This book focuses on Wang Gungwu as an educator and scholar. The volume is organised into three parts. The first section highlights the writings of Wang in the field of higher education. There are 24 selected articles in this collection, many of which were previously published in prominent journals. Several essays originated as keynote speeches at conferences. Spanning over a period of more than three decades from 1971 (when he was with the Australian National University) to 2008 (when he was with the East Asian Institute), Wang shares in the essays his perspectives on a broad range of topics — the relationship between the university and community (both of which are not monolithic); the role of universities in Asia as global institutions; the benchmark of excellence in education in the Asia-Pacific region; the state of social science study in Asia; the shifting paradigms and their impact on research and writing; and the role of university in shaping modernity in Asia, etc. Despite the publication dates of yore, the issues discussed are not passé and are in fact of significant relevance to universities today.
The second section contains a selection of over 50 books written and edited by Wang as well as those written in honour of him. The selection is not exhaustive but it serves as a quick reference guide for general readers to access the trove of Wang's works on Chinese diaspora and overseas Chinese; Chinese culture, history and civilisation; Chinese trade; maritime China; China's ideological battles; the Chinese Communist Party; China's political economy; China's reform; China's external relations; China and the new international order; Chinese world order; migration; nation-building; Hong Kong; Malaya; Malaysia; and, the Iraq War, etc.
The third section provides a detailed chronology of Wang Gungwu's life and his illustrious academic career. Born in Java, brought up in what was then British Malaya, and having lived under Dutch and British colonial administration, the Japanese occupation, the Chinese revolution and the newly independent countries of Malaysia and Singapore, Wang's extraordinary set of experiences have enriched his writings as one of the leading historians of China and the doyen of scholarship on the Chinese communities of Southeast Asia.

Preface v

About the Editors xi

Part I Wang Gungwu on Higher Education 1

1 The University and the Community 3

2 National Education and the Scientific Tradition 27

3 Who Should Pay for Universities? 43

4 A Very Peculiar Business 59

5 The University as a Global Institution 63

6 The Asian Renaissance 71

7 Cities Light Torch of Excellence 75

8 Lessons Closer to Home 79

9 The Asia-Pacific: Region and Universalism in Higher Education 83

10 The Modern University in Australia and Asia 99

11 Social Science and Asia 109

12 Shifting Paradigms and Asian Perspectives:Implications for Research and Teaching 129

13 The Classics and the East Asian Entrepreneur 139

14 Universities and Modernity for Asia 145

15 New Interest in Old Powers 155

16 Change and Adaptation: NUS at 100 159

17 The Chinese Pursuit of Higher Education 181

18 New University, Three Generations: China, Malaya, Singapore 1949–2007 197

19 Versailles' Chinese Legacy 209

20 Commonwealth Universities in Eastern Asia 213

21 You've Come a Long Way 217

22 Academic Blind Spot in Asia 221

23 English Rules the Waves 225

24 Rise of Anglo-Chinese 229

Part II Wang Gungwu and His Works 233

Part III Chronology of Wang Gungwu 315

Index397

Professor ZHENG Yongnian is director of the East Asian Institute (EAI) at the National University of Singapore. He received his BA and MA degrees from Beijing University, and his PhD from Princeton University. He was a recipient of Social Science Research Council-MacArthur Foundation Fellowship (1995-1997) and John D and Catherine T MacArthur Foundation Fellowship (2003-2004). He was Professor and founding Research Director of the China Policy Institute of the University of Nottingham in the United Kingdom. Professor Zheng is the editor of Series on Contemporary China (World Scientific Publishing), China Policy Series (Routledge), China: An International Journal and East Asian Policy. His research interests include both China's domestic transformation and its external relations. His papers have appeared in journals such as Comparative Political Studies, Political Science Quarterly and China Quarterly. He is also the author and editor of numerous books. Besides his research work, Professor Zheng has also been an academic activist. He served as a consultant to United Nations Development Programme on China's rural development and democracy. In addition, he has been a columnist for Xin Bao (Hong Kong Economic Journal, Hong Kong) and Lianhe Zaobao (Singapore) for many years, writing numerous commentaries on China's domestic and international affairs. PA\Professor PHUA Kok Khoo obtained his PhD in Mathematical Physics from the University of Birmingham in 1970. He was awarded the Institute of Physics Singapore (IPS) President's Award by the IPS Council in 2006. He is a fellow at the American Physical Society, the founding director of the Institute for Advanced Studies at Nanyang Technological University, an adjunct professor at the National University of Singapore, and honorary professor in many universities in China. He is also chairman of the World Scientific Publishing Company, chairman of the Tan Kah Kee Foundation, vice-chairman of the Tan Kah Kee International Society, and president of the Singapore China Friendship Association and Singapore China Business Association. Professor Phua's research interests are in theoretical high energy physics, science education and science policies. He has published many papers on scientific research in internationally refereed journals and comments on scientific research and higher education in Singapore national newspapers Lianhe Zaobao and The Strait Times. For nearly 40 years, Professor Phua has dedicated himself to strengthening scientific research in Asia and promoting physics education, higher education and scholarly exchanges at the international level.

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