Background
King, Ambrose Yeo-Chi was born on February 14, 1935 in Zhejiang, People's Republic China. Son of Hsiang-chuan (Fan) King.
金耀基
Sociology educator university official
King, Ambrose Yeo-Chi was born on February 14, 1935 in Zhejiang, People's Republic China. Son of Hsiang-chuan (Fan) King.
He graduated from Taipei Municipal Chenggong Senior High School, earned a Bachelor of Arts from National Taiwan University and Master of Arts Then he went to the United States and earned his Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Pittsburgh in 1970. After earning his Doctor of Philosophy, he joined the Department of Sociology of CUHK in 1970.
He was formerly vice-chancellor of the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK). Ambrose King received most of his education in Taiwan. degree in political studies from National Chengchi University. In 1974, he was promoted to Senior Lecturer, in 1979 to Reader and in 1983 Professor of Sociology in CUHK. From 1977 to 1985, he served as Head of New Asia College and in 1989 he became Pro-Vice-Chancellor of the university before succeeding Arthur Li.
In 2002 he was appointed Vice-Chancellor of CUHK, and retired in 2004.
He is now a Professor of Sociology in the CUHK, teaching the course Individual and Society. King has written essays.
Cambridge Musings (1977), Heidelberg Musings (1986) and Ever in my Heart (2005). He is also a calligrapher.
His research interest are modernisation and modernity of China, and the role of tradition in social-cultural transformation.
He employed the theoretical framework of Max Weber to study the development of Chinese culture in the process of modernisation. He also tried to measure the costs and benefits of modernisation after the breakdown of the old Chinese dynastic orders and clan systems in the late 19th century. He wrote theses on Hong Kong society, including The Administrative Absorption of Politics in Hong Kong (1975), which argued that the British cooptation of local elites would lead to "synarchy",a form of joint rule.
Social Life and Development in Hong Kong (1985).
The Special Character of Hong Kong"s Polity and its Democratic Prospects (1987). One Country, Two Systems: An Idea on Trial (1995).
And Hong Kong: A City with the Most Traits of Modernity in Chinese Societies (2000). He is famous for the administrative absorption politics model (行政吸納政治) he introduced in 1975.
In 1983 he published The Idea of a University, a work that was the fruit of many years of reflection and study.
In 1994, he was elected a Fellow of Academia Sinica in Taiwan, and in the following years he has been honoured by many universities.
He held that to understand Hong Kong, one cannot overlook two important threads, namely, colonial rule and capitalism.
Chairman, member community research subcommittee Independent Commission Against Corruption, 1977-1982. Member Law Reform Commission, 1980-1985, subcommittee on homosexuality, 1980-1982, subcommittee on confession statements and their admissibility in criminal proceedings, 1981-1984. Member Center Policy Unit, since 1989.
Married Yuan-jan Tao. Children: Ambrose Jun-shen Junior, Joseph Jun-chi, Daniel Jun-yu, Christopher Jun-ping.