人物檔案
Ｄr. Brian Vivier (魏春秋博士)，美國賓州大學中國研究兼任助理教授及圖書館藏管理人。主要研究10-13世紀中國歷史，聚焦於這段期間宋朝及北方的遼、金之間的文化交流，並探討知識及資訊的傳播過程如何形塑出當時及後代對遼、金的認知。他曾於2001至2002間至史丹福中心(現為臺大國際華語研習所)學習中文，2012年也獲邀至臺大歷史系擔任訪問學者。此次透過傅爾布萊特計畫來臺，由博士班同窗的臺大歷史學系許雅惠副教授接待，除了與許教授定期討論研究外，平時都待在臺大圖書館，使用臺大豐富的館藏資源。他說一口流利的中文及日文，閱讀文言文也完全難不倒他。出於對臺灣的熱愛，近期他也開始學習臺語。
結合史學與圖書館學背景 研究宋代文化傳播
Brian 從小生長於美國費城，擁有美國南康乃狄克州立大學圖書館學碩士、美國耶魯大學東亞研究碩士及歷史學博士。他現於美國賓州大學圖書館擔任區域館藏協調人及中文館藏館員，負責管理與購入每年約150萬美元的區域研究書籍，並購置校內中文與中國研究相關的書籍與電子資源。除了是專業圖書館員外，在學術研究方面，Brian 也是賓州大學中國研究的兼任副教授，現專注研究中國宋代的知識傳播與對北方異文化的認知建構。
在選擇研究領域的時候，有別於其他同學們選擇與自身生長背景相關的美洲或歐陸歷史，Brian選擇了中國歷史作為研究方向。10-13世紀的宋代是充滿社會變革及多元文化發展的時代，在經濟、科技及文化上是中國歷史上最昌盛的一段期間之一，而這也引起了他的好奇，決定開始鑽研這段時間的人事物。經過多年研究宋朝與列國之間的貿易往來後，Brian近期以不同文化及區域的資訊流通作為研究方向，研究當時人們如何篩選並確認內容之正確性及使用哪種形式傳遞資訊的方式，也同時透過這些留下的內容去推想當時人們在社會、政治及文化上不同層面著重的地方。
When choosing his research area, rather than following his classmates’ choice and the more familiar path of Euro-American History, Brian chose to study Chinese History. He now focuses on the tenth to thirteenth century Song Dynasty, which is a time period full of social reformations and diverse cultural developments. It is one of the most prosperous times of Chinese History, in terms of economy, technology, and culture. This miraculous and curious period has long inspired Brian’s curiosity. After many years of researching the Song Dynasty’s vast trade network, Brian shifted his focus to the flow of information between different cultures and regions. He analyzes how people of that time filtered and confirmed information, and how they spread that knowledge once those choices were made. Moreover, what does this filtering and disseminating of knowledge reveal about societies, politics, and cultures at the time. In his own words, his current research, “analyzes the ways in which information about the Liao and Jin dynasties was generated and transmitted while [the Song Dynasty] was in power. These specific paths of selection, compilation, and preservation shape our interpretations of China and Inner Asia between the tenth and thirteenth centuries.”
2021年9月，Brian 透過傅爾布萊特計畫到臺大歷史學系訪問，其實早在2012年時，Brian就曾客座歷史學系。這兩次都是由歷史學系許雅惠副教授接待，許教授是Brian在耶魯大學博士班的同學，也是深交多年的好朋友。Brian 的主要研究素材是文本，許教授的主要研究素材是文物，兩人的研究途徑看似不同，但兩人同樣都以宋代文化作為研究對象，彼此反而能互補，帶給對方不同的靈感與視角。雖然人文領域偏向個人獨立研究，但許教授也認為，若未來研究主題合適，不排除與Brian共同申請國際合作研究計畫。
除了與許雅惠教授一起討論研究外，Brian 在臺灣還有一個專門教他文言文的老師，是更早之前初次來臺灣時認識的。2001年，Brian 在耶魯大學碩士畢業後，就來到他心目中全世界學習中文最好的地方——史丹福中心(現為臺大國際華語研習所)——學習中文，並認識了文言文老師，20年後，他依舊和文言文老師學習古文與臺灣文化。
Apart from discussing research with Professor Hsu, Brian also works with a teacher who specializes in classical Chinese that he met during his first visit to Taiwan. In 2001, after Brian graduated from his master’s program at Yale, he come to what is known as the best place in the world to study Chinese: The International Chinese Language Program at NTU. It was there that he met his classical Chinese teacher and mentor. Twenty years later, he continues to study ancient Chinese and Taiwanese culture with her.
Brian 自2011年進入賓州大學服務後，幾乎每年都來臺灣，因為臺灣擁有非常豐富的研究資源。不管是國立故宮博物院、國家圖書館或是國立臺灣圖書館，有數不清的研究素材，而臺大圖書館作為全臺灣館藏量最大的校園圖書館，更是他平常的研究室。身為圖書館員，他也非常關注臺大如何將珍貴的古籍與影音典藏數位化，並建置成資料庫。隱身在金山南路公寓大廈裡的樂學書局也是他常駐留的角落，樂學書局經營文史哲書籍，主要的顧客並非普羅大眾，而是國外各大學的圖書館，因此身為賓州大學圖書館員的他，也常在找書。
After beginning his work at UPenn in 2011, Brian has come to Taiwan almost every year due to the many precious sources for Chinese Studies here. From the National Palace Museum, to the National Central Library and National Taiwan Library, there are countless research materials. Furthermore, the NTU Library has the largest collection or sources of any university in Taiwan, and it serves as Brian’s study. As a librarian, he also pays attention to how NTU is digitizing rare ancient books and media collections into a large database.
展望未來 深化與臺大鏈結
Looking to the Future: Deepening Connections with NTU
Brian has personally witnessed the last twenty years of changes in Taiwan. Twenty years ago, Taipei 101 was not yet finished, the HSR had only just begun construction, and the Taipei MRT only had three lines. Every time Brian has visited Taiwan, there are new innovations. He hopes his research can be like Taiwan in this way: always moving forward. He also looks forward to an even deeper connection with NTU in the future.
Source: https://oia.ntu.edu.tw/en/oiavision/oiacolumn/brianvivier