Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v2.c15.s2.t10.2

v2.c15.s2.t10.2

He studied in the United States of America in 1915 and obtained a Masters Degree from University of Chicago in 1922. He began his studies in Harvard University in 1922, and then he went to Germany and studied in the Institute for Historical and Geographical Research on East Europe, University of Berlin and obtained his Doctoral Degree in 1924. In the same year, he returned to China to teach in Peking University and became the youngest professor there. In 1929, he took up the post of Deputy Director of the Institute of Social Science Research of the Central Research Academy at the invitation of Cai Yuanpei, and established the Rural Economic Survey Group in spring of the same year. He initiated the establishment of ‘Chinese Rural Economy Research Association’ in 1933. In 1936, he went to New York via Europe to serve as an editor of the quarterly magazine, Pacific Affairs at the invitation of Owen Lattimore. In 1939, he went back to Hong Kong and assisted Soong Ching-ling to launch the industrial cooperation movement. In February 1942 after Hong Kong was occupied, he fled in disguise to Guilin, province and took the post of Director of the Western Language Department of Guangxi Guilin Normal College. In 1944, he managed to avoid getting arrest by Chongqing National Government and fled to India via Kunming with the help of his British friend. He then became a senior Reader of Delhi University and held a concurrent post of translator of the Far Eastern Liaison Office of Britain. After the Second World War in 1945, he left the Far Eastern Liaison Office and started to work in Indian History Congress during which he went to different areas of India for investigation and data collection. In April 1946, Chen Hansheng went to the United States of America and became a specially-appointed Professor of Washington State University and taught Indian history. Later, he was invited to teach and carry out researches by Johns Hopkins University and University of Pennsylvania. He returned to China at the invitation of Zhou Enlai in 1950 and to Beijing in January 1951, and was appointed as a consultant of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Vice President of Chinese People’s Institute of Foreign Affairs. Between September and December 1951, he along with the Chinese cultural delegation visited India and Myanmar. In 1953, he was elected as a member of China Council for the Promotion of International Trade and also served as the Deputy Director of China-India Friendship Association. He attended the meeting of Asian countries in India in April 1955, and was elected as a member of the Department of Philosophy and Social Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences in June. He accompanied Soong Ching-ling to visit India, Pakistan and Myanmar from December 1955 to February 1956. In 1958, he took the post of Deputy Director of the Institute for International Relations, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and founded the Institute of World History Studies, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and became the Director of the institute. Started from 1973, he served as a consultant of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and the Institute for International Relations, Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In 1978, he was appointed as a part-time Professor of the Department of International Politics of Peking University and also served at the same time as an academic committee member of four research institutes of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, namely the Institute of Rural Economy Studies, Institute of Social Science Information Studies, Institute of South Asian Studies and Institute of World History Studies. In 1979, he became the first Honorary Chairman of Chinese Association for South Asia Studies. He passed away in Beijing on March 13, 2004.