Ambrose King Yeo-chi, SBS, JP (; born 14 February 1935) is a Hong Kong sociologist, educator, writer and academic. He was formerly

vice-chancellor A vice-chancellor (commonly called a VC) serves as the chief executive of a university in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia, Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Kenya, other Commonwealth of Nati ...

of the

Chinese University of Hong Kong The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) is a public university, public research university in Sha Tin, New Territories, Hong Kong. Established in 1963 as a federation of three university college, collegesChung Chi College, New Asia Coll ...

(CUHK).

Personal life

Ambrose King received most of his education in

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

. He graduated from Taipei Municipal Chenggong Senior High School, earned a B.A from

National Taiwan University National Taiwan University (NTU; zh, t=國立臺灣大學, poj=Kok-li̍p Tâi-oân Tāi-ha̍k, p=, s=) is a National university, national Public university, public research university in Taipei, Taiwan. Founded in 1928 during Taiwan under J ...

and M.A. degree in political studies from

National Chengchi University National Chengchi University () is a public research university in Taipei, Taiwan. First established in Nanjing in 1927, the university was subsequently reestablished in 1954 in Taiwan as the first reestablished "National University". The u ...

. Then he went to the United States and earned his PhD from the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The university is composed of seventeen undergraduate and graduate schools and colle ...

in 1970.

Career

After earning his PhD, he joined the Department of Sociology of CUHK in 1970. In 1974, he was promoted to Senior Lecturer, in 1979 to Reader and in 1983 Professor of Sociology in CUHK. From 1977 to 1985, he served as Head of

New Asia College New Asia College is a List of the constituent colleges of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, constituent college of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, a public university in New Territories, Hong Kong. The College was founded in 1949 by a g ...

and in 1989 he became Pro-Vice-Chancellor of the university before succeeding

Arthur Li Arthur Li Kwok-cheung, GBM, GBS JP (; born 27 June 1945) is a Hong Kong doctor and politician. He is currently member of the Executive Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the chairman of the Council of the Univers ...

. In 2002 he was appointed Vice-Chancellor of CUHK, and retired in 2004. He is now a Professor of Sociology in the CUHK, teaching the course ''Individual and Society''. King has written essays; ''Cambridge Musings'' (1977), ''Heidelberg Musings'' (1986) and ''Ever in my Heart'' (2005). He is also a

calligrapher Calligraphy () is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instruments. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as "the art of giving form to signs in an exp ...

Research focus and contributions

His research interest are modernisation and modernity of China, and the role of tradition in social-cultural transformation. He employed the theoretical framework of

Max Weber Maximilian Carl Emil Weber (; ; 21 April 186414 June 1920) was a German Sociology, sociologist, historian, jurist, and political economy, political economist who was one of the central figures in the development of sociology and the social sc ...

to study the development of Chinese culture in the process of modernisation. He also tried to measure the costs and benefits of modernisation after the breakdown of the old Chinese dynastic orders and clan systems in the late 19th century. He wrote theses on Hong Kong society, including ''The Administrative Absorption of Politics in Hong Kong'' (1975), which argued that the British cooptation of local elites would lead to "

synarchy Synarchism generally means "joint rule" or "harmonious rule". Beyond this general definition, both ''synarchism'' and ''synarchy'' have been used to denote rule by a secret elite in Vichy France, Italy, China, and Hong Kong, while being used to d ...

", a form of joint rule; ''Social Life and Development in Hong Kong'' (1985); ''The Special Character of Hong Kong's Polity and its Democratic Prospects'' (1987); ''One Country, Two Systems: An Idea on Trial'' (1995); and ''Hong Kong: A City with the Most Traits of Modernity in Chinese Societies'' (2000). He held that to understand Hong Kong, one cannot overlook two important threads, namely, colonial rule and capitalism. He introduced the administrative absorption politics model (行政吸納政治) in 1975. When he visited

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

in 1975, he wrote his first essay on university education, entitled ''Two Cultures and Technological Humanism''. In 1983 he published ''The Idea of a University'', a work that was the fruit of many years of reflection and study. In 1994, he was elected a Fellow of

Academia Sinica Academia Sinica (AS, ; zh, t=中央研究院) is the national academy of the Taiwan, Republic of China. It is headquartered in Nangang District, Taipei, Nangang, Taipei. Founded in Nanjing, the academy supports research activities in mathemat ...

in Taiwan, and in the following years he has been honoured by many universities.

Selected works

*''China’s Great Transformation: Selected Essays on Confucianism, Modernization, and Democracy,'' 2018, Hong Kong: Chinese University Press *"Chinese Religion''."'' In ''Understanding Contemporary China.'' Edited by Gamer, R. New York: Lynn Reinner. *''The Idea of University'' (大學之理念), 2001, London:

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...

* ''Chinese Politics and Culture'' (中國政治與文化), 1997, London:

* ''State Confucianism and Its Transformation: The Restructuring of the State-Society Relation in Taiwan'' and ''The Transformation of Confucianism in the Post-Confucian Era: The Emergence of Rationalistic Traditionalism in Hong Kong''
"Confucian Traditions in East Asian Modernity", 1996, edited by Tu Wei-ming. Cambridge, MA:

Harvard University Press Harvard University Press (HUP) is an academic publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University. It is a member of the Association of University Presses. Its director since 2017 is George Andreou. The pres ...

* ''Chinese Society and Culture'' (中國社會與文化), 1992, London:

* ''From Traditional to Modernised'' (從傳統到現代), 1992, London:

*"The Political Culture of

Kwun Tong Kwun Tong is an area in the Kwun Tong District of Hong Kong, situated at the eastern part of the Kowloon Peninsula, and its boundary stretches from Lion Rock in the north to Lei Yue Mun in the south, and from the winding paths of Kowloon P ...

: A Chinese Community in Hong Kong." ''Southeast Asian Journal of Social Science'' 5.1-2 (1977): 123–41. *"Administrative Absorption of Politics in Hong Kong: Emphasis on the Grass Roots Level." ''

Asian Survey ''Asian Survey: A Bimonthly Review of Contemporary Asian Affairs'' is a bimonthly academic journal of Asian studies published by the University of California Press on behalf of the Institute of East Asian Studies at the University of California, ...

'' 15.5 (1975): 422–39.

Award

Silver Bauhinia Star The Silver Bauhinia Star (, SBS) is the second rank of the Order of the Bauhinia Star under the honours system of Hong Kong, awarded to people who have taken a leading part in public affairs or voluntary work over a long period. The award was ...

(1998)

References