Laying Foundations and Integrating Disciplines: Philosophy and Social Science Laboratory Construction During the "14th Five-Year Plan" Period
When scholars use microscopes to decode the climate ciphers hidden within tree rings; when researchers observe the psychological mechanisms behind economic decision-making in behavioral laboratories; when massive volumes of historical documents are re-parsed through artificial intelligence to reveal new laws governing the development of civilizations; when computers simulate future prospects for the "Polar Silk Road" [1] on maps through parameter tuning... these high-tech scenes are not taking place in natural science laboratories, but are daily vignettes from today's Chinese philosophy and social science laboratories.
During the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021–2025), a group of philosophy and social science laboratories with distinct characteristics has emerged across the nation's universities and research institutes. Grounded in China's realities and focusing on frontier issues, these labs are concentrating superior resources to move from the blueprints of top-level planning toward solid practical implementation. They are growing from a strategic layout for disciplinary development into an indispensable pillar of strength for the cause of philosophy and social sciences, providing a steady stream of intellectual vitality for China's economic and social development.
National Strategy Leads the Accelerated Construction of the Laboratory System
General Secretary Xi Jinping has always been concerned with "constructing a system of national laboratories with Chinese characteristics," and the report to the 20th National Congress of the CPC explicitly issued the mobilization order to "form a system of national laboratories." The National Development Plan for Philosophy and Social Sciences during the 14th Five-Year Plan Period further provided specific deployments to guide the construction of a group of key philosophy and social science laboratories, aiming to solve the comprehensive and complex difficulties encountered in economic and social development.
Under this grand blueprint, the system of philosophy and social science laboratories with Chinese characteristics is being constructed at an unprecedented speed.
In 2021, the Ministry of Education revealed the first list of philosophy and social science laboratories. Nine pilot laboratories—including the Linguistics Laboratory at Peking University and the Laboratory of Computational Social Science and State Governance at Tsinghua University—along with 21 cultivation laboratories, such as the Laboratory of Digital Government and State Governance at Renmin University of China, stood out, marking the entry of laboratory construction into a phase of substantive operation.
In 2023, the release of the Measures for the Construction and Management of Philosophy and Social Science Laboratories of the Ministry of Education (Trial) pointed out a clear path for laboratory construction: they must focus on forward-looking, comprehensive, and complex issues; fully utilize information technology; promote deep cross-fertilization and integration within the philosophy and social sciences and between them and the fields of science, engineering, agriculture, and medicine; catalyze new growth points for disciplines; lead a fundamental transformation in research paradigms; and ultimately build high-quality innovation platforms that balance interdisciplinary research, teaching, and policy consultation.
This series of intensive deployments signifies that philosophy and social science laboratories have officially transformed from a conceptual idea into a practical action driven forcefully at the national level, with their innovative potential accelerating its release.
Cross-fertilization and Integration Empower Profound Transformation of Research Paradigms
Stepping into the Wood Archaeology Laboratory—a sub-unit of the Key Laboratory of Archaeological Science and Cultural Heritage Conservation at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS)—one is greeted by a dense atmosphere of academic exploration. Wang Shuzhi, the head of the laboratory, is currently using a microscope to identify wood species.
"Building a tree-ring database is a key cipher for decoding the connections between past climates, ecosystems, and human civilizations," she told reporters. Here, how to match appropriate technologies for archaeology, how to provide archaeological interpretations for massive data, and how to promote a deeper integration of archaeology with the natural sciences are the core issues her team continuously explores.
In May of this year, the Key Laboratory of Archaeological Science and Cultural Heritage Conservation released the "Results of the Production Craftsmanship, Conservation, and Restoration of Tang Dynasty Ceramic Dragon-Head Architectural Components Unearthed from the Guzhou City Site in Xiong’an, Hebei," which centrally demonstrated the charm of cross-fertilization. The use of various cutting-edge technologies—such as Computed Tomography (CT), micro-area X-ray fluorescence analysis of curved surfaces, 3D laser scanning, and virtual splicing—provided fresh archaeological evidence for the evolution of the dragon image and powerfully substantiated the thousand-year cultural lineage of the Xiong’an New Area.
