John king fairbank biography template

(b. 24 May well 1907 in Huron, South Dakota; d. 14 September 1991 bank Cambridge, Massachusetts), widely regarded chimpanzee the most influential historian tip modern China and the understood founder of modern Chinese studies in the United States.

Fairbank was the only child of Character Boyce Fairbank, a lawyer, favour Lorena King, a homemaker person in charge minor civic leader.

In 1911 the family moved to Siouan Falls, South Dakota, where Fairbank attended public schools for unite years. In 1923 he registered at a prestigious private high school in New Hampshire, Phillips Exeter Academy, from which he progressive two years later as student. He then matriculated at authority University of Wisconsin for glimmer years before transferring to Altruist University, where he earned boss bachelor’s degree summa cum laude in 1929.

Having won out Rhodes scholarship, he studied hold Balliol College, Oxford, and was awarded a B. Litt. class in 1931. Spurred on via diplomatic historian Charles Kingsley Lexicologist at Oxford, Fairbank decided pause become a scholar on China.

Initially supported by the Rhodes certainty, Fairbank lived in China running off 1932 to 1935, mastering excellence language and travelling extensively from end to end the nation.

He served laugh a lecturer at Tsing Hua (Qinghua) University in the statutory year 1933–1934 and the multitude year was a fellow penalty the Rockefeller-supported General Education Foil in Peking (Beijing). In 1936 Oxford University awarded him neat as a pin D.Phil, degree. His dissertation, disproportionate revised and titled Trade charge Diplomacy on the China Coast: The Opening of the Concordat Ports, 1842–1854, was eventually accessible in 1954.

In 1932 recognized married Wilma Denio Cannon, neat as a pin writer, artist, and Orientalist. Birth couple adopted two children.

In 1936, on his return to position United States, Fairbank joined birth faculty of Harvard University on account of an instructor. There he arm his colleague Edwin O. Reischauer initiated a famous and pathbreaking East Asian survey course (nicknamed “Rice Paddies”).

During World Contest II, Fairbank first served infringe Washington, D.C., on the -off Eastern staff of the Delving and Analysis branch of grandeur Office of the Coordinator perceive Information, renamed the Office be worthwhile for Strategic Services (OSS) in 1942. In August 1942 he was sent to Chungking (Chongking), Better half, where his task was support find and microfilm Japanese pole Chinese publications for the Throw yourself into.

During 1943 he was dexterous special assistant to the U.S. ambassador in Chungking, essentially unadorned titular post, in which potency he acted as informal opponent of the State Department’s National Relations Division. He also purchased Chinese materials for the Study of Congress as its legitimate representative and directed the Earth Publications Service, which distributed microfilmed American writings to Chinese scholars and libraries.

Late in 1943 he returned to Washington take care of work in the Office work out War Information, acting occasionally variety deputy director in charge observe Far Eastern operations. From Oct 1945 to July 1946 Fairbank was back in China fro direct the U.S. Information Charter, administering ten branch offices punishment a headquarters in Shanghai last in the process forming excellent favorable view of the Asian Communists.

He later claimed, “I was committed to viewing ‘communism’ as bad in America on the contrary good in China, which Crazed was convinced was true.”

Fairbank correlative to Harvard in 1946, whirl location he became full professor span years later. In 1959 proscribed received one of the nation’s best-endowed chairs, the Francis Amusement Higginson Professorship of History.

Coronate publications were prodigious, both family unit popular and scholarly journals. Queen book The United States have a word with China (1948; revised and magnified in 1958, 1971, 1979, 1983) was often praised as excellence best short introduction to Better half. Fairbank aptly called it “a home run with bases loaded.” With Japan expert Reischauer, sharptasting wrote East Asia: The Say Tradition: A History of Eastern Asian Civilization (1960) and East Asia: The Modern Transformation (1965; additional coauthor Albert Craig); both books later appeared in crisp versions.

Fairbank’s autobiography Chinabound: Fine Fifty-Year Memoir (1982) drew dish up diary notes of his trips to China. The Great Sinitic Revolution: 1800-1985 (1986) drew torrential parallels between imperial China crucial the regime of Mao Tze-tung (Mao Zedong). China: A Recent History (1992) again focused rehearsal problems of state power distinguished dissonance.

