Cross-cultural study vital to understanding ancient civilizations: Princeton scholar

BEIJING, Nov. 7 (Xinhua) — Addressing the opening of the inaugural World Conference of Classics here on Thursday, Martin Kern, a sinologist and professor at Princeton University, advocated for the transformative role of cross-cultural study in understanding ancient civilizations.
Kern, also president of the American Oriental Society, the United States, argued that studying ancient China or Greece in isolation limits the ability of scholars in classical studies to understand what makes each culture distinct, as well as the universal traits shared across civilizations.
“If you only know about China, or only know about Greece, you will never know what is particular and special about either one and what is shared with other ancient civilizations,” Kern said, emphasizing the importance of engaging in comparative scholarship.
Kern shared how comparative study had reshaped his own work, as investigating Greek debates on reading practices brought new insights to his research on early Chinese manuscripts.
For him, cross-cultural dialogues are not simply supplemental to specialized research; they are essential for transforming scholars’ understanding of their own fields.
“To know something about other cultures is to better understand one’s own,” he remarked.
Kern said that without engaging with other civilizations, “we deprive ourselves of fundamental insights into our own fields and civilization.”
The incredibly rich traditions of ancient China, he said, can contribute a wealth of new perspectives to the study of other civilizations and global antiquity as a system.
“For our shared future, we must understand and inspire one another,” he added. ■