Jonathan D. Spence (Chinese name: simplified Chinese: 史景迁; traditional Chinese: 史景遷; pinyin: Shǐ Jǐngqiān, August 11, 1936– ) is a British-born historian and public intellectual specializing in Chinese history. He has been Sterling Professor of History at Yale University since 1993. His most famous book is The Search for Modern China, which has become one of the standard texts on the last several hundred years of Chinese history. A prolific author, reviewer, and essayist, he has written eight books on China. His research often takes him to many Chinese universities. Simplified Chinese character (Simplified Chinese: or ; traditional Chinese: or ; pinyin: or ) is one of two standard sets of Chinese characters of the contemporary Chinese written language. ... Traditional Chinese characters refers to one of two standard sets of printed Chinese characters. ... Pinyin, more formally called Hanyu Pinyin (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; Pinyin: ), is the most common variant of Standard Mandarin romanization system in use. ... is the 223rd day of the year (224th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1936 (MCMXXXVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... This article is about the occupation of studying history. ... An intellectual is a person who uses their intellect to study, reflect, and speculate on a variety of different ideas. ... The history of China is told in traditional historical records that refer as far back as the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors about 5,000 years ago, supplemented by archaeological records dating to the 16th century BC. China is one of the worlds oldest continuous civilizations. ... A Sterling Professorship is the highest academic rank at Yale University, awarded to a tenured faculty member considered one of the best in his field. ... Yale redirects here. ...

History

Jonathan Spence was president of the American Historical Association for the 2004-2005 term. Recognized as one of the foremost scholars of Chinese civilization from the 16th century to the present, Spence has written extensively on the role of history in shaping modern China. His recent works include a biography of Mao Zedong and Treason by the Book, exploring an intriguing episode of 18th-century history. Spence teaches one of the most popular undergraduate classes at Yale on the history of Modern China 1600-2007. The class is offered every other year during the spring semester and is a perennial favorite among history majors and non-history majors alike. Spence was educated at Winchester College, a famous independent school for boys in Winchester, England, and at Clare College at the University of Cambridge and holds a bachelor's degree from there and master's and doctoral degrees from Yale University in the United States. The American Historical Association (AHA) is a society of historians and teachers of history founded in 1884 and incorporated by the United States Congress in 1889. ... Mao redirects here. ... Treason by the Book, by Jonathan Spence is a fast-paced historical account of the Zeng Jing case which took place during the reign of Emperor Yongzheng of China, around the 1730s. ... Winchester College is a well-known boys independent school, and an example of an English public school, in the city of Winchester in Hampshire, England. ... An independent school is a school which is not dependent upon national or local government for financing its operation and is instead operated by tuition charges, gifts, and perhaps the investment yield of an endowment. ... Winchester is a historic city in southern England, with a population of around 40,000 within a 3 mile radius of its centre. ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... Full name Clare College Motto _ Named after Elizabeth de Clare Previous names University Hall (1326), Clare Hall (1338), Clare College (1856) Established 1326 Sister College Oriel College St Hughs College Master Prof. ... The University of Cambridge (often Cambridge University), located in Cambridge, England, is the second-oldest university in the English-speaking world and has a reputation as one of the worlds most prestigious universities. ... Yale redirects here. ...

Honors

Spence has received eight honorary degrees from various colleges in the United States as well as the Chinese University of Hong Kong. In 2003 Professor Spence received an honorary degree from Oxford University. He was also invited to become a visiting professor at Peking University and an honorary professor at Nanjing University. Four years ago he was named C.M.G. (Companion of the Order of St. Michael and St. George) on the Queen of England’s Birthday Honours List, and in 2006 he was named a Fellow at Clare College, Cambridge. This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Nanjing University (Chinese: 南京大學/南京大学; Pinyin: NánjÄ«ng Dàxué; colloquially 南大, Pinyin: Nándà) is located in Nanjing (Nanking), an ancient capital of China. ...

