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interested in socio-economic history. I paid particular attention to the impact of history upon the present time
and how we can learn from history in understanding current issues. As I still recall, my first history essay was
entitled “From the Yalta Secret Agreement to the Sino-Soviet Treaty of Friendship and Alliance” which seemed
to have foretold the direction of my academic pursuit toward the study of modern and contemporary Chinese

history.

I learned from many great teachers during my undergraduate years as student and teaching assistant for courses
such as “General History of China” (taught by Mr Lo Chiu-ching) and “Western Economic History” (by Mr Chang
Teh-chang). Besides “Western Economic History,” I also took other world history courses (on top of many courses
on Chinese history), such as those offered by Professor Noah E. Fehl, a specialist in medieval history, history of
religion and comparative history. In the field of sociology, I took elective courses including “Chinese Society and
Family,” “Mass Movement, ” and so forth.

After graduation I worked at the University as a full-time Tutor for two years, which helped prepare me for
further studies overseas. Leading tutorials for fellow students at my level had brought quite some pressure on me,
but it was also a rare opportunity for me to learn to deal with challenges. I must consult a lot of materials to be

competent for the job, and I needed to refer to Chinese and English sources to prepare for each class. As it turned
out, those two years of training eventually benefited me a great deal.

CUHK had at the time close ties with the University of California, which offered postgraduate scholarships
to selected graduates including those from the History Department (Professor Leung Yuen Sang being one of
them). I became an aspirant for the opportunity too and in 1976 embarked on my study at the University of
California, Los Angeles (UCLA) with sponsorship from the University of California’s Education Abroad
Program, which waived the tuition fee and also provided me with a stipend from the State Department of the
United States. I served as a teaching assistant and research assistant during my postgraduate years at UCLA

and took up part-time jobs at the library and research units (such as the Asian American Studies Center). This
exposure to academic institutions widened my horizon and enabled me to learn extensively first before grasping
expert knowledge.

After obtaining my Master’s degree at UCLA, I went on to study in the doctoral programme majoring in Modern
Chinese History, with three minor areas, i.e., early modern Chinese History, Asian American Studies, and American
History. My supervisor, Professor Philip Huang was at the time carrying out an original study on small peasant
economy in north China, based on first-hand data, collected by South Manchuria Railways Co., which were archived
at the Hoover Institute of Stanford University and other academic organisations in the U.S.A., together with other
historical sources. I was lucky to be under his tutelage, taking his graduate courses on modern Chinese socioeconomic

history and starting my doctoral research. Under his supervision and guidance, I conducted archival and ethnographical
surveys on social and economic issues of north China, focusing on the case of Weixian (present-day Weifang) in
Shandong province between 1900 and 1937. My doctoral dissertation “Merchant Capital, the Small Peasant Economy,
and Foreign Capitalism: The Case of Weixian, 1900s–1937” investigates how China’s local economy was influenced
by foreign capitalism. After years of reflection and rumination, the full-length work is only now being prepared in
book form, though parts of the dissertation have been published separately.

中國文化研究所通訊 2017 年第 3 期
7
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