Taiwanese-American historian Hsu Cho-yun (許倬雲) yesterday said his work regarding the ancient Chinese myth of Da Yu (大禹) was an example of integrating social science methodologies into historical research that helped him win this year’s Tang Prize in Sinology.
The 94-year-old academic said during a prerecorded video at the Tang Prize Masters’ Forum that his research into the 4,200-year-old myth of Da Yu, also known as Yu the Great or the Tamer of the Flood, showed that there was indeed major flooding at that time, indicating the legend could be rooted in reality.
Da Yu, a Xia Dynasty ruler, was widely popular for implementing flood controls and ending decades-long floods that devastated his people.
Photo: CNA
Hsu said he visited many areas mentioned in the legend and that his research showed it was grounded in historical and geographical reality.
He also cited scientific evidence that suggested glacial lakes flooded the Tibetan Plateau, along with the headwaters of the Yellow and Yangtze rivers, and that there were decades-long torrential rains in the area where Da Yu lived.
Hsu, who specializes in ancient Chinese history, won the prize for his “holistic approach to the study of Chinese history; his engagement with the cultural and intellectual exchanges between China and the world; and his capacity to broach contemporary issues from the perspective of antiquity,” the Tang Prize Foundation said in a news release.
Born in 1930 in Xiamen, China, Hsu and his family moved to Taiwan in 1948, one year before the end of the Chinese Civil War.
He received his master’s and bachelor’s degrees from National Taiwan University (NTU) before earning a doctorate from the University of Chicago.
Hsu held academic positions at Academia Sinica from 1956 to 1971, before moving to the US to teach at the University of Pittsburgh in 1970.
After graduating, he taught at NTU for a few years and then as a professor of history and sociology at the University of Pittsburgh for 30 years.
The Tang Prize in Sinology recognizes the study of sinology, awarding research on China and related fields, such as Chinese thought, history, philology, linguistics, archeology, philosophy, religion, traditional canons, literature and art.
A NT$40 million (US$1.26 million) cash prize and an additional NT$10 million in research funding are allocated to each award category.
“With his erudition and public spirit, professor Hsu best exemplifies a Sinologist’s historical sensibility and worldly vision,” the foundation said.
Hsu donated the NT$50 million he received for the prize to create a scholarship dedicated to bringing doctoral students from around the world to Academia Sinica, Taiwan’s top research institution, to finish their dissertations, the foundation said.
The inaugural Sinology laureate was Yu Ying-shih (余英時) in 2014. William Theodore de Bary won the 2016 prize, followed by Stephen Owen and Yoshinobu Shiba in 2018, Wang Gungwu (王賡武) in 2020, and Jessica Rawson in 2022.
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