George E. Taylor
Encyclopedia
George Edward Taylor was a prolific and influential scholar of Chinese studies, professor at University of Washington
, Seattle from 1939 to 1969, and director of the Far Eastern and Russian Institute (later the Henry Jackson School) at the University of Washington from 1946 to 1969. He became a naturalized U.S. citizen on May 11, 1943. He married Roberta Stevens White in 1933. She died in 1967. He married Florence R. Kluckhohn in 1968.
and Harvard University
, he studied in Peking from 1930 to 1932 on a fellowship from the Harvard-Yenching Institute
. From 1933 to 1936, he was professor of international relations at the Central Political Institute in Nanking, then moved to teach at Yenching University
in Beiping. He was among the group of scholars in Peking who exchanged ideas and advanced the study of Chinese history with new techniques, laying the groundwork for, among other projects the Chinese Dynastic Histories Project organized by Karl August Wittfogel
and sponsored by the Institute of Pacific Relations
. After war broke out in 1937, Taylor spent the summer of 1938 traveling with the Chinese Communist Eighth Route Army
, and smuggled medical supplies to them. These experiences were the basis of his book, The Struggle for North China.
In 1939 Taylor become chair of the Department of Oriental Studies at the University of Washington
, Seattle. He took leave in 1942 to become deputy director of the U.S. Office of War Information in charge of Pacific operations. Under his leadership the Foreign Morale Analysis Division recruited Clyde Kluckhohn, the Harvard anthropologist, and a team of twenty five others to study Japanese culture in order to formulate policy based on the best understanding. These studies included Ruth Benedict
’s The Chrysanthemum and the Sword
. After the war he was director of the Office of War Information at the State Department. Among the others who worked for Taylor were John Fairbank, who Taylor later criticized for failing to understand the dangers of Soviet Communism.
Back in Seattle in 1947, Professor Taylor contended that the decision to drop the atomic bombs on Japan had not been based on all the available evidence. It is essential for the future, he said, that the skills of social scientists be used in the formulation of key decisions. Under his leadership as director, the Far Eastern and Russia Institute was home to scholars such as Wittfogel, Franz Michael, Hsiao Kung-ch’uan, and Chu T’ung-tsu.
As the Chinese Communists gained the upper hand in China, Taylor was among the strongest voices condemning American policy and opposing diplomatic recognition of the new government. With his colleagues Wittfogel and Nicholas Poppe, Taylor testified before the McCarran Committee that the scholar and activist Owen Lattimore
had acted in the interests of the Soviet Union and had not recognized the danger of Soviet expansionism. In addition to these scholarly and political activities, Taylor co-authored a standard survey text, The Far East in the Modern World, which went through three editions. In the 1960s he was a strong supporter of American policies in the Vietnam War
.
He retired from the University of Washington in 1969, but turned to the promotion of trade, serving as president of the Washington Council on International Trade from 1976 to 1987.
University of Washington
University of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...
, Seattle from 1939 to 1969, and director of the Far Eastern and Russian Institute (later the Henry Jackson School) at the University of