To Act Is to Know: Chinese Dilemmas

by Wang Gungwu

The emergence of China as a global presence in the recent past has led to a growing interest in the country and how the Chinese have coped in the face of rapid change. It has also focused the thoughts of observers on the role that the country's past has played in its rush into modernization, and the issue of how the Chinese have struggled to reconcile their past with their present and future. The reissue of this collection of essays reflects the idea that China's past and history remain vital in the Chinese mind.

336 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 2003

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.