In an effort to further international collaboration and to showcase Taiwan’s academic contribution in the fields of Confucian studies and philosophy, the National Central Library and the University of Ljubljana co-hosted the “Taiwanese Philosophy and the Preservation of Confucian Tradition” international conference from October 17–18 of this year (2019) at the University of Ljubljana. Huang Kuan-min, research fellow at the Institute of Chinese Literature and Philosophy, Academia Sinica, was invited as keynote speaker, expounding New Confucianism to the audience, and acting in official capacity, Tseng Shu-hsien, director general of the National Central Library, joined Taiwanese scholars and other participants at the conference. The conference was not only evidence of European academia’s continued engagement in Taiwanese Confucian tradition and philosophy, but also the first large-scale academic activity organized by Taiwan in the Balkan Peninsula, a profound milestone for those involved.           

Regarding the development of contemporary academia, both parties highlighted that although trends in Taiwanese philosophical thought have both preserved Chinese cultural tradition—particularly Confucianism—and established new philosophical methodologies and systems that have influenced theories and discourses concerning Asia as a whole, Taiwanese scholarship has largely yet to receive recognition for these contributions within Western academia. Therefore, more than 23 distinguished scholars from both Asia and Europe, including Bart Dessein, president of the European Association for Chinese Studies and professor at Ghent University, were invited to discuss the thought of Taiwanese philosophers as well as the contributions of and methodologies employed by Taiwanese scholarship. Huang Kuan-min’s keynote speech titled “Dissemination and Reterritorialization: Mou Zong-san, Tang Jun-yi, and Refreshment of Contemporary Confucian Philosophy” opened the conference.