Short Biography

Fei Sheng is affiliated with the Department of History at Sun Yat-sen University (SYSU), which is located in Guangzhou, China. He obtained his degree from Peking University. Additionally, he used to be a Rachel Carson Fellow at Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (LMU) in both 2013 and 2017.

He is actively engaged in research and writing within the realm of global environmental history. Specifically, his focus lies in the Chinese diaspora in the Pacific region and the ecological exchanges that have taken place between China and Oceania. Currently, he is delving into the maritime history of the Pacific.

Prof. Fei Sheng has organized a series of lectures on environmental history at SYSU, along with seminars centered around global environmental history. Moreover, he will be an official member of the scientific expedition team to the Arctic in 2024.

Project

Chinese maritime environmental history: from sea to the ocean

Traditionally, the research on Chinese maritime history has been rather restricted to coastal and offshore matters, with maritime history being seen as an appendage or supplementary part of terrestrial history. However, over the past two decades, remarkable changes have emerged in the field of maritime history studies. Notably, the emergence of marine environmental history has significantly propelled the innovation of such research.

Firstly, the ocean is increasingly being perceived as an independent research entity, and greater attention is being directed towards the influence of the ocean's natural environmental elements on human society. For instance, the impact of ocean currents, tides, and marine ecosystems on coastal communities and economic activities is now being explored more thoroughly.

Secondly, issues related to transnational and global history have received more focus. Particularly, the communication networks between China and major oceans have come under closer scrutiny. The flow of natural substances, such as trade goods, marine species, and oceanic resources, has become crucial in understanding and interpreting these networks.

Thirdly, there is a growing concern about how human activities, including fishing, aquaculture, and shipping, impact the environmental issues beneath the sea level. This has led to numerous debates, for example, regarding the sustainability of fishing practices and the effects of aquaculture on marine ecosystems.

Nevertheless, several problems still persist in the current research on Chinese maritime history. One issue is the overemphasis on domestic matters within China, resulting in a relatively limited understanding of more external or international aspects. In much of the existing research, the ocean is still largely regarded as an object of national governance, mainly used to discuss the relationship between the central and local authorities. Moreover, interdisciplinary research remains scarce, especially the high-quality studies focusing on marine pollution and climate change are still lacking.