SOAS alumnus Professor Gungwu Wang awarded Tang Prize in Sinology
4 August 2020
SOAS alumnus and honorary fellow, Professor Gungwu Wang, a leading historian on China and China's relations with Southeast Asia, was awarded the 2020 Tang Prize in Sinology .
Professor Wang earned his PhD at SOAS in 1957 on 'The Structure of Power in North China during the Five Dynasties ', which was subsequently published by Stanford University Press. Following his doctoral studies, Gungwu went on to have a distinguished career in academia at the University of Malaya in Kuala Lumpur, the Australia National University, the University of Hong Kong and the National University of Singapore. He served as Vice Chancellor of the University of Hong Kong from 1986 to 1995.
In addition to his influential contributions and achievements in academia, Professor Wang rendered valuable public service. He was Chairman of the Australia-China Council from 1984 to 1986, and a member of the Executive Council of Hong Kong between 1990 and 1992.
In 1996, SOAS recognized his scholarship and academic achievements by electing him an Honorary Fellow. In 2016, he generously made a donation to SOAS which has been used to support SOAS academics to conduct field work and research in China.
Professor Wang's latest book, China Reconnects: Joining a Deep-rooted Past to a New World Order , was published by World Scientific Publishing in 2019.
On behalf of SOAS University of London, the SOAS China Institute warmly congratulates Professor Gungwu Wang on the award of the prestigious Tang Prize in Sinology. This is a fit and proper recognition of his enormous contribution to the advancement of the study of China and the Chinese diaspora over the past six decades.