Jonathan Spence

Jonathan D. Spence (Self-adopted Chinese name: simplified Chinese: 史景迁; traditional Chinese: 史景遷; pinyin: Shǐ Jǐngqiān, born August 11, 1936) is a British-born historian and public intellectual specializing in Chinese history. He was Sterling Professor of History at Yale University from 1993 to 2008. His most famous book is The Search for Modern China, which has become one of the standard texts on the last several hundred years of Chinese history. A prolific author, reviewer, and essayist, he has written a dozen books on China. He retired from Yale in 2008. In May and June 2008, he gave the 60th anniversary Reith Lectures, which were broadcasted on BBC Radio 4. Spence's major interest is modern China and, especially, its relations with...