"Tan Lark Sye Professorship in Chinese Language and Culture" Public Lecture Series
About the Fund
The Tan Lark Sye Professorship in Chinese Language and Culture
(The Professorship) was established in 1998 by the Association of
Nanyang University Graduates in commemoration of the late founder of
Nanyang University (Nantah), Mr. Tan Lark Sye, and to honour him for his
great contributions to education and celebrate the centenary of his birth
in 1997. All the funds raised through the Professorship are managed
by Nanyang Technological University (NTU). The mission of the
Professorship is to pass down and spread the convictions of Mr. Tan Lark
Sye and our forefathers in setting up the university and schools so as to
promote the research and development of the Chinese language and
culture studies. The interest income of the Professorship is mainly used
to invite internationally renowned scholars to deliver public lectures and
conduct academic seminars in order to benefit the general public and
raise social awareness and concern for the issues with regards to the
Chinese language and culture. It also strives to make NTU the research
hub for the studies of Chinese language and culture in Southeast Asia.
Has Invited
20
Renowned Scholars
Has Organised
51
Public Lectures
Latest Visiting Professor of "Tan Lye Sye Professorship in Chinese Language and Culture" (2024)

陈勇教授
加州大学欧文分校
University of California, Irvine
March 2025
Professor Yong Chen received his PhD degree from Cornell University. He is now professor of history at the University of California, Irvine (UCI), and Associate Dean in its School of Humanities. He also served as UCI’s inaugural faculty director of the International Student Excellence Program for 7 years.
His publications include Chinese San Francisco: A Transnational Community, 1850-1943 (its Chinese translation was published by Peking University Press) and Chop Suey, USA: The Story of Chinese Food in America, which received honorable mention in the 2015 PROSE Awards in American History. He is co-editor of New Perspectives on American History (in Chinese and English).
He has made longstanding efforts to engage the public. He co-curated “‘Have You Eaten Yet?’ The Chinese Restaurant in America” in museums in Philadelphia and NY City. He was a member of the US National Park Service Advisory Board National Historic Landmarks Committee.
Professor Chen has worked frequently with media organisations in four different languages in different countries to comment on issues concerning food, Sino-American interactions, immigration, and higher education. These include US News and World Report, the New York Times, Chicago Tribune, Time Magazine, the History Channel, Bloomberg, the Voice of America, and the National Public Radio (U.S.), Radio France Internationale, Correio Braziliense, CCTV (China), and China Radio International.
To deepen his understanding of food and Sino-American economic interactions, he has worked with corporations on market research, strategic planning, and executive training, which include Prudential, Haier, International Financial Corporation of World Bank, Griffin Strategic Advisors, RISE, Franklin Education Foundation, and Tillamook.
Former Visiting Scholars of "Tan Lark Sye Professorship in Chinese Language and Culture"

唐小兵教授
香港中文大学
CUHK
April 2024

王汎森教授
台湾中央研究院
Academia Sinica
Aug 2023

孙朝奋教授
斯坦福大学
Stanford University
March 2023

雷金庆教授
香港大学、新南威尔士大学
HKU & UNSW
Aug - Sep 2019

柯雷教授
莱顿大学
Leidan University
Jan 2019

本杰明·艾尔曼教授
普林斯顿大学
Princeton University
Oct - Nov 2018

柯马丁教授
普林斯顿大学
Princeton University
Aug 2017

程艾蓝教授
法兰西学院
Collège de France
Mar 2017

阎云翔教授
加州大学洛杉矶分校
University of California, LA
Aug - Sep 2016

刘禾教授
哥伦比亚大学
Columbia University
Jul – Aug 2015

石静远教授
耶鲁大学
Yale University
Nov 2014 - Jan 2015

宋怡明教授
哈佛大学
Harvard University
Mar 2014

欧立德教授
哈佛大学
Harvard University
Aug - Sep 2013

王德威教授
哈佛大学
Harvard University
Mar 2012

周敏教授
加州大学洛杉矶分校
University of California,
LA
Apr 2011

汪晖教授
清华大学
Tsinghua University
Oct 2009

金观涛教授
台湾政治大学
Chengchi University
Apr - May 2009

陈平原教授
北京大学及香港中文大学双聘教授
PKU & CUHK
Nov 2007

邹嘉彦教授
香港城市大学
City University of Hong Kong
Jan 2002

颜清湟教授
阿德莱德大学
University of Adelaide
Aug 2000