On the morning of March 21, the 117th session of the BNU Law Forum, titled "How to Understand Legal Careers through Oral History," was successfully held in Conference Room 1822 of the Rear Main Building at the Haidian campus of BNU. The lecture was delivered by Professor Liu Sida, Vice Dean of the Faculty of Law at the University of Hong Kong and Honorary Professor in the Department of Sociology. The event was hosted by Professor Liang Yingxiu, Dean of BNU Law School, with Professor He Ting, Professor Wang Qinghua, and Associate Professor Lao Jiaqi serving as discussants. Professor Xia Yang, Associate Professor Zhang Jiangli from BNU Law School, and Editor Wang Jing from Peking University Press attended as guests.

Dean Liang Yingxiu opened the session by extending a warm welcome to Professor Liu Sida, followed by a detailed overview of his scholarly background and research interests.

In his speech, Professor Liu first provided a brief overview of oral history as a methodology. He then used three questions as a thematic thread—“Why study law?”, “How to find a job after studying law?”, and “What are the important turning points in a career?”—to share intriguing cases he encountered while exploring the legal careers of early graduates from the University of Hong Kong Faculty of Law through oral history. Finally, he summarized several pieces of advice from outstanding alumni for today’s law students, encouraging them to cultivate a habit of diligent study, value the development of language skills, maintain honesty, integrity, and humility, assess situations wisely, and actively give back to society.

During the discussion session, Professors He Ting, Wang Qinghua, and Associate Professor Lao Jiaqi engaged in an in-depth exchange with Professor Liu. Their conversation covered the methodological distinctions between oral history and interviews, the value of oral history as a method, the challenges young scholars face in qualitative research, and how intersubjectivity in interviews can influence the content gathered.

In the interactive session, Professor Liu and the attending students delved into the intersubjective relationships within social space theory, how to balance truth-seeking with depth when handling interviewees' personal privacy, and the applicable fields for oral history research. Professor Liu also provided detailed information regarding application requirements, admission policies, and post-graduation development for graduate students at the University of Hong Kong Faculty of Law. The atmosphere throughout the lecture was lively.

Finally, Dean Liang expressed his gratitude for Professor Liu’s insightful speech and the in-depth discussions from all the participating faculty. The lecture concluded successfully amidst applause from the teachers and students.

Typesetting: Cao Xinyu

Editor: Shi Tianyu