The Tang Prize Foundation hosted the premiere screenings of In the South, Thinking China: From Chinese History to Nanyang Identity, a documentary featuring 2020 Tang Prize Laureate in Sinology, Professor Wang Gungwu, at the University of Malaya and the National University of Singapore on September 22 and 23, respectively. The events were presided over by CEO Dr. Jenn-Chuan Chern. This marked the first overseas public screening of a Tang Prize Laureate documentary. On September 23, Professor Wang, who will soon celebrate his 95th birthday, attended the screening at the NUS Central Library. Together with the audience, he watched the 46-minute film chronicling his life journey and contributions. His heartfelt sharing afterward moved the audience deeply, and the documentary received enthusiastic acclaim. Following the premiere, the documentary was officially released on the Tang Prize YouTube channel (https://youtu.be/Mq9o1CzZ3YY).
Dr. Chern noted the symbolic significance of choosing these two institutions for the premiere, given Professor Wang's deep connections with both universities, and expressed gratitude for their wholehearted support. Professor Wang received his bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Malaya in the 1950s and served as Dean of the Arts Faculty and Head of the History Department from 1962 to 1968. From 1997 to 2007, he was Director of the East Asian Institute at NUS, where he continues to serve as a University Professor. After receiving the Tang Prize in 2020, he allocated the NT$10 million research grant to aid the “Margaret Wang Memorial Scholarship” at NUS's Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences, supporting young Southeast Asian scholars in Sinological studies.
Dr. Chern further explained that the documentary's production, delayed by COVID-19, began in 2023. The professional film crew conducted interviews across Singapore and Malaysia, featuring not only in-depth conversations with Professor Wang but also insights from academic leaders, business figures, and cultural representatives from the Chinese community. The documentary incorporates valuable historical materials and footage, meticulously portraying Professor Wang's extraordinary life, scholarly achievements, and his lasting influence on global Sinology. As part of the Tang Prize laureate documentary series, it aims to share wisdom through the perspective of world-class scholars, fulfilling the Tang Prize's educational mission.
The documentary traces Professor Wang's life journey, exploring questions of identity among diasporic Chinese and highlighting how he, growing up outside China yet nurtured by Confucian traditions, developed his unique perspective of “viewing China from the South.” It presents his analysis of China's internal historical dynamics and its interactions with southern neighbors, offering a comprehensive understanding of the Chinese people's position in the international community. The film summarizes his three major insights into Chinese history: the Sino-centric World Order: Changing Visions of Tianxia, Sinology from a Southern Perspective, and Research on Chinese in Southeast Asia: Multiplicity of Identities. It also draws from his two autobiographies, Home Is Not Here and Home Is Where We Are, to convey his profound understanding of “home.”
Professor Wang was awarded the 2020 Tang Prize in Sinology for his ground-breaking research on the Chinese world order, Chinese overseas, and Chinese migratory experience. As the leading historian on Sino-Southeast Asian relations, he develops a unique approach to understanding China by scrutinizing its long and complex relation with its southern neighbors. His erudition and insight have significantly enriched the explanation of the Chinese people’s changing place in the world, traditionally developed from an internalist perspective or in relation to the West.
About the Tang Prize
Since the advent of globalization, mankind has been able to enjoy the convenience brought forth by the advancement of human civilization and science. Yet a multitude of challenges, such as climate change, the emergence of new infectious diseases, wealth gap, and moral degradation, have surfaced along the way. Against this backdrop, Dr. Samuel Yin established the Tang Prize in December 2012. It consists of four award categories, namely Sustainable Development, Biopharmaceutical Science, Sinology, and Rule of Law. Every other year, four independent and professional selection committees, comprising many internationally renowned experts, scholars, and Nobel winners, choose Tang Prize winners from a pool of nominees who have influenced and made substantive contributions to the world, regardless of ethnicity, nationality or gender. A cash prize of NT$50 million (approx. US$1.7 million) is allocated to each category, with NT$10 million (approx. US$ 0.35 million) of it being a research grant intended to encourage professionals in every field to examine mankind’s most urgent needs in the 21st century, and become leading forces in the development of human society through their outstanding research outcomes and active civic engagement.
