Living With Civilisations: Reflections On Southeast Asia's Local And National Cultures

by Wang Gungwu

Professor Wang Gungwu is the Institute of Policy Studies' 12th S R Nathan Fellow for the Study of Singapore. This book is an edited collection of his four IPS-Nathan Lectures, delivered from November 2022 to March 2023, and includes highlights of his question-and-answer segments with our audience.The Southeast Asian region is home to a set of diverse local cultures and distinct local identities. In this lecture series, Professor Wang looks at how great civilisations came into contact with our region and shaped its local identities and cultures. Being at the centre of Southeast Asia, Singapore's national identity and development have also been moulded by great ancient civilisations, namely the Indic, Sinic and Islamic. Later on, the idea of modernity brought about by Christian European civilisation greatly impacted our region. Understanding the history of Singapore from this perspective will give us insight to how the country's modern identity is being shaped and enable us to better understand our region's place in the modern world order.The IPS-Nathan Lecture series was launched in 2014 as part of the S R Nathan Fellowship for the Study of Singapore, named after Singapore's sixth and longest-serving president. It seeks to advance public understanding and discussion of issues of critical national interest for Singapore.

216 pages, Paperback

Published December 4, 2023

About the author

Wang Gungwu is an academic who has studied and written about the Chinese diaspora, although he has objected to the use of the word diaspora to describe the migration of Chinese from China, because it is inaccurate and has been used to perpetuate fears of a "Chinese threat". He was born in Surabaya, Indonesia, and grew up in Ipoh, Malaysia. He completed his secondary education in Anderson School, Ipoh before going to the university.

He studied history in the University of Malaya, Singapore, where he received both his Bachelor and Masters degrees. He holds a Ph.D. from the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London (1957) for his thesis on The structure of power in North China during the Five Dynasties. He taught at the University of Malaya (in both Singapore and Kuala Lumpur) before going to Canberra in 1968 to become Professor of Far Eastern History in the Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies (RSPAS) at Australian National University. He was Vice-Chancellor of the University of Hong Kong from 1986 to 1995. In 2007, Wang became the third person to be named University Professor by the National University of Singapore.

Reviews

[Supriya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of rambling and repetition in this book, but the key concepts propounded by the author are summarized below.

Difference between Cultures and Civilisations: The author posits that there can be many cultures and sub-cultures, but there are only four old civilizations (Indic, Sinic, Islamic, and Christian) and a fifth new one, i.e., Neo-modern, created by the Global Maritime which created a different new world. His definition of culture is something every group has shared because they developed it together. It is something that they identify as their very own, which makes culture resilient and distinct. But civilization, as he explains it, stemmed from visionary efforts by prophets and teachers to explain, through first principles, how the universe evolved and the meaning of life on earth, and in turn, developing conceptual and moral systems to uplift everyone beyond their local cultures to inspire borderless common humanity and purpose. This rather simplistic explanation seems to ignore the Native American and Australian - or at least does not give these cultures the exalted status of "civilization".

Then he devotes pages to developing the history of the Global Maritime and how it resulted in flowering of imperial Hellenistic power and Roman empire, but thereafter the idea that modern civilization could go further and bring progress to humankind without any divine intervention. This atheism, capitalism, call it what you will- he calls Enlightened Modern. Here he explains how the ancient civilizations interacted in varying ways with this new arrival, and the growth of nation states, which also brings him to a discussion of Singapore that tries to develop a plural society drawing from the best of the civilizations for its idea of modernization and development.

For me the best part of the book and most valuable was the last section on South East Asia. Living with Civilizations, is the part that made the most sense to me and covers new ground.

The book is an easy read, I read it in just 2 sittings on a long flight.

[sbs transit · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not the most hardbaked but fascinating concept