Professor Daniel A. BELL
貝淡寧
Phone3917 4369
OfficeCYT 816
Biography

Daniel A. Bell (貝淡寧) is Professor, Chair of Political Theory with the School of Governance and Policy at the University of Hong Kong. He served as Dean of the School of Political Science and Public Administration at Shandong University (Qingdao) from 2017 to 2022. His books include Why Ancient Chinese Political Thought Matters (2026), The Dean of Shandong (2023), Just Hierarchy (co-authored with Wang Pei, 2020), The China Model (2015), The Spirit of Cities (co-authored with Avner de-Shalit, 2012), China’s New Confucianism (2008), Beyond Liberal Democracy (2007), and East Meets West (2000), all published by Princeton University Press. He is also the author of Communitarianism and Its Critics (Oxford University Press, 1993). He is founding editor of the Princeton-China series (Princeton University Press) which translates and publishes original and influential academic works from China. His works have been translated in 23 languages. He has been interviewed in English, Chinese, and French. In 2018, he was awarded the Huilin Prize and was honoured as a “Cultural Leader” by the World Economic Forum. In 2019, he was awarded the Special Book award of China. In 2021, he was selected as People’s Friendship Envoy of Shandong Province. In 2024, he was elected Vice-President of the International Confucian Association. 

Academic Qualifications
D.Phil.

University of Oxford

M.Phil.

University of Oxford

B.A.

McGill University

Research Interest
  • Ancient Chinese Political Thought
  • Confucianism
  • China Studies
  • Communitarianism
  • Cities and Identities
Books in English
Bell, D.A. (2026). Why Ancient Chinese Political Thought Matters: Four Dialogues on China’s Past, Present, and Future. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Bell, D. A. (Ed.). (2025). Being Chinese, becoming Chinese: Interdisciplinary reflections on Chinese identity. The Chinese University of Hong Kong Press.
Bell, Daniel A. (2023). The Dean of Shandong: Confessions of a MinorBureaucrat at a ChineseUuniversity. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Bell, D.A. (2025) China in the Year 2050: A Look Backwards. Soc 62, 112–116.
Acharya, A., Bell, D.A., Bhargava, R., & Xuetong, Y. (Eds.) (2023). Bridging Two Worlds: Comparing Classical Political Thought and Statecraft in India and China. California: University of California Press.