Scholars gathered yesterday at Academia Sinica to pay a final tribute to the institute's former vice president -- archeologist and anthropologist Chang Kwang-chih (
"Though we knew this day would come sooner or later, I still find it hard to believe that it has happened," Lee Yuan-tseh (李遠哲), president of the Academic Sinica, said at the memorial service yesterday.
Lee's moving tribute referred to the fact that Chang, who was more widely known as "KC," had suffered from Parkinson's disease for almost 10 years.
Lee recalled a time in 1994 when he was desperately searching for a deputy, who he preferred to be an intellectual specializing in human science.
"KC was unanimously the most suitable candidate according to the opinions of members in the Academia Sinica," he said.
"Despite his illness, KC returned to Taiwan from Harvard University with a strong sense of mission to his homeland."
Lee said that Chang had devoted a great deal of time translating Taiwanese documents into English, trying to increase the international community's knowledge of Taiwan's culture.
A graduate of the Department of Anthropology at National Taiwan University in 1954, Chang obtained his doctoral degree from Harvard University in 1961. He taught in the department of archeology at Yale University from 1961 to 1973, eventually becoming head of the department.
In 1977 he was employed by Harvard University and spent most of his time teaching there until his death.
Chang was elected as a member of Academia Sinica in 1974. In 1979 he was chosen to be a member of the National Academy of Sciences in the US.
Just as his research focused on the archeological studies of both China and Taiwan, Chang's life experience also encompassed both sides of the Taiwan Strait.
Born in Beijing, but of Taiwanese ancestry, Chang came to Taiwan at age 15 to attend high school.
Having a strong Taiwanese consciousness, he was victimized by the ethnic conflicts that erupted in Taiwan between mainland Chinese and Taiwanese during the White Terror era because of his ties with China.
He was jailed in 1949 because of his immersion in Chinese literature and philosophy.
A specialist in Far East Asian prehistory, he considered the racial tension utterly irrational and pointed out the absurdity that "conducting research about China" was tantamount to favoring "Chinese nationalism."
In 1996 he lamented the dearth of Taiwanese archeologists who focused on China.
He noted the ideological disparity had apparently sullied the independent quality of academic research.
Being a Taiwanese, Chang insisted that it was absolutely essential for Taiwanese archeologists to study Chinese archeology because it was of great value to the development of the archeology of the world.
"If one hides oneself in a tiny room, it is impossible to have any progress in one's academic achievement," he said.
On the other hand, Chang placed a high regard on the research value of Taiwanese history because he thought, "though a small island, Taiwan can still exert its influence on world history."
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