As a carrier of civilization spanning millennia, Han characters exhibit rich regional forms within the East Asian cultural sphere: from the simplified standardization in mainland China to the traditional inheritance in Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan; from the Japanese-made kanji using a mix of kana and Japanese script to the Korean-derived kanji using Hangul; and then to the Vietnamese kanji system within the Nôm script. These diverse variations carry shared cultural genes and distinct historical trajectories. This ecosystem of “shared origins, divergent paths, and convergent development” in Han characters has shaped the writing traditions of various language families and serves as a crucial key to understanding the interactions between East Asian civilizations. This conference, grounded in this diverse landscape, invites scholars, teachers, and researchers from around the world to engage in in-depth dialogue on the study of Han characters themselves, cross-language comparisons, and teaching practices, exploring new possibilities for Han-character education in the digital age.

Since its inception, the International Conference on Han Characters Education and Research has been held fifteen times, gradually developing into one of the most representative international academic platforms in the field of Han-character research. The sixteenth conference, hosted by Xiamen University and co-hosted by Renmin University of China, marks the continuation and expansion of this academic tradition in a broader context.

Xiamen University has a 70-year history in international Chinese language education, boasting profound expertise and far-reaching influence, and has cultivated talents in Han-character and literature education across five continents. In recent years, it has focused on the forefront of interdisciplinary studies, continuously launching new initiatives and trials in various aspects, from talent cultivation to the construction of humanities laboratories. Renmin University of China, as a major center for humanities and social science research in China, enjoys a high reputation in linguistics, classical studies, and intercultural comparative studies. The strong alliance between the two universities will fully leverage their complementary disciplinary advantages and global academic networks, connecting Han-character research resources in Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, Southeast Asia, Europe and America, to create a high-level academic exchange platform for scholars worldwide, jointly promoting the inheritance and innovation of Han-character civilization in the digital age.