Lecture by Dr. Ying-kit Chan in the 42nd talk of the “Tan Lark Sye Lecture Series”
The 42nd Tan Lark Sye Lecture Series organized by the Institute of International Education, New Era University College (NEUC) was held on 2nd July 2025. The event featured Dr. Ying-kit Chan, an Asst. Prof. from National University of Singapore (NUS), His lecture titled “A Victorian Ecumene of Cosmopolitan Science: Natural Histories and New Scientists in Twentieh-Century China,” provided an in-depth exploration of the Natural Histories and New Scientists in Twentieh-Century China.
The keynote speaker, Dr. Ying-kit Chan, PhD from Princeton University, is Asst. Prof. of Chinese Studies at the National University of Singapore. Dr. Ying-kit Chan was formerly a research fellow at the International Institute for Asian Studies, Leiden University. Currently, he serves as the deputy chief editor of the International Journal of China Studies and the book review editor of the Asian Review of World Histories. He also sits on the editorial boards of Ming Qing Studies, Malaysian Journal of Chinese Studies, Southeast Asia: A Multidisciplinary Journal, Thai Journal of East Asian Studies, and the Scopus-indexed book series Asia in Transition (Springer). His research focuses on cultural studies, and the history of science in late Qing and early Republican China, and also broadly interested in the Chinese Overseas, Southeast Asian studies, and the Chineseness. His recent edited books include: Transnational Southeast Asia: Communities, Contestations, and Cultures (2025), The Cityscapes of Taipei, Hong Kong, and Singapore during the Cold War (2025), New Directions in Thai Studies (2025), Southeast Asia in China: Historical Entanglements and Contemporary Engagements (2023), Contesting Chineseness: Ethnicity, Identity, and Nation in China and Southeast Asia (2021) etc.
In this lecture, Dr. Ying-kit Chan explored how modern Chinese intellectuals participated in the development of natural history within a global scientific context. He pointed out that while natural history is often seen as part of imperial science, Chinese scholars in the late Qing and early Republican periods were not passive recipients but active contributors to transnational knowledge networks. Through their engagement with natural history, they sought scientific recognition, redefined local resources as national assets, and helped shift traditional text-based knowledge toward object-centered scientific inquiry. The lecture highlighted this process as a key stage in China’s intellectual transformation and engagement with global science.
Following the lecture, the audience, and the moderator engaged actively with the speaker during the Q&A, raising questions related to the natural histories. Dr. Ying-kit Chan provided insightful responses and in-depth answers. The lecture was hosted by Asst. Prof. Dr. Lew Siew Boon (Head, International Academic Exchange Office NEUC) attracted an audience of over 100 participants.
