Stanley Spector (1924-1999): Life Overview

Stanley Spector, founder and first Chair of the Department of Chinese and Japanese at Washington University in St. Louis from its inception in 1963 until 1973, passed away on January 29, 1999. He came to Washington University in 1955 and held various additional posts, including Chair of the Committee on Asian Studies, and Director of International Studies from 1971 through 1989. As the department expanded, its name was later changed to Department of Asian and Near Eastern Languages and Literatures (ANELL) in 1986.

Born and raised in New York, this man of many talents and enormous vitality got his undergraduate education in the public schools of New York City and the City College of New York, from which he received a Bachelor of Science degree in education in 1946. After serving briefly in the United States Naval Reserve during World War ll, he subsequently did his graduate work at the University of Washington in Seattle, which awarded him the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History (East Asian) in 1954. He also studied at the London School of Oriental and African Studies during 1950-51.

Professor Spector’s research focussed on issues in modern and contemporary China, the history and politics of Southeast Asia, comparative studies of China and Japan, internationalizing studies in environment and the humanities, the history of Asian-Americans, and development of Chinese language studies. He taught broadly at the university level, in all of the above fields as well as in the field of East Asian Literature. He was twice a guest of the Institute of American Studies and the Institute of Far Eastern Studies of the Soviet Academy of Sciences in Moscow. In 1973 he was invited as a special guest for an individual visit to the People's Republic of China, under the auspices of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. On this occasion he traveled widely and interviewed many scholars throughout China. He also published several books in the field of Modern Chinese History: Li Hung-chang and the Huai Army (1964), The Essential Mao (1975), Guide to the Memorials of Seven Leading Officials of 19th Century China (1955; co-editor, Chang Chung-li ), Our Oriental Americans (1965; co-editor, Ritter), and a large number of articles, reviews, reports, and proposals. (Click on “Scholarly Activities.”)

Spector was active in building the East Asian Library within the Olin Library System with generous funding from the government, as well as the Carnegie, Ford, and other foundations. In the early 1960’s for five consecutive years he received funds from the Carnegie Corporation to develop Japanese and Chinese language programs in the secondary schools of St. Louis (the Mark Twain Institute). He served as President of the Association of Chinese Language Teachers for two terms, and as President of the Midwest Conference on Asian Studies (the midwest branch of the Association for Asian Studies). In the late 1960’s he was Director of the Washington/Waseda University exchange program, in the course of which he served as an Associate Director of the International Division, Waseda University, Tokyo. He was also very proud of his involvement in the establishment of “sister city” programs between St. Louis and Suwa (Japan) in 1974, and Nanjing (China) in 1979. He served on numerous scientific and governmental panels, including those of the Institute of International Studies, U.S.Office of Education; the History Review Panel of the National Endowment for the Humanities; Awards Panel of the Institute for International Education (East Asian Section); Environmental Education Panel, U.S. Office of Educaton; and the Awards Panel for Fulbright-Hays Awards, U.S. Government. On behalf of the Government and Washington University, he organized and led five Overseas Seminars in Southeast Asia (Singapore, Indonesia, and Malaysia) in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s.

At his home base at Washington University in St. Louis he served as a member of academic and administrative committees too numerous to list. To honor his accomplishments, the university established the annual Stanley Spector Lecture in East Asian History and Civilization in 1994, an event observed every spring.

Yet in spite of all this professional activity, Spector found time to enjoy a warm and rewarding home life. He was married to Betty Pei-shan Yue, a native of Shanghai, China, who joined him at the university as a teacher of Chinese language.

And finally, his friends remember him for the deep love of music which sustained him throughout his life to the very end. He was a proficient player of violin and viola and early on received professional musical training. Whether practicing alone for hours or in a spur-of-the-moment chamber music group – this was his spiritual home.