciences in China 2021(2): 24-41.

——. "Two Contexts of Orthodoxy: Conceptual Reconfiguration and Theoretical Potential in Chinese Religious Studies - With a Discussion on Medieval Daoism's 'Absence of Heresy'." Studies in World Religions 2020(4): 11-19.

——. "Things Become Equal Through Transformation, Yet Words Cannot Achieve Equality: Reexamining the Philosophical Method in Qiwulun." Journal of Peking University (Philosophy and Social Sciences) 57.4 (2020): 15-23.

——. "Transformation and Preserved Light: Two Modes of Self in Qiwulun." History of Chinese Philosophy 2020(3): 52-60.

——. "Ancient Meaning, True Meaning, and Great Meaning: The Generation of Significance in Classical Chinese Texts Through Hermeneutic Paradigms." Fudan Journal (Social Sciences Edition) 62.1 (2020): 126-133.

Awards and Honors

• 2022: Changjiang Distinguished Professor, MOE Changjiang Scholars Program
• 2022: Special Prize for Teaching Achievements, Peking University
• 2021–2022: Xingzheng Global Fund Award for Outstanding Young Faculty, Peking University
• 2018–2020: Dacheng Sinology Teaching Award, Peking University
• 2018: Changjiang Young Scholar, MOE Changjiang Scholars Program
• 2015–2019: Peking University Humanities Distinguished Young Scholar