Editor's note: Perhaps no words can better denote scientific and academic accomplishments than “breakthrough.” While “break” illustrates the triumphant success of an experiment or research, “through” underscores those laborious behind-the-scenes quests – the murky and circuitous tunnel before a flicker of light. It takes weeks, months, if not years, of hardwork and teamwork to reach that one “eureka!” moment. 

As an institution that ranks top ten in the Nature Index 2023, Peking University (PKU) is never short of such breakthroughs and has always endeavored to make progress for the common good. In the vast ocean of breakthroughs made by PKU scientists and scholars, PKU News manages to chronicle a small drop. The following are PKU News’ annals of breakthroughs in 2023.  

Health

Climate & Environmental Sciences

Natural Science

Literature 

∆ Confucian Canon Project preserves worldwide Confucian classics

∆ PKU Prof. Li Ling receives Léon Vandermeersch Prize of Chinese Studies

Architecture

∆ Prof. Yu Kongjian wins 2023 Cornelia Hahn Oberlander International Landscape Architecture Prize

∆ Yannan Garden of Peking University wins 2023 UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation

Astronomy 

∆ PKU astronomers reveal the formation of dense dwarf galaxy ‘fossils’

∆ PKU astronomers shed light on evolutionary paths of supermassive black holes and their host galaxies

∆ Multi-band observation of FAST reveals mechanisms of fast radio bursts eruptions: CAS

Archaeology

∆ UNESCO awards Alum Fan Jinshi for outstanding contribution to archaeology 

Physics & Chemistry

Economics

Edited by: Dennis Meng
Cover photo: Tang Ruya