Sino-Asiatica (Out of stock)

At the time of Professor Liu Ts'un-yan's eightieth birthday in 1997 a number of his friends and colleagues presented him with a collection of papers prepared in his honour. Since that time, there have been revisions and inevitable delays, but these works are now published to celebrate his eighty-fifth birthday, which we hope reflect not only the regard in which we hold such a doyen of Sinology but also the wide range of his interests and experience. Liu 'Ts'un-yan is a most distinguished representative of a time tradition: Chinese learning fully receptive to the West. Born in Peking, he was well-trained in the texts of Confucianism, for his father was one of the last graduates of the old examination system. Professor Liu's first research was in early popular literature, and he received his doctorate in that field from the London School of Oriental and African Studies. He has maintained his concern with modern and classical Chinese literature and theatre, and he is the author of a major novel and several plays. From literature, Professor Liu extended his interests to Chinese philosophy, not only the Confucian tradition, but also Buddhism, ancient Mohism, and both classical and popular Taoism. He is expert in the Taoist canon, and his learning is in wide demand by scholars allover the world. He has published over twenty-five books and many articles in both Chinese and English, notably two volumes of Selected Papers and Excursions from the Hall of Harmonious Wind, his studio name. Professor Liu came to the Australian National University in 1962 and was appointed Head of the Department of Chinese in 1966, a post which he held until his retirement in 1982. During that time he was twice Dean of the Faculty and a long-serving member of Council. On his formal retirement in 1982. He is a founding Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities, and in 1992 he was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia. Professor Liu has been a visiting scholar at many universities overseas, including Columbia, Harvard, Paris, Hawaii, Tokyo, Malaysia and Singapore.