About Jiahao Shen

The Path to be a Independent History Researcher

Jiahao Shen, also known as 沈嘉昊 in Chinese and しんかこう in Japanese Hiragana.

An Independent history researcher with a primary focus on Medieval China, examining intellectual history, state formation, and social structures in the context of interacting civilizations.

Born and Grew up in Shanghai, China from 1994 to 2014. The fateful falling in love with the History studies, and particularly the Modern China History, at the age of 17, led to the academic studies of History and Asian Studies at James Madison University (Virginia, United States) during 2014.1-2017.12. During the time, the passions, curiosities and massive ambitions and pursuit of the historical studies are considerably beyond any particular regions and cultures, but exploring the intensely compounded and fundamentally interconnected global history of civilizations.

The apparent excessive studies and research ambitions that are expected to be categorized as inadmissible by the modern humanities academic standard, as well as the concerns over the employability issue drove to the 6-year search and settlement period for identifying and processing the stable life with the balance of living job and with the continuous pursuit of the history studies as the independent researcher.

The transition begun with the graduate program of Higher Education Studies at University of Oklahoma (Oklahoma, United States) during 2018.8-2020.12, and then an one-year job position in field of Real Estate Data Analysis at Houston, United States during 2020.10-2022.2.

The eventual failure of the family immigration plan to the America, which mainly quoted the factor of relentlessly increasing restrictions and stagnations of the immigration policies since 2016, critically changed the direction to move to Fukuoka, Japan at 2022.4

While finally landing the job in travel and real-estate industry at 2024.3, which was after two-year Japanese language training from 2022.4 to 2024.3,soonly the severely painful and depressed situation has been fully recognized that the full-time work system is hiddenly but heinously functioning as the agent of complete oppression through the thoroughly systematic disciplinary and indoctrination, brutally and barbarically depriving the personal time and spiritual freedom.

Therefore, since 2024.3, the crucial solution, and more accurately, the self-salvation project must be progressed. The plan of getting permanent residence legitimacy in Japan will be the practical premise for evading the oppressed full-time work system.

Critically, the journey of backing to the awakened own inner idealized world is the only definitively authentic answer.

The immersions into the vibrant gaming worlds to deeply and wholeheartedly explore and perceive the true inner realities in the alternative worlds, and these immersions genuinely stand as the intellectual seclusion for my own spiritual world.

More essentially, the Postgraduate studies in World History and Philosophy at King's College London that formally started in May 2024 and delivered through the online learning symbolically marks the spiritual return to the humanities and historical studies after years of distance during the post-college unsettled years. Yet it is precisely during this period the center of the intellectual pursuit has shifted away from the macro-historical civilizational structures to the to the inward spiritual world of the Wei-Jin and following Southern Dynasties literati.

The ultimate research focus centers on the Medieval China, and mainly for its aristocracy structure and cultural world amid prolonged political and social dislocation, and the most critical concern is given to the transcendent naturalism, inner spirit and the cultivated distance from the worldly order that decisively define the Medieval Chinese aristocracy class. The philosophical understanding of the Medieval China that particularly concerning about the freedom and seclusion mind and the independent inner world of the aristocracy intellectuals, and the ultimate philosophical tragedy in which the consequential dissolution of the whole Medieval China aristocracy structure at the later overwhelming movements toward integration and unity, stand as the own unique core historical spirit guiding and underlying the researches on the diverse and interacting civilization spheres that understood as the lifetime mission.

Writings from the Years of Intellectual Reconstruction (2025.1~)

The essay titled as The Limited Universalism: The Formation of Medieval Islam and the Lasting Nature of the Islamic World has been published at 2025.1.20.

The essay titled as Wang Bi, The Ultimate Natural Order and the Re-Imagination of the Idealized World has been published on 2025.8.23.

The essay titled as Ruan Ji and Ji Kang, The Painful Mind and the Internalization of the Idealized World has been published on 2025.10.24.

The essay that titled as the From the Ruan Ji and Ji Kang: Define the Ultimate Spirit of the Inner World has been published on 2025.11.11.

The essay that titled as The Ontological Philosophy of Self-Creation from Guo Xiang and the Ultimate Failure of Uniting the Inner and Outer World has been published on 2025.12.15.

