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John Dragon Young was a dedicated and talented scholar and a gifted teacher inspiring students and colleagues as well as the wider community to which he contributed so much in the course of his academic career. Beginning his academic career as a historian of Chinese History, John viewed history as a necessary and significant dimension to the understanding of the modern world. Through this understanding, he believed that the disturbing and perplexing issues of the day could be disentangled, put in perspective, and would encourage a dialogue between all segments of society. In this he attained the ideal of a unity between thought and action, between the rationalism of academia and the society of which it is a part.
Born in Beijing, raised in Hong Kong, John set sail for the United States to study for a higher degree-a B.A. Magna Cum Laude, M.A., finally attaining the Ph.D. at the University of California at Davis in 1976. This voyage set the course for an abiding concern of John's life-the interaction and dialogue between East and West. His pioneering book, Christianity and Confucianism: The First Encounter, won him the respect and admiration of scholars internationally.
John returned to take up a post at the University of Hong Kong in 1977, first as a Research Officer of the Centre of Asian Studies and as a teacher in...