Harry Felix Simon (13 September 1923 – 7 July 2019) was a sinologist at the University of Melbourne, where he taught for 27 years.[1]
Early life
editHarry Simon was born on 13 September 1923 in Berlin. His father was the distinguished scholar of Chinese, Manchu, and Tibetan Walter Simon,[2] and the family moved to London to escape the Nazis in 1936.
Career
editAfter studies in Chinese in London and then in Chengdu, he served as interpreter and published in Monumenta Serica and Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies. After the Myer Foundation established Oriental Studies at the University of Melbourne, he became the foundation professor of Chinese there in 1961 and oversaw the growth of Asian languages there as well as playing a role in building the scholarly institutions of Asian studies in Australia.[3] He became dean of the faculty of arts between 1966-1977. Retiring from University of Melbourne in 1988, he continued his career at Lingnan University in Hong Kong, ultimately serving as vice-president of the university before moving back to Australia in 1996. In 2010, he made a major gift of Chinese books to the university's library.[4] As a scholar, he also published on translation and literature, but his contributions to Chinese linguistics may be best-known.[5] His 1963 George Ernest Morrison Lecture in Ethnology was entitled "Some Motivations of Chinese Foreign Policy."[6]
Death
editReferences
edit- ^ Simon, Andrew Endrey, Christopher Nailer and Carol (2020-03-10). "Torchbearer for Chinese studies at the University of Melbourne". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2021-08-26.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "Simon Collection". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 2021-08-26.
- ^ Legge, John (1995). "ASAA's formation— a twentieth birthday account". Asian Studies Review. 19: 83–90. doi:10.1080/03147539508713045.
- ^ http://www.alra.org.au/newsletter1007/1007_yeung_2.pdf [bare URL PDF]
- ^ such as https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/610617.pdf Simon, Harry F. "Some remarks on the structure of the verb complex in Standard Chinese." Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies 21.3 (1958): 553-557.
- ^ "The George E. Morrison Lectures in Ethnology - Australian Centre on China in the World - ANU". ciw.anu.edu.au. Archived from the original on 2022-11-14. Retrieved 2021-08-27.
- ^ "Prof Harry Felix Simon Death Notice - Melbourne, Victoria". The Age. 11 July 2019. Retrieved 10 September 2021.