Founded in 1955 by Professor John King Fairbank, the Fairbank Center has been the home for China Studies at Harvard for almost 70 years.
The Fairbank Center was founded in 1955 by Professor John King Fairbank, a leading scholar in modern and contemporary China studies. The Center was originally called the Center for East Asian Research. Under Professor Fairbank’s leadership, the Center took an active role in promoting the study of modern and contemporary China from a social science perspective. At the time, this focus marked a sharp departure from the field of Sinology, which had emphasized the study of texts from a humanistic perspective.
The Center for East Asian Research was renamed as the John K. Fairbank Center for East Asian Research following Professor Fairbank’s retirement, in honor of his signal contributions to China studies through his teaching and publications. In 2007, after institutes for Japan studies and Korea studies had been established at Harvard, the Fairbank Center was renamed to show its strength in Chinese Studies.
Meet our Faculty Director
“The work that we do as scholars, in forging connections to better comprehend the wide array of changes taking place in China, is more important than ever, especially given China’s growing influence and the dramatic transformations taking place in our world.”
