Zhou Youguang is the scholar who invented pinyin, a system of romanisation for Chinese characters Since 1958, Chinese primary school students have learnt pinyin, before they learn characters. Thanks to him, one billion Chinese have become literate – the greatest contribution by a linguist in history. After an extraordinary life, he died in January 2017 at the age of 111 years. He had several lives – a banker in Shanghai, New York and London: supplying food and textiles for the army and ordinary people during World War Two: after 1949, a linguist. He lived through the campaigns of the Maoist period, spending 28 months in a labour camp in west China. He wrote 49 books, many critical of the Soviet Union, the Soviet model used in China and of Mao Zedong. In the last 20 years of his life, he was one of the few intellectuals in China willing to speak the truth in public. He lived so long thanks to an innate optimism, intellectual curiosity about everything and a Buddhist-like humility to see himself and his belongings as of little value.
The Speaker
Mark O’Neill was born in London, England and educated at Marlborough College and New College, Oxford. He worked in Washington, DC, Manchester and Belfast before coming to Hong Kong in 1978. He has lived in Asia ever since. He worked as a journalist for 30 years here, in Taiwan, India, the PRC and Japan, for Reuters, SCMP and many other publications. Since 2006, he has been writing books on Chinese history and society. Nine have editions in Chinese, simplified and traditional, as well as English, including “China’s Great Liberal of the 20th Century – Hu Shih”.
Admission: $175 for members, $220 for guests /non-members
(Light refreshments are included in the admission fee)
Registration: Please email <membership@royalasiaticsociety.org.hk> in advance to register your attendance.
The details of the payment methods will be emailed to those people who email us for booking. Upon receipt of payment, your registration will be confirmed by email.
Registration will be closed at 12:00 noon on 15 January. Walk-in guests are welcome depending on availability.