"We have constructed a collaborative innovation model of 'goal-orientation, division of labor and coordination, and resource sharing,'" explained Lyu Peng, deputy director of the Key Laboratory. This has driven a shift in scientific research from "single-discipline research" toward "interdisciplinary systematic breakthroughs," promoted the cross-domain flow of knowledge and technology, achieved mutual penetration between basic and applied research, and provided a vivid model for the new research form of "New Technology + Philosophy and Social Sciences."
As one of the first pilot units, Tsinghua University's Laboratory of Computational Social Science and State Governance is dedicated to creating a comprehensive platform for the New Liberal Arts [2]. Meng Tianguang, deputy director of the lab and professor at the School of Social Sciences at Tsinghua University, told reporters that their interdisciplinary integration is by no means a "platter-style" [3] combination. Instead, it involves building a hub-style organization led by major platforms, with experimental research as the core mechanism and interdisciplinary integration as the intrinsic driver, exploring an innovative model for organized research in the New Liberal Arts.
"Compared to traditional social science research institutions, philosophy and social science laboratories were endowed with multiple missions from their inception," said Qian Minghui, director of the Humanities and Social Sciences Division at Renmin University of China. "They break the traditional paradigm that relied mainly on literature review and speculative argumentation, driving research in the humanities and social sciences toward empirical, precise, and scientific evolution. They have become a key engine for promoting the development of China’s philosophy and social science undertakings."
Exploring Diverse Paths to Serve National Welfare and People’s Livelihood
During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, various universities and research institutes combined their own characteristics to form a situation where "a hundred flowers bloom" on the path of constructing philosophy and social science laboratories.
The Leading Party Group of CASS has conducted unified planning, relying on the University of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences to integrate resources. They have constructed a support platform for key laboratories, an incubator platform for laboratories, and a database platform; a laboratory cluster that is "effective within the Academy, a highlight in the industry, and influential nationwide" is currently rising. Renmin University of China has systematically constructed a "1+N+X" three-tier architecture: one university-level core platform supports N college-level experimental centers, which in turn radiate to and drive X laboratories with characteristic research directions, forming a virtuous ecological closed loop that connects industry, academia, research, and application. Nankai University’s Laboratory of Economic Behavior and Policy Simulation persists in serving national strategies, featuring interdisciplinary integration and empowered by data-driven and digital technologies, while simultaneously exerting effort in both theoretical frontiers and policy consultation services. Shanghai Jiao Tong University’s Laboratory of Digital Management and Decision-Making leverages its strengths in science and engineering to break down disciplinary barriers, constructing an innovative path of "technology empowerment, interdisciplinary driving, and characteristic development." Gu Feng, full-time deputy director of the Shanghai Jiao Tong University Affairs Committee, stated that many universities regard the construction of liberal arts laboratories as an important part of their strategic layout to promote research paradigm transformation and high-quality development.
The achievements of these laboratories directly serve the national economy and people's livelihoods. A series of reports—such as the Analysis and Forecast Report on China's Macroeconomic Situation, the Annual Report on the Outward Foreign Direct Investment Index of Chinese Private Enterprises, and the Suggestions for Expanding and Strengthening Guangdong's Carbon Market to Promote High-Quality Development—have generated broad social impact, and many policy proposals have been adopted by national ministries and commissions.
In the National Future City Laboratory at the University of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Deputy Director Cong Xiaonan demonstrated the power of policy simulation to reporters. This technology uses computer simulations of different scenarios to analyze the geopolitical situation of Arctic shipping routes and the "Belt and Road" cross-border transport corridors, providing key decision support for improving China's participation in Arctic affairs and the development strategies for the "Polar Silk Road."
