WANG Gungwu

Wang Gungwu is an incomparable scholar, emphatic teacher, diligent and meticulous researcher, prolific author, and remarkable sinologist. Acknowledged as the doyen of Chinese overseas studies, he is the foremost historian of Sino-Southeast Asian relations and undisputed specialist of the relationship between China and the world. Three areas of his specialization have included China and Southeast Asia, the overseas Chinese experience, and the very large questions of China’s historical development and future trajectory. Possessing an eclectic and unique background and life experiences, expressing both an “insider” and “outsider” perspective with regard to China, adopting the longue durée approach in historical analysis and evaluation, and a twenty-first-century open-minded Confucian gentleman (Junzi), Wang Gungwu is nothing short of a scholar-gentleman.