The essay that titled The Early Dominance of the Sima Rule and the Fractured Freedom Mind of Aristocracy Intellectuals has been published on 2026.2.1.

The essay titled The Formation and Conclusion of Wei–Jin Metaphysical Confucianism: Ruan Ji and Ji Kang as Its Only True Spirit has been published on 2026.2.26.

The essay that tentatively titled The Tragic Quest for Political Integration: Aristocracy and Centralization, Withdrawal, and Reconstruction from Han to Jin China will be published on 2026.6.

The essay on the Scholar of Etiquette that completely rejected by the idealist Wei-Jin intellectuals will be published on 2026.7.

The essay on the state formation and aristocracy structure of the Eastern Jin, and relevantly the actual practice of the Medieval Chinese Metaphysical Confucianism will be published on 2026.8.

The essay on the end of Eastern Jin will be published on 2026.9.

The essay on Xie Lingyun will be published on 2026.10.

The essay on Tao Yuanming will be published on 2026.11.

The essay on the Southern Liang dynasty, its flourishing cultures and political tragedy will be published on 2026.12.

Long-Term Research Project

Two essays that particularly on the philosophical and spiritual transformation from the Medieval China to the Tang China, and then to the Song China and after, are expected to be published during the 2027.

On 2027.12, The essay on Taiping Heavenly Kingdom under the historical context of Modern China is planned to be published. The essay will stand as the memorial symbol for my academic enlightenment at the James Madison University and will serve as the enlightened commemoration for my 10-year graduation ceremony from the James Madison University. The same topic has been presented at conference on 2017 Asian Studies Conference held at JMU.

The two landmarked essays on the formation of Medieval Chinese aristocracy, and on the inner world of Jin aristocracy intellectuals will both be published on 2028.

All the essays relevant with the Medieval China field are also planned to be assembled and published as a book, and it is expectedly being published around 2028 or 2029, which should correspond with the time of my departure to the oppressive full-time work system, and will mark the conclusion of the personal transitional period to become the full independent history researcher that with the full embrace and resonation to the independent freedom mind and inner spiritual world of the Medieval Chinese aristocracy intellectuals.

More broadly, currently with the uncertain date, the Book that tentatively titled as The Road to be Historian: The Macro-Historical Approach will be published to commemorate the academic experiences from James Madison University, which prominently mark the formation of my academic historical mind. The book will encompass the complete rewriting of the essays that originally written at the JMU years.

Selected Discussions and Citations

My research works have been constantly featured as international commentary and analysis pieces on the multiple independent media platforms. Selected citations are quoted below:

Jiahao Shen on the Limits of Inner Freedom: Ruan Ji, Ji Kang, and the Cost of a Broken World at Mid-day.

Jiahao Shen Revisits the Wei–Jin Age Through Ruan Ji and Ji Kang’s Search for Spiritual Survival at Republic World.

Jiahao Shen on Ruan Ji, Ji Kang and the Fate of Wei-Jin Metaphysical Confucianism at THISDAYLIVE.

Jiahao Shen on Ruan Ji, Ji Kang and the Only True Spirit of Metaphysical Confucianism at MyNewsGH.

Jiahao Shen And The Inner Exile Of Wei-Jin Metaphysical Confucianism at 1883 Magazine.

Jiahao Shen on the ‘Painful Mind’: What Wei–Jin China Reveals About Freedom Today at Good Men Project.

Jiahao Shen on Ruan Ji, Ji Kang and How Wei-Jin Metaphysical Confucianism Became an Ideology of Power at News on Japan.

The Writing of Ruan Ji and Ji Kang Is the Writing of Jiahao Shen at MyNewsGH.

Jiahao Shen on What Was Lost When Wei-Jin Thought Reached Its Peak at The Hans India.

Jiahao Shen on Wei-Jin Metaphysical Confucianism: When Morality Serves Power and Freedom Retreats Within at the Big News Network.

Jiahao Shen on the Lost Freedom of the Wei-Jin Mind at Business News This Week.

Jiahao Shen: What Ruan Ji and Ji Kang Teach Us About Power, Conscience and the Cost of Compromise at OCNJ Daily.