Aymeric Xu
Ricercatore in tenure track
- GSD 14/GSPS-04; SSD GSPS-04/D
- a.xu@ssmeridionale.it
- Via Mezzocannone, n.4-80134 (NA)
- Area Interdisciplinare Umanistico-Giuridica
Bio
Aymeric Xu is a historian specializing in modern Chinese history. He holds a Ph.D. in History from the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (Paris, 2018). Before joining the SSM, he was a lecturer in Chinese Studies at the ENS de Lyon.
Ricerca
Xu’s research focuses on the intellectual and political history of modern China and East Asia. His work explores the evolution of conservatism and right-wing ideologies in China, tracing their intellectual and political trajectories from the late Qing period to the 20th century. He also works on the intersections of state formation, nationalism, and citizenship, and is engaged in the study of religion and politics in China and former Qing territories like Manchuria and Taiwan, examining secularization, state control over religious institutions, and the role of ideology in shaping modern governance.
Publications
Monographs:
- From Culturalist Nationalism to Conservatism: Origin and Diversification of Conservative Ideas in Republican China . Berlin: De Gruyter Oldenbourg, 2021. DOI: 10.1515/9783110740189.
Articles:
- “Atheist Religion and Worldly Redemption in China: The 1922 Anti-Christian Movement.” Journal of Chinese Religion 52, 2 (2004): 203–228. DOI: 10.1353/jcr.2024.a945577.
- “Typologies of Secularism in China: Religion, Superstition, and Secularization.” Comparative Studies in Society and History 66, 1 (2024): 57–80. DOI: 10.1017/S0010417523000348.
- “Criminalization of Abortion in Late Qing and Republican China.” Past & Present 258, 1 (2023): 151–80. DOI: 10.1093/pastj/gtab044.
- “Neither Traitor nor Nationalist: Zheng Xiaoxu’s Intellectual Trajectory.” Global Intellectual History 7, 5 (2022): 909–28. DOI: 10.1080/23801883.2021.1883456.
- “Mapping Conservatism of the Republican Era: Genesis and Typologies.” Journal of Chinese History 4, 1 (2020): 135–59. DOI: 10.1017/jch.2019.35.
- “What Made Chinese Conservatism a Cultural Movement – A Case Study of the Southern Society.” Twentieth-Century China 45, 3 (2020): 331–350. DOI: 10.1353/tcc.2020.0028.
Chapters:
- “Collaboration and Confucianism in Manchukuo and in China under the Wang Jingwei Regime.” In Confucianism at War, 1931-1945 , edited by Shaun Richard O’Dwyer, 173–191. London: Routledge, 2025. DOI: 10.4324/9781003569183-10.
- “Gendered Independence and Submission: Wang Fengyi’s Moral Philosophy of Education and Manchukuo.” In Confucianism at War , 153–172. DOI: 10.4324/9781003569183-9. (Co-authored)
- “Western Conservative Ideas and Politics in China from the 1910s to the 1930s.” In Cosmopolitan Conservatisms. Countering Revolution in Transnational Networks, Ideas and Movements (c. 1700‒1930) , edited by Matthijs Lok et al., 375–396. Leiden: Brill, 2021. DOI: 10.1163/9789004446731_017.
- “L’Appropriation du neo-humanisme en Chine – le groupe de Critical Review et le Mouvement de la nouvelle culture .” In (Ré)appropriation des savoirs. Acteurs, territoires, processus, enjeux, edited by Marie Chaosson et al., 285–310. Paris: Les Presses de l’Inalco, 2021. DOI: 10.4000/books.pressesinalco.43480.
Other:
- “New Secular Formations.” Comparative Studies in Society and History . May 28, 2024. https://sites.lsa.umich.edu/cssh/2024/05/28/new-secular-formations-a-conversation-with-isaac-friesen-aymeric-xu-usmon-boron-and-gregory-starrett/.
Corsi
2024–2025:
- China’s Republican Era: Political Turmoil, Intellectual Emancipation, and the Road to Communism
- Nationhood, Statehood, and Citizenship: From Late Qing to Mao
News
