On the afternoon of June 16, 2026, Prof. Fan Fangjun from the School of Liberal Arts at Renmin University of China visited the School of Foreign Studies (SFS) at Nankai University and delivered an academic lecture entitled “The Problem-Oriented Approach and Chinese Perspectives in Foreign Literature Studies: The Introduction of Ibsen’s Plays and the Emergence of Modern Drama in the United States, Japan, and China.” Faculty members and students from the SFS and Beijing Foreign Studies University attended the lecture. The lecture was chaired by Prof. Wang Lidan from the Department of Russian.
During the lecture, Prof. Fan first provided a systematic overview of the development of modern drama, established Henrik Ibsen’s academic position as the “Father of Modern Drama,” and clarified the routes through which Ibsen’s plays were introduced into Japan and China. Prof. Fan pointed out that Japan and the United States served as two important intermediaries in the introduction of Ibsen’s plays to China. Modern literary and artistic organizations, including the Chunliu Society, the Creation Society, and the Southland Society, as well as pioneers such as Lu Xun, Hu Shi, and Tian Han, played a significant role in promoting the reception and development of Ibsen’s dramatic ideas in China. These developments demonstrated that Chinese modern drama constitutes an important part of the global system of modern drama. Prof. Fan also identified the central tensions between Chinese and Western traditions and between the new and the old in the development of modern drama. Prof. Fan then analyzed key issues in current foreign literature research and academic project applications. He emphasized that an urgent task facing foreign literature studies is to shift from traditional “translation-and-introduction-oriented” research toward a “problem-oriented” approach. He encouraged researchers to move beyond the conventional paradigm of close reading and adopt “distant reading” as a research method, thereby developing a broader, macro-level perspective on world literature.
The two-hour academic lecture was met with enthusiastic applause from the faculty members and students in attendance, who were impressed by Prof. Fan’s solid academic expertise and broad research perspective. During the Q&A session, participants actively raised questions on emerging topics including digital humanities research, the lasting influence of Ibsen’s plays, definitions of modernity in drama, and strategies for selecting topics for National Social Science Fund projects. Prof. Fan addressed the questions in detail and, drawing on his own experience in applying for National Social Science Fund projects, provided practical insights into tackling academic challenges and shared his experience in conducting research. Prof. Liu Ying, Director of the Center for Foreign Literature Studies at the SFS, delivered concluding remarks. She noted that the lecture combined theoretical depth with practical guidance, offering valuable insights for faculty members and students across the School in preparing research proposals and pursuing in-depth studies of foreign literature. The lecture came to a successful close against a backdrop of lively academic discussion.
