Qian Chengdan

Qian Chengdan, born in July 1949 in Changzhou, Jiangsu, is a Boya Distinguished Professor and doctoral supervisor in the Department of History at Peking University, and the founding dean of Peking University's Institute of Area Studies. He received his PhD in history from Nanjing University in 1985, served as president of the Chinese Association for British History, and is a corresponding fellow of the Royal Historical Society. His long-standing research covers British history, modern and contemporary world history, comparative studies of modernization, and Western cultural history. His works include A History of Britain, Between Tradition and Change, and The Road to a Modern State. His publications, 25 of which are held in this collection, fall mainly under world history and history readings, with related interests in culture and social culture; they range from large multi-volume histories such as The British Empire: A History, A History of Britain, A History of Germany, and A History of France to thematic studies such as Between Tradition and Change: Tracing the British Cultural Pattern.