February 17, 2005 Ying-Shih Yu Named Senior Distinguished Scholar at John W. Kluge Center

Librarian of Congress James H. Billington has named Ying-shih Yu, who is widely respected throughout the Chinese-speaking world for his work on the history of Chinese philosophy, as a senior distinguished scholar in the John W. Kluge Center at the Library of Congress. Yu will pursue his interest in Chinese history, culture and philosophy.

Born in Qianshan, Anhui Province, China, Yu came to the United States after graduating from New Asia College at the Chinese University of Hong Kong and received his doctorate in history from Harvard University in 1962. He has had a distinguished career as a researcher, historian and teacher at Harvard, Yale, the University of Michigan and the Chinese University of Hong Kong. At the time of his retirement in 2001, he was the Gordon Wu Professor of Chinese Studies and professor of history and East Asian studies at Princeton University.

One of the world’s authorities on the Tang Dynasty, Yu has researched and written extensively on every period of Chinese history, from ancient to modern. He is highly regarded in China and respected not only for his scholarship but also for his criticism of the Communist regime.

Among his many published works are the following written in English: “The Power of Culture: Studies in Chinese Cultural History” (coedited with Willard J. Peterson and Andrew Plaks, 1994); “The Two Worlds of the Red Chamber Dream” (1978); “Trade and Expansion in Han China: A Study in the Structure of Sino-Barbarian Economic Relations” (1967); and “American-Chinese Relations, 1784-1941” (with Robert Irick and Kwang-ching Liu, 1960).

Through a generous endowment from John W. Kluge, the Library of Congress established the Kluge Center in 2000 to bring together the world’s best thinkers to stimulate and energize scholarly discussion, distill wisdom from the Library’s rich resources and interact with policymakers in Washington. The Kluge Center houses senior Kluge Chairs, other senior-level chairs, senior distinguished scholars and nearly 25 postdoctoral fellows. For more information about any of the fellowships, grants and programs offered by the John W. Kluge Center, contact the Office of Scholarly Programs, Library of Congress, 101 Independence Ave. S.E., Washington, DC 20540-4860; telephone (202) 707-3302, fax (202) 707-3595, or visit the Web at www.loc.gov/kluge.