The second edition of the Phoenix Summer of Humanities event, hosted by Phoenix Publishing and Media Group (PPMG), was held on Aug 12 at the 2026 Shanghai Book Fair. 

Under the theme "Humanities and Social Sciences Publishing and Reading in the AI Era", the event brought together distinguished scholars, publishing industry professionals and readers to discuss the state of humanities and social sciences publishing amid rapid technological advancements. 

The second edition of the Phoenix Summer of Humanities event takes place on Aug 12 at the 2026 Shanghai Book Fair. 

In a welcoming speech, Shan Xiaomin, PPMG's president emphasized that despite the rapid technological iterations in the AI era, PPMG remains steadfast in its commitment to producing high-quality works with intellectual depth and humanistic warmth, ensuring that superior content reaches a broader audience.

Shan Xiaomin, president of PPMG, delivers a welcoming speech.

Guo Yiqiang, vice-chairman of the Publishers Association of China, praised PPMG's expanding brand cluster and encouraged the group to soar higher amid technological advancement, contributing more to China's publishing industry. 

In his speech, Xu Hai, editor-in-chief of Phoenix Publishing and Media Inc, noted that while AI possesses vast knowledge and logical capabilities, it cannot replicate the human spark of creativity or address contemporary psychological challenges.

Xu Hai, editor-in-chief of Phoenix Publishing and Media Inc, delivers a speech.

The event showcased five classic humanities and social sciences sub-brands. Each curator shared their brand's practices and new works in the AI era.

In later discussions, Professor Xu Jilin from East China Normal University remarked on the irreplaceable physical and contemplative experience of reading print books, despite the digital age. 

Sun Ganlu, chairman of the Shanghai Writers Association, described traditional humanities publishing as experiencing an "Odyssey moment" amid technological nostalgia. 

Wang Weisong, secretary of the leading Party members group of the Shanghai Federation of Social Science Associations, emphasized the importance of preserving the warmth of words and the power of thought in the AI era.

From its initial brand showcase to this year's in-depth discussions, Phoenix Summer of Humanities continues to uphold its mission to promote civilization, spread ideas, and convey humanistic warmth amid technological advancements.

Logos of Phoenix Publishing's five sub-brands.

Five sub-brands of Phoenix Publishing

Overseas China Studies 

Since 1988, it has systematically translated works on China by overseas scholars, bringing diverse perspectives to Chinese readers and supporting China's modernization and independent knowledge system.

Sun Xiaoyun's Calligraphy

Created by Sun Xiaoyun, Chairperson of the China Calligraphers Association, this bestselling calligraphy collection promotes traditional Chinese culture and has editions in Japanese, Korean, English, Arabic and other languages.

New Poetry Canon

This poetry brand gathers leading voices in contemporary Chinese poetry and has published over 20 high-quality original collections.

Obelisk

Covering world, military and urban history, this imprint publishes landmark titles such as The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich and record-breaking bestsellers like The Persians, while increasingly focusing on original scholarship and archaeology.

Humanities and Society

By rigorously selecting cutting-edge work in global humanities and social sciences, it has introduced over 150 landmark titles-including works by Habermas and Berlin-to Chinese readers since 1999.