Background
Gungwu, Wang was born on October 9, 1930 in Surabaya, Indonesia. Son of Fo Wen and Yien (Ting) W.
(The Chinese overseas now number 25 to 30 million, yet the...)
The Chinese overseas now number 25 to 30 million, yet the 2,000-year history of Chinese attempts to venture abroad and the underlying values affecting that migration have never before been presented in a broad overview. Despite centuries of prohibition against leaving the land and traveling and settling overseas, the "earthbound" Chinese--first traders, then peasants and workers--eventually found new sources of livelihood abroad. The practice of sojourning, being always temporarily away from home, was the answer the Chinese overseas found to deal with imperial and orthodox concerns. Today their challenge is to find an alternative to either returning or assimilating by seeking a new kind of autonomy in a world that will come to acknowledge the ideal of multicultural states. In pursuing this story, international scholar Wang Gungwu uncovers some major themes of global history: the coming together of Asian and European civilizations, the ambiguities of ethnicity and diasporic consciousness, and the tension between maintaining one's culture and assimilation.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0674002342/?tag=2022091-20
(The Nanhai Trade was the ancient maritime trade between C...)
The Nanhai Trade was the ancient maritime trade between China and Southeast Asia. China's dealings with the West, at this time, extended as far as India and Ceylon and, with a stretch of the imagination, Persia. This study examines the various features of the trade with Southeast Asia, especially the economic background and the Chinese imperial and regional attitudes towards it during the eleven centuries before the foundation of the Sung dynasty in 960 - roughly the period from the Han dynasty to that of the T'ang. Lyrically written, the flux of trade here reflects the political struggle of the period between the Chinese and the non-Chinese, such as the Yueh, and among the Chinese themselves. Other aspects of the trade surface, such as the eunuchs, who they were and their role, and the little southeastern kingdoms which existed during this period. Missions were exchanged and the ports were alive with activity. We are taken through all the aches and pains of trading, the inevitable corruption and greed, besides the glamour and glitter of such a lucrative activity. Trade items were initially exotic and luxury items desired by the courts, which moved with the passage of time to include religious articles when religion, beside trade, became the impetus for travel. The study reveals that the Chinese had little impact on the political and cultural developments of the region.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/9812100989/?tag=2022091-20
(The fifteen essays collected in this volume--which move f...)
The fifteen essays collected in this volume--which move from the T'ang and Sung dynasties to the present day--represent some of the author's efforts to learn about China from afar, as someone of Chinese heritage born and raised outside the country. Using the history and cultural attitudes, the author also shows the changing perspectives of how the Chinese view their present and their past during the past three decades.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0195853326/?tag=2022091-20
academic administrator historian
Gungwu, Wang was born on October 9, 1930 in Surabaya, Indonesia. Son of Fo Wen and Yien (Ting) W.
Bachelor with honors, University Malaya, Singapore, 1953. Master of Arts, University Malaya, Singapore, 1955. Doctor of Philosophy, University London, 1957.
From assistant lecturer to lecturer University Malaya, 1957-1959, lecturer Kuala Lumpur, 1959-1961, senior lecturer Kuala Lumpur, 1961-1963, dean of arts Kuala Lumpur, 1962-1963, professor history, head of department Kuala Lumpur, 1963-1968. Professor Far Eastern history, head of department Australian National University, 1968-1975, 80-86, professor emeritus, since 1989, director research School Pacific Studies, 1975-1980. Vice-chancellor University Hong Kong, 1986-1995.
Director East Asian Institute National University Singapore, since 1997. John A. Burns distinguished visiting professor history University Hawaii, 1979, Rose Morgan visiting professor history University Kansas, 1983. Faculty professor faculty of arts and social science National University Singapore, since 1998.
Distinguished professorial fellow Institute Southeast Asian Studies, Singapore, since 1996.
(The fifteen essays collected in this volume--which move f...)
(The Chinese overseas now number 25 to 30 million, yet the...)
(A compilation of essays, lectures and papers, tracing the...)
(This collection of essays has now been expanded and updat...)
(The Nanhai Trade was the ancient maritime trade between C...)
Member Commission Inquiry on Singapore Riots, 1964-1965, Committee on Australia-Japan Relations, 1980-1981, executive councillor, Hong Kong, 1990-1992. Member executive council World Wildlife Fund for Nature, Hong Kong, 1987-1995. Chairman Environment Pollution Advisory Committee, Hong Kong, 1988-1995, Council Performing Arts, Hong Kong, 1989-1995, Australia-China Council, 1984-1986.
Board directors East Asian History Science Foundation Ltd., Hong Kong, 1987-1995. Co-patron Asia-Link, University Melbourne, since 1994. Chairman Asia-Pacific Council, Griffith University, Brisbane, 1997.
Member National Heritage Board, 1997-1999, advisor, since 1999. Board directors National Arts Council, since 1996. Member The National Library Board, since 1997.
Fellow Australian Academy of Humanities (president 1980-1983), Royal Society of Arts London (honorary correspondent member for Hong Kong 1987-1995). Member Academia Sinica, International Association Historians of Asia (president 1964-1968, 88-91), International Society for Study of Chinese Overseas (president since 1991), East-West Center Honolulu (international advisory panel), Institute Southeast Asian Studies Singapore (regional council member since 1982), Association Southeast Asian, Institutions of Higher Learning (administrative board 1987-1989, vice president 1991-1993), Chinese University of Hong Kong (council 1986-1995), Institute East Asian Political Economy (board directors 1989-1997, chairman 1996-1997), Asia-Australia Institute Council, Asia Society Council, International Institute Strategic Council, Social Science Research Council (board directors since 1999).
Married Margaret Ping-Ting Lim, 1955. Children: Shih-chang, Lin-chang, Hui-chang.