Recently, Dr. Yang Hong, the lifelong full-time professor and Vice-president of U.S. Bryant University, was invited to the Confucius Institute of University of Padova to hold an academic lecture. The lecture focused on “Modern Science and Technology Shed New Light on Ancient Chinese Civilization”, which is highly acclaimed by the audiences.
Beginning with the independence from historical documents and unearthed cultural relics, Doctor analyzes the assumptions and arguments about the long-existing ancient Chinese civilization by using the modern science and technology. Through investigating the organic archaeological sites from the perspective of molecular, geochemistry and stable isotopes, he explained how the advanced science and technology reveal the world’s longest and uninterrupted mysterious ancient civilization of China. Professor Yang made a profound but simple analysis about the research questions with detailed examples and data collected by his team, including how to identify and assess the organic remains discovered form archaeology, how to indicate the ancient origin of the Silk Road by using the technology of crosscutting stable isotope, and how the major hydrological environment changes facilitate the development of rice agriculture in the Yangtze river basin in the new Stone Age. The method of combining micro-paleontological record and compound specific isotope he used to analyze provides a unique perspective for the explanation of ancient Chinese civilization.
The lecture shows a large number of investigation and study pictures, pictures of the ancient Silk Road trade goods, and pictures of the Western Han dynasty tomb relics, all of which appealed to the audiences. Professors and students at the University of Padova attending the lecture showed great interest in it and raised a lot of questions. The lecture provides a new angle for professors and students at University of Padova to understand ancient Chinese civilization and effectively promote cultural communication between China and Italy.
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