Where is Home?

Home is Not Here

Nearing his nineties, Wang Gungwu, a leading overseas Chinese historian, wrote about his "long semi-nomadic life." Starting in colonial Southeast Asia, he experienced colonization, war, unrest, and revolution, spending most of his life migrating across three continents. This rich and unique history of wandering is woven into the fabric of 20th-century history.
The memoir consists of two volumes. The first volume, "Where is Home?", looks back at Wang Gungwu's childhood, which was full of uncertainty and transitions. This period had a profound impact on him and became the foundation of his academic and life.
Wang Gungwu was born in Southeast Asia in 1930, receiving a classical Chinese and formal English education. Forced to drop out of school due to the Japanese invasion of Southeast Asia, he spent years wandering the streets, learning Cantonese, Malay, Hakka, and Hokkien with a youthful curiosity. He also gained a firsthand understanding of the complexities of "Chineseness" in the colonial period. By a miraculous chance, he resumed his studies on the eve of Japan's defeat and was admitted to National Central University. However, he witnessed firsthand the disillusionment with the China he had been taught by his parents. However, this moment gradually soothed the young Wang Gungwu's confusion and unease about "where home lies." Standing at the intersection of the "multiple worlds" shaped by his childhood experiences, he "began to feel that nothing could stand in my way of understanding everything."
The second volume, "Home Is Where the Heart Is," was co-authored by Wang Gungwu and his wife Lin Pingting, continuing their journey of emotional and intellectual exploration.
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"Wang Gungwu is a great Chinese historian, widely acclaimed in Malaysia, China, the UK, Australia, and Singapore. This moving, intimate, and humble autobiography recounts his childhood and his journey as an academic in and outside of China."
—Ezra Vogel, Henry Ford II Professor of Social Sciences, Emeritus, Harvard University

"A veteran of Chinese studies and Southeast Asian ethnic Chinese research, Wang Gungwu writes in the most intimate way about his early memories of British Malaya and China. This starting point in life could have led to a chaotic and wandering life, but he sailed towards a more magnificent world."
—Prasenjit Duara, Oscar Tang Professor at Duke University

2020-09-01

香港中文大學出版社

236

9789882371989