Ch'ên Shou-yi ^[a] ( Chinese: 陳受頤; 1899–1978) was a Chinese-American ^[1] literary historian and cultural studies scholar. He is known for his contributions to the comparative cultural studies of China and the West. He was a professor at Pomona College in Claremont, California from 1941 to 1967.

Early life and education

Chen was born in 1899 to a well-known literati family in Panyu, Guangdong, China, ^[2] and received a traditional Confucian education before college. ^[3] He completed his undergraduate studies at Canton Christian College in Guangzhou in 1920 and earned his doctorate in comparative literature from the University of Chicago in 1929. ^[2]

Career

In the 1920s, Chen was influential in the New Culture Movement under Hu Shih. ^[4]

Chen was the chair of the history department at Peking University in Beijing from 1931 to 1937. ^[2] In 1936, he took a sabbatical as a visiting professor at Pomona College in Claremont, California, but upon his return to China was confronted with the Second Sino-Japanese War. ^[5]

Chen took a position at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa in 1937. ^[5] In 1941, he returned to Pomona as a professor, a position he held until his retirement in 1967. ^[5]

In 1961, Chen published Chinese Literature: A Historical Introduction (Ronald Press), the second English language survey of Chinese literature after Herbert Giles' 1901 A History of Chinese Literature. Academic reviewers praised the work's wide breadth and attempt to fill a hole in the academic literature, but many criticized its lack of scholarly analysis and poor editing. ^{[6] [7] [8] [9] [10]}

Later life and death

Chen retired in 1967, but kept going to his office each day to continue his research. ^[11] He died of illness in 1978. ^[11] His family donated his papers to the Claremont Colleges' library, where they are kept in the special collections department. ^[11]

Recognition and legacy

Chen received widespread recognition for his scholarly work. He was elected a member of Academia Sinica, the highest honor given to academics in the Republic of China. ^[12]

Chen is credited with helping to develop the Asian studies programs at Pomona and the other Claremont Colleges. ^[5]

Notes

References

External links

• Ch'en (Shou-yi) Papers at The Claremont Colleges Library
• Chen Shou-yi collection at the Archives of the Institute of Taiwan History, Academia Sinica (in Chinese)
• Chen, Shou-yi (1961). Chinese Literature: A Historical Introduction. New York: Ronald Press. OCLC  652083604.