In 1978 he received the William C. DeVane Medal of the Yale Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa; in 1979, a Guggenheim Fellowship; in 1982, the Los Angeles Times History Prize; and in 1983, the Vursel Prize of the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters. Professor Spence was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1985 and was named a MacArthur Fellow in 1988, the same year he was appointed to the Council of Scholars at the Library of Congress. In 1993 he was elected a member of the American Philosophical Society and in 1997 was named a corresponding fellow of the British Academy. The Phi Beta Kappa Society is an honor society which considers its mission to be fostering and recognizing excellence in undergraduate liberal arts and sciences. ... Guggenheim Fellowships are awarded annually by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts. ... The American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters was formed in 1976 from the merger of the National Institute of Arts and Letters, which was founded in 1898, and the American Academy of Arts and Letters, which was founded in 1904. ... The House of the Academy, Cambridge, Massachusetts. ... The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation is a private, independent grantmaking institution. ... Construction of the Thomas Jefferson Building, from July 8, 1888 to May 15, 1894. ... The American Philosophical Society is a discussion group founded as the Junto in 1743 by Benjamin Franklin. ... The British Academy is the United Kingdoms national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. ...

Almost every year for the past thirty years at Yale he has been voted one of the "sexiest professors on campus" and his students affectionately comment on his resemblance to British actor Sean Connery, particularly in the latter's role in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Sir Thomas Sean Connery (born 25 August 1930) is a retired Scottish actor and producer who is perhaps best known as the first actor to portray James Bond in cinema, starring in seven Bond films. ... Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade is a 1989 adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Harrison Ford, Sean Connery, Denholm Elliott, Julian Glover, Alison Doody, River Phoenix, and John Rhys-Davies. ...

Family

He lives in West Haven with his wife, Annping Chin (a Senior Lecturer in History at Yale who got her PhD in Classical Chinese Philosophy at Columbia). He has two sons from a previous marriage, Colin and Ian Spence, and two stepchildren, Yar Woo and Mei Chin. West Haven is a city in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States. ... Annping Chin (金安平, born in Taiwan in 1950) is a Professor of History at Yale. ... Mei Chin (b. ...

Books

• The Search for Modern China
• Emperor of China: Self-Portrait of K'ang-Hsi (1974)
• The Death of Woman Wang (1978)
• To Change China: Western Advisers in China, 1620-1960 (1980)
• The Memory Palace of Matteo Ricci (1984)
• The Question of Hu (1987)
• Chinese Roundabout: Essays on History and Culture
• The Gate of Heavenly Peace: The Chinese and Their Revolution 1895-1980
• The Chan's Great Continent: China in Western Minds
• God's Chinese Son (1996), about the Taiping Rebellion
• Mao Zedong (1999)

For other uses, see Kangxi (disambiguation) The Kangxi Emperor (Chinese: ; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Kang-hsi; May 4, 1654 – December 20, 1722) was an Emperor of the Manchu Qing dynasty,[1] and the second Qing emperor to rule over China proper, from 1661 to 1722. ... The method of loci or Ars memoriae (art of memory) is a technique for remembering that has been practiced since Classical times. ... Matteo Ricci. ... Tiananmen Gate The Tiananmen or Tiananmen (Simplified Chinese: 天安门; Traditional Chinese: 天安門; Pinyin: tiān ān mén), literally meaning Gate of Heavenly Peace, is the principal entrance to the Imperial Palace Grounds, commonly called the Forbidden City, in Beijing, Peoples Republic... Combatants Qing Empire United Kingdom France (United Kingdom and France join the war later) Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Commanders Xianfeng Emperor Tongzhi Emperor Empress Dowager Cixi Charles George Gordon Frederick Townsend Ward Hong Xiuquan Yang Xiuqing Xiao Chaogui Feng Yunshan Wei Changhui Shi Dakai Li Xiucheng Strength 2,000,000-5...

External links

• Biography