Chinese Philosophy Research Institute of Advanced Institute for Confucian Studies of Shandong University consists of people from original Advanced Institute for Confucian Studies and Institute of Literature, History and Philosophy of Shandong University. The history of the Advanced Institute for Confucian Studies can be traced back to “Research Center of Confucianism” and the Research Institute of Philosophy of Institute of Literature, History and Philosophy grew out of Research Section of Natural Dialectics founded in 1978, which belonged to the Graduate School of Literature, History and Philosophy and was one of the earliest organizations of Philosophy of Science Technology in Chinese universities. Now the director of the Research Institute is Professor Zeng Zhenyu.

The main research fields of the Research Institute center on Confucian philosophy, Life Confucianism, foreign philosophy and philosophy of science and technology.

In Confucian philosophy, Professor Pang Pu is the academic leader, who is a specialist in the history of Chinese philosophy and a world-famous authoritative scholar in Confucian research. He is noted for rigorous and truth-oriented attitude of scholarship and his research makes great influences in China and overseas. Professor Yan Binggang makes outstanding achievements in the research of Pre-Qin Confucianism and modern new Confucianism and has a good reputation in academic circles. Professor Zeng Zhenyu, Shen Xunfu and associate Professor Xu Qingwen published a large number of books and papers in the fields of Pre-Qin Philosophers, the history of thought of the Han Dynasty, the Taoist Philosophy and the Taoism Philosophy, comparative ethics and the conception of philosophy and so on, and make great contributions to the academia.

Professor Huang Yushun created the theory of Life Confucianism, which, as re-construction of contemporary Confucianism and one of the important schools of contemporary Confucianism, and gain widespread influence worldwide.

The distinct characteristic in the research of Foreign Philosophy is mainly embodied in Critical Theory, Hermeneutics, German Classic Philosophy and Modern Jewish Philosophy. The research achievements by Professor Fu Yongjun have made great influences in academia, including the research on the problem of Modernity in Critical Theory focusing on Habermas’ Philosophy, the research on German Idealism focusing on Kant’s Philosophy, the research on Modern Jewish Religion Philosophy focusing on Leo Baeck, the research on Western Hermeneutics, and the attempt to construct the subject of Chinese Hermeneutics. Doctor Cai Xiangyuan is coming to the prominence in phenomenology, Wittgenstein and greek philosophy.

In philosophy of science and technology, Professor Ma Laiping has published many influential academic works in Science Culture and Science Sociology, and hit his fame in academia. The research on science rationality and relativism by Associate Professor Chang Chunlan is gradually attracting attention in the academic circle of Western Philosophy of Science.

The Research Institute keeps close cooperative relationship with the Philosophy Department in School of Philosophy and Social Development, Shandong University.

At present, this research center enrolls master candidates, doctoral candidates and postdoctoral researchers of Chinese Philosophy, Foreign Philosophy and Philosophy of Science and Technology. The research directions in Doctoral Degree Program of Chinese Philosophy include Pre-Qin Confucianism, Neo-Confucianism of Song-Ming Dynasties, Contemporary Confucianism and Comparative Study;  the research directions in Doctoral Degree Program of Foreign Philosophy are Modern European Philosophy, Critical Theory and Western Marxism, Hermeneutics and Phenomenology, Western Political Philosophy, and Comparative study of Chinese Philosophy and Foreign Philosophy; and the research directions in Doctoral Degree Program of Philosophy of Science Technology covers Science, Technology and Society, History of Chinese Modern Science and Technology, and Science Culture.