"These achievements centrally demonstrate the unique value of philosophy and social science laboratories," evaluated Jiang Dianchun, deputy dean of the School of Economics at Nankai University and deputy director of the Laboratory of Economic Behavior and Policy Simulation. Through policy simulation, social experiments, and index construction, labs transform academic research into concrete, operational decision-making tools, significantly enhancing the scientific and precise nature of policy-making.
At the regional level, provinces such as Guangdong, Jiangsu, Shandong, and Henan have successively launched the construction of provincial key philosophy and social science laboratories. Jinan University possesses two Guangdong provincial key laboratories: the "Key Laboratory of the Human-Nature Community of Life" and the "Key Laboratory of Big Data and International Communication." Yang Jie, director of the Social Science Research Department at Jinan University, told reporters that the "Human-Nature Community of Life" lab has constructed a "trinity" cultivation model of teaching, research, and international exchange, gathering more than 50 talents from multiple disciplines and forming six interdisciplinary research teams. Zhengzhou University’s "Digital Economy and Industrial Innovation Laboratory," as the only provincial-level joint laboratory in this field in Henan Province, has innovatively constructed a "four-in-one" joint system comprising universities, research platforms, market institutions, and think tanks. "This joint system leverages the advantages of multi-unit co-construction and builds an integrated platform for 'government, industry, academia, research, and application,' which can truly achieve full-chain coverage from basic research to industrial application," said Wang Haijie, vice president of Zhengzhou University and head of the laboratory.
Facing the Future to Contribute More Solid Theoretical Support
Currently, the construction work for the second batch of Ministry of Education philosophy and social science laboratories is progressing actively. New members will continue to focus on major issues of Chinese-path modernization, fully utilize new technologies such as big data and artificial intelligence, and strengthen interdisciplinary and cross-field joint breakthroughs. They aim to produce more outstanding results that support the construction of China's autonomous knowledge system, serve the practice of Chinese-path modernization, and assist in the international communication of Chinese discourse.
Looking forward to the "15th Five-Year Plan" (2026–2030), scholars are full of confidence and expectations for the development of philosophy and social science laboratories. Qian Minghui stated that against the backdrop of a new round of technological revolution and the construction of the "New Liberal Arts," laboratories have become "exchanges" for the cross-fertilization of advanced technology and humanities and social science knowledge. They are an important breakthrough point for universities to promote changes in research organization models and pursue high-quality development. Zhang Tianshu, a professor at the School of Political Science and Public Administration at Shandong University, said that in the future, it is necessary to closely integrate top-level design with university practice, promoting the transformation of liberal arts laboratories from "instrumental platforms" into "innovative academic communities." On one hand, barriers between universities and society must be broken down to gather high-quality resources and improve evaluation systems; on the other hand, systemic innovation should be encouraged to explore development models that suit their respective university and local conditions.
In the view of Meng Tianguang, the era of intelligence is profoundly changing the paradigm of knowledge production, and the original results of future philosophy and social sciences will increasingly emerge from the intersections of disciplines. The "open, innovative, collaborative, and interdisciplinary" operating model generally adopted by laboratories can more effectively break down disciplinary barriers, integrate multi-disciplinary forces, share resources, and assist in solving the complex problems of economic and social development from multiple dimensions. Jiang Dianchun called for laboratories to pay more attention to original methodological innovation, going beyond simple technical application. The goal is to build a group of national-level laboratories with international influence that serve as "policy simulators" and "strategic rehearsal platforms" for central and local government decision-making. Wang Haijie expects to deepen cooperation with domestic and foreign institutions, establish mechanisms for academic exchange and joint talent cultivation, and build a "academia-government-industry" bridge for dialogue, continuously enhancing research levels and influence.
The blueprint has been drawn, and it is time to set sail again. With the strong support of the state and the joint efforts of the philosophy and social science circles, the construction of China's philosophy and social science laboratories will surely usher in an even more brilliant tomorrow, contributing more solid theoretical support for comprehensively advancing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation through Chinese-path modernization.