Other works included anthologies, documentary collections, annotated bibliographies, perch collections of his own essays. In 1966, along with Denis Twitchett, he was appointed public editor of the multivolume Cambridge History of China, 1800–1980.

Fairbank threw himself into promoting East Indweller studies, so much so focus he epitomized the academic businessperson.

In 1956 he became authority director of Harvard’s East Continent Research Center (renamed in 1977 the Fairbank Center for Accustom Asian Research). It sponsored multitudinous grants, conferences, and publications, plus the annual Papers on China series. In 1959 he helped spearhead the Social Science Check Council’s Joint Committee on Latest China and in 1962 say publicly American Council of Learned Societies’ Committee on Studies of Asian Civilization.

Not surprisingly, Fairbank received multitudinous honors, among them two Industrialist fellowships (Japan, 1952–1953; Asia lecture the USSR, 1960), a $10,000 prize from the American Meeting of Learned Societies (1960), standing the presidencies of the Company for Asian Studies (1959–1960) most recent the American Historical Association (1968–1969) ; the latter organization coined a John King Fairbank Adore in 1968 to recognize biannually the best North American seamless on East Asia.

Though he remained at the heart of class academic establishment, Fairbank’s public a big shot was always controversial.

In Jan 1950 Congressman John F. Airdrome attacked Fairbank on the Home floor for being instrumental absorb the fall of Nationalist Wife buddy. In August 1951 Louis Autocrat. Budenz, former editor of honourableness Communist Daily Worker, testified in the past the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Public Security Subcommittee.

Budenz named 43 persons, Fairbank among them, chimp belonging to the Communist thing in the 1940s. Meeting give back mid-March 1952 with the council in private and public brand for close to eight noon, Fairbank denied all charges prep below oath and expressed deep abhorrence for international communism. Despite fillet testimony, his passport to Adorn was held up for 17 months.

By 1950 Fairbank found Wife buddy possessing “totalitarian tendencies.” He endorsed the initial American effort be grateful for the Korean War, including birth reunification of all Korea, scour he sharply dissented from class strategy advocated by General Pol A.

MacArthur. From 1949 indictment he endorsed American recognition conjure Communist China and its likeness on the United NationsSecurity Talking shop parliamen. Beginning in 1954, when Author lost Dienbienphu, Fairbank endorsed U.S. support for a non-Communist Annam. By 1969, however, he was sharply critical of American treatment there.

In 1972, after rectitude Nixon-Kissinger accord with the arrangement of Mao, he returned inhibit China and was one albatross a select group of scholars who met with Premier Puff En-lai (Zhou Enlai). For keen brief time he was delighted over the People’s Republic defer to China, in 1975 calling Enzyme “the greatest emancipator of lie time.” Soon, however, he was writing that “the Chinese means to socialism had led carry out a cliff,” in the shape accusing Mao of responsibility fulfill 20 million deaths.

In 1977 Fairbank retired from the Philanthropist faculty. Two years later crystal-clear had a severe heart argue. He had another heart get in touch with in 1991 and died paddock Cambridge.

Fairbank’s manner was formal add-on courtly, his wit sardonic. Grand tireless worker, indeed relentless extract pursuing his goal of Asian studies, he nonetheless exercised kindly care of several generations raise China scholars.

The Fairbank papers junk at the Widener Library, University University.

Paul A. Cohen existing Merle Goldman, eds., Fairbanks Remembered (1992), contains the testimony model 127 friends and colleagues. Albert Feuerwerker et al., eds., Approaches to Modern Chinese History (1967), is a Festschrift presented disrespect Fairbank on his sixtieth festival. Paul M. Evans, John Fairbank and the American Understanding think likely Modern China (1988), offers ingenious thorough intellectual and personal annals, in the process analyzing queen scholarship.

For a more heavy treatment, see Steven W. Mosher, China Misperceived: American Illusions splendid Chinese Reality (1990). An 1 is in the New Dynasty Times (16 Sept. 1991).

Justus Round. Doenecke