Wang Gungwu Educator Scholar

This book focuses on Wang Gungwu as an educator and scholar, through the use of essays written about Wang, a biographical sketch of his public and private life, and a list of over 50 books written by Wang as well as those written in honor of him.

This book of interviews with Professor Wang Gungwu, published to felicitate him on his 80th birthday in 2010, seeks to convey to a general audience something of the life, times and thoughts of a leading historian, Southeast Asianist, Sinologist and public intellectual. The interviews flesh out Professor Wangs views on being Chinese in Malaya; his experience of living and working in Malaysia, Singapore and Australia; the Vietnam War; Hong Kong and its return to China; the rise of China; Taiwans, Japans and Indias place in the emerging scheme of things; and on the United States in an age of terrorism and war. The book includes an interview with his wife, Mrs Margaret Wang, on their life together for half a century. Two interviews by scholars on Professor Wangs work are also included, as are his curriculum vitae and a select bibliography of his works. What comes across in this book is how Professor Wang was buffeted by feral times and hostile worlds but responded to them as a left-liberal humanist who refused to cut ideological corners. This book records his response to tumultuous times on hindsight, but with a keen sense of having lived through the times of which he speaks.

This book is a collection of essays in honour of Professor Wang Gungwu. Professor Wang is not only a great historian on Chinese history in general and the Chinese overseas in particular, but has much wider influence through remarkable domain crossing, namely spatial crossing characterised by geographical straddling between inside and outside of China, temporal crossing from the ancient past to the contemporary, inter-disciplinary crossing from history to the social sciences, and intellectual crossing from the academia to public activism. He has been a long-lasting source of inspiration for understanding some of the most pressing and complex issues in our times, including the nature of China's rise and its implications for the regional and world order. In a nutshell, this book presents Wang as a highly active educator-scholar who has achieved the highest academic standard as well as far-reaching influence over issues that concern all walks of life.By focusing on the theme of Chineseness and China's modernity, this book adds depth to the analysis of China's rise and its implications for the region and the world. It contains a chapter providing the most comprehensive and updated review of Wang's scholarship thus far. Another chapter demonstrates how Wang, based on his deep understanding of Chinese civilisation and history, articulates a distinct view of the world order that differs from either the thesis of 'Thucydides's trap' or the advocacy of mutual accommodation. Interestingly, this book also includes a chapter that highlights Wang's 'Southeast Asian-ness', suggesting that Wang's scholarship cautions against not only western-centric views towards China, but also Sino-centric views towards Southeast Asia. In short, this edited volume is both a reference book for understanding Wang's scholarship and an extension of his scholarship to the analysis of China's growing international influence and its implications for the world order.

As someone who has studied history for much of my life, I have found the past fascinating. But it has always been some grand and even intimidating universe that I wanted to unpick and explain to myself. Wang Gungwu is one of Asia's most important public intellectuals. He is best-known for his explorations of Chinese history in the long view, and for his writings on the Chinese diaspora. With Home is Not Here, the historian of grand themes turns to a single life history: his own. In this volume, Wang talks about his multicultural upbringing and life under British rule. He was born in Surabaya, Java, but his parents' orientation was always to China. Wang grew up in the plural, multi-ethnic town of Ipoh, Malaya (now Malaysia). He learned English in colonial schools and was taught the Confucian classics at home. After the end of WWII and Japanese occupation, he left for the National Central University in Nanjing to study alongside some of the finest of his generation of Chinese undergraduates. The victory of Mao Zedong's Communist Party interrupted his education, and he ends this volume with his return to Malaya. Wise and moving, this is a fascinating reflection on family, identity, and belonging, and on the ability of the individual to find a place amid the historical currents that have shaped Asia and the world.

"One of Asia's most important public intellectuals, Wang Gungwu is best-known for his explorations of Chinese history in the long view, and for his writings on the Chinese overseas. Wang was born in Surabaya, Java, but his parents' orientation was always to China; they had travelled to Southeast Asia to help in the education of the Chinese overseas. Wang grew up in the plural, multiethnic town of Ipoh, Malaya, now Malaysia, was educated at home in the Confucian classics and in English medium schools as a colonial subject. He proceeded from Ipoh to National Central University in Nanjing to study alongside some of the finest of his generation of Chinese undergraduates. The victory of Mao Zedong's Communist Party interrupted his education, and he ends this volume with his return to Malaya. Wise and moving, this is a fascinating reflection on family, identity and belonging, and on the ability of the individual to find a place amidst the historical currents that have shaped Asia and the world."--Provided by publisher.

"This book record achievements of the East Asian Institute (EAI), one of the top five think tanks in the world under the leadership of Dr Goh Keng Swee, Professors Wang Gungwu, John Wong and Zheng Yongnian. The hard work behind the nurturing of this institute is sometimes invisible, unwritten and under-appreciated but the contributions and results are clear and relevant to the scholarly world. The works of EAI's originating guardians as well as the future endeavours of its current directorship thus need to be chronicled for future generations of scholars to learn from this intellectual experience of managing an institution as complex as EAI. The detailed historiography of EAI in this publication represents the multiple histories of EAI, China's developmental path since the initiation of market reforms as well as Singapore's collaborative interface with China's development."--Provided by publisher.

' This book record achievements of the East Asian Institute (EAI), one of the top five think tanks in the world under the leadership of Dr Goh Keng Swee, Professors Wang Gungwu, John Wong and Zheng Yongnian. The hard work behind the nurturing of this institute is sometimes invisible, unwritten and under-appreciated but the contributions and results are clear and relevant to the scholarly world. The works of EAI''s originating guardians as well as the future endeavours of its current directorship thus need to be chronicled for future generations of scholars to learn from this intellectual experience of managing an institution as complex as EAI. The detailed historiography of EAI in this publication represents the multiple histories of EAI, China''s developmental path since the initiation of market reforms as well as Singapore''s collaborative interface with China''s development. Contents: The Making of the East Asian Institute (Lim Tai Wei)Goh Keng Swee and Contemporary China Studies in Singapore (John Wong)Singapore''s Road to "China Watching" (John Wong) Readership: Professionals, policy-makers and general readers interested in the development of China Studies in Singapore and the history of the East Asian Institute. Keywords:Goh Keng Swee;China Studies;East Asian Institute'