Wu Wenzao was a

Chinese Chinese may refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people identified with China, through nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **Han Chinese, East Asian ethnic group native to China. **'' Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic ...

sociologist,

anthropologist An anthropologist is a scientist engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropologists study aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms, values ...

ethnologist Ethnology (from the , meaning 'nation') is an academic field and discipline that compares and analyzes the characteristics of different peoples and the relationships between them (compare cultural, social, or sociocultural anthropology). Scien ...

. He was born in

Jiangyin Jiangyin (, Jiangyin dialect: ) is a county-level city on the southern bank of the Yangtze River. It is administered by the Wuxi, Jiangsu province. Jiangyin is an important transport hub on the Yangtze River and one of the most developed counties ...

Jiangsu Jiangsu is a coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province in East China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with its capital in Nanjing. Jiangsu is the List of Chinese administra ...

. He was admitted into

Tsinghua University Tsinghua University (THU) is a public university in Haidian, Beijing, China. It is affiliated with and funded by the Ministry of Education of China. The university is part of Project 211, Project 985, and the Double First-Class Constructio ...

at 1917. In 1923, his schoolmate

Pan Guangdan Pan Guangdan (; 1898–1967) known in English as Quentin Pan, was a Chinese sociologist, eugenist, and writer. He was one of the most distinguished sociologists and eugenists of China. Educated at Tsinghua University on a Boxer Indemnity Scho ...

(Quentin Kuang-tan Pan) persuaded him to go abroad to study at

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College ( ) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, Dartmouth is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the America ...

after his graduation from Tsinghua. The classes in biology, chemistry, and the other natural sciences at Dartmouth greatly influenced him, and he later attempted to have his students use the scientific methods in their social studies. In 1925, he was admitted into

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

, and in 1928 he got his PhD in the Department of Sociology. In 1929, he married

Bing Xin Xie Wanying (; October 5, 1900 – February 28, 1999), better known by her pen name Bing Xin () or Xie Bingxin, was one of the most prolific Chinese women writers of the 20th century. Many of her works were written for young readers. She ...

, when they were studying in the United States. Together, he and

visited different intellectual circles around the world, communicating with other intellectuals such as

Virginia Woolf Adeline Virginia Woolf (; ; 25 January 1882 28 March 1941) was an English writer and one of the most influential 20th-century modernist authors. She helped to pioneer the use of stream of consciousness narration as a literary device. Vir ...

. In 1938 he founded the Department of Sociology of

Yunnan University Yunnan University (YNU; zh, s=云南大学, p=, labels=no) is a provincial public university in Kunming, Yunnan, China. It is affiliated with the province of Yunnan, and co-funded by the Yunnan Provincial People's Government and the Ministry o ...

, after 1950 he served as a professor of Central College for Nationalities.

Fei Xiaotong Fei Xiaotong or Fei Hsiao-tung (November 2, 1910 – April 24, 2005) was a Chinese anthropologist and sociologist. He was a pioneering researcher and professor of sociology and anthropology; he was also noted for his studies in the study of ...

Lin Yaohua Lin Yaohua (, March 27, 1910 – November 27, 2000) was a leading Chinese sociologist and anthropologist. He was noted for his studies of Chinese family structures, as well as work on China's minority ethnic groups, particularly the Yi people. H ...

, Huang Huajie, Qu Tongzu were his students. Wu greatly promoted localization of

sociology Sociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. The term sociol ...

and

ethnology Ethnology (from the , meaning 'nation') is an academic field and discipline that compares and analyzes the characteristics of different peoples and the relationships between them (compare cultural, social, or sociocultural anthropology). Sci ...

in China as a whole. Wu Wenzao is one of the pioneers and the guide of Chinese ethnological anthropology. Since the early 1940s, he has vigorously advocated the academic thought of Chinese ethnological anthropology. For more than half a century, Wu Wenzao's thought has guided the development direction of Chinese ethnological anthropology.

External links

腾飞中国：吴文藻的身份
x Chinese sociologists Columbia Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni Scientists from Wuxi Academic staff of Yenching University Academic staff of Yunnan University Tsinghua University alumni Academic staff of Minzu University of China 1901 births 1985 deaths Educators from Wuxi People from Jiangyin {{Asia-sociologist-stub