Workshop on the Quantitative History of East and Southeast Asia

On August 14 and 15, the HKUST Division of Social Science hosted the Workshop on the Quantitative History of East and Southeast Asia, welcoming some 30 scholars from a dozen institutions across the region and beyond. Over two days, participants presented 12 papers across six themes—spanning state-building, modernization, trade and labor, land reform, and the legacies of colonialism and conflict. The studies ranged across settings including China, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Thailand, and Vietnam, and spanned a wide range of periods, from Heian Japan (794–1185 CE) to mid-20th-century Vietnam. While these settings are diverse in terms of their cultures and specific historical trajectories, they also have common elements: some share a Confucian and/or Buddhist heritage, and many experienced colonialism, allowing for fruitful discussions and the development of new plans for comparison and collaboration. The workshop was organized in conjunction with the Hong Kong Research Grants Council Areas of Excellence Project "Quantitative History of China," and received support from the Division of Social Science and the School of Humanities and Social Science.