Wu Teh Yao (, 1915–17 April 1994) was a Chinese political scientist. He was an

educator A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. w ...

and a specialist in

Confucianism Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China, and is variously described as a tradition, philosophy, Religious Confucianism, religion, theory of government, or way of li ...

and

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

Education

Wu completed his senior school certificate at the

Anglo-Chinese School Anglo-Chinese School (ACS) is a family of Methodist schools in Singapore and Indonesia. It was founded in 1886 by Bishop William Fitzjames Oldham as an extension of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Its students and alumni are referred to as "ACS ...

Penang Penang is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia along the Strait of Malacca. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Malay Peninsula. Th ...

at the age of seventeen. He was accepted into the Chung Ling High School, a well-known bilingual institution teaching in both Chinese and English, despite not knowing any Chinese, after an interview with the principal David Chen. After his graduation from Chung Ling in 1936, he was admitted to Nanking University (now known as

Nanjing University Nanjing University (NJU) is a public university in Nanjing, Jiangsu, China. It is affiliated and sponsored by the Ministry of Education. The university is part of Project 211, Project 985, and the Double First-Class Construction. The univers ...

) for a course of a Bachelor of Arts programs under Chen's recommendation.Chung Ling High School Old Boys' (Singapore) Association: 40th Anniversary Souvenir Magazine 1965-2005; p35. 2005. He later obtained a Master of Arts degree from Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy,

Tufts University Tufts University is a private research university in Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts, United States, with additional facilities in Boston and Grafton, as well as Talloires, France. Tufts also has several Doctor of Physical Therapy p ...

, and a doctoral degree in political science from

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

in 1946. He was an active athlete during his secondary school years. Furthermore, he represented Malayan Chinese at the National Sports Carnival, Shanghai, China, during the inter-war years.

Career

Academia

Wu joined the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

after obtaining his doctorate and participated in the drafting of the

Universal Declaration of Human Rights The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is an international document adopted by the United Nations General Assembly that enshrines the Human rights, rights and freedoms of all human beings. Drafted by a UN Drafting of the Universal D ...

. In 1951, he co-authored the Fenn-Wu Report on the Chinese education system in Malaysia. He was President of Tunghai University in Taiwan between 1957 and 1971. From then until 1975 he was the head of the Political Science Department, University of Singapore. He was a Professor and the Dean of the College of Graduate Studies of

Nanyang University Nanyang University () was a private university in Singapore between 1956 and 1980. During its existence, it was Singapore's only private university in the Chinese language. In 1980, Nanyang University was merged with the University of Singapore ...

from 1975 to 1980, and was acting vice-chancellor from 1976 to 1977. When Nanyang University and University of Singapore merged in 1980 to form the

National University of Singapore The National University of Singapore (NUS) is a national university, national Public university, public research university in Singapore. It was officially established in 1980 by the merging of the University of Singapore and Nanyang University ...

, he was appointed Professor of Political Science. He retired in 1981.

Offices

Professor Wu was a founding director of the Institute of East Asian Philosophies, which was established by

Goh Keng Swee Goh Keng Swee (born Robert Goh Keng Swee; 6 October 1918 – 14 May 2010) was a Singaporean statesman and economist who served as the second Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore between 1973 and 1985. Goh is widely recognised as one of the fou ...

in 1983 in the interest of studying Confucianism.

Retirement and death

After his retirement, Professor Wu, a modest person, lived in an HDB apartment in

Jurong East Jurong East is a Planning Areas of Singapore, planning area and New towns of Singapore, residential town situated in the West Region, Singapore, West Region of Singapore. It borders Jurong West and Boon Lay to the west, Clementi, Singapore, Cl ...

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

, and used taxis as his main form of transportation. He died on 17 April 1994 in

Taipei , nickname = The City of Azaleas , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Taiwan#Asia#Pacific Ocean#Earth , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country ...

, Taiwan, and a memorial service was held for him at the Presbyterian Church in

Orchard Road Orchard Road, often known colloquially as simply Orchard, is a major -long road in the Central Area, Singapore, Central Area of Singapore. A famous tourist attraction, it is an upscale shopping area, with numerous internationally renowned de ...

, Singapore. A memorial lecture series was started in his name the following year, with the inaugural lecture delivered by the Confucian scholar Tu Weiming.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wu, Teh Yao 1915 births 1994 deaths Chinese emigrants to Singapore Chinese political scientists Educators from Hainan University of Nanking alumni Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni Academic staff of the National University of Singapore People from Wenchang Scientists from Hainan Singaporean political scientists The Fletcher School at Tufts University alumni Tunghai University alumni Academic staff of Tunghai University 20th-century political scientists Presidents of universities and colleges in Taiwan