C. P. Fitzgerald

Charles Patrick Fitzgerald (better known as C. P. Fitzgerald) (5 March 1902 – 13 April 1992) was a British historian and author. He was a professor of East Asian studies with particular focus on China.[2]

Charles Patrick Fitzgerald
Born
Karl Patrick Van Hoogstraten [1]

(1902-03-05)5 March 1902
London, England, United Kingdom
Died13 April 1992(1992-04-13) (aged 90)
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Known forEast Asian studies (focus on China)
Scientific career
FieldsHistory
InstitutionsAustralian National University

Early life and education

Fitzgerald was born in London, England.[2] His parents were Dr. Hans Sauer, a South African from Cape Town.[2] and his Irish-born wife Cecile Josephine, née Fitzpatrick.[1]

Unable to attend university as his family could not afford the fees, he obtained a job in a bank. After becoming interested in East Asia and the political developments there, he studied for a diploma in Chinese at the University of London's School of Oriental Studies.[1]

Career

He first visited China at age 21, and subsequently lived and worked there for over 20 years.[3] Between 1946 and 1950 he worked there for the British Council.[2] After leaving China, Fitzgerald served as a Reader in Far Eastern history at the Australian National University, located in Canberra, Australia, from 1951 to 1953.[2] He later became Professor of Far Eastern History at the university's Institute of Advanced Studies, from 1953 to 1967.[2]

He was a foundation member of the Australian Academy of the Humanities in 1969.[4]

Personal life

Fitzgerald married Pamela Sara Knollys on 15 February 1941 at Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire, England. They had three daughters.[1]

He died in Sydney, New South Wales, in 1992.[2]

Writings

Fitzgerald's best-known book, China: A Short Cultural History (London: The Cresset Press, 1935; edited by C. P. Seligman), has been reprinted and revised several times. He authored many other books and articles, including:[5]

  • Son of Heaven: A Biography of Li Shih-Min, Founder of the T'ang Dynasty (Cambridge: University Press, 1933)
  • The Tower of Five Glories (London: The Cresset Press, 1940)
  • Introducing China(London: Pitman, 1948) (Joint author: George Yeh)
  • Revolution in China (London: Cresset Press, 1952); revised edition: The Birth of Communist China (Harmondsworth, Middlesex: Penguin, 1964)
  • Flood Tide in China (1952)
  • Finding Out About Imperial China (London, Frederick Muller, 1961; Exploring the Past series)
  • Empress Wu (Melbourne: Cheshire for the Australian National University, 1955)
  • The Chinese View of Their Place in the World (London: Oxford University Press, 1964)
  • Barbarian Beds: The Origin of the Chair in China (Canberra: Australian National University, 1965)
  • The Third China: The Chinese Communities in South-East Asia (Melbourne, Victoria: Cheshire for the Australian Institute of International Affairs, 1965)
  • Buddhism in Political Action in South East Asia (Canberra: St. Mark's Library, 1965)
  • China in the Twenty-first Century (Hobart: Adult Education Board of Tasmania, 1968)
  • China's Revolution 20 Years After (Sydney: D. B. Young, 1969)
  • The Irrationality of the Fear of China (Summer Hill, N.S.W.: Australia-China Society, 1970)
  • Communism Takes China: How the Revolution Went Red (London: B.P.C., 1971)
  • Changing Directions of Chinese Foreign Policy (Canberra: Australian Institute of International Affairs, 1971)
  • The Southern Expansion of the Chinese People: "Southern Fields and Southern Ocean" (Canberra: Australian National University Press, 1972)
  • Mao Tse-Tung and China (Harmondsworth, Middlesex and New York: Penguin Books, 1977)
  • China and South East Asia since 1945 (Camberwell, Victoria: Longman Australia, 1973)
  • Why China?: Recollections of China, 1923–1950 (Carlton, Victoria: Melbourne University Press, 1985)

See also

References
  1. Rafe de Crespigny, Fitzgerald, Charles Patrick (1902–1992), Australian Dictionary of Biography. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  2. Australian National Library (9 September 1996). "MS5189 - Fitzgerald's Papers". Retrieved 23 August 2010.
  3. Wang Gungwu, "In Memoriam: Professor C. P. Fitzgerald 1902–1992", The Australian Journal of Chinese Affairs, Issue 29, January 1993, pages 161-163. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
  4. The Academy's Early Days, humanities.org.au. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
  5. Charles Patrick Fitzgerald, 1902–1992, humanities.org.au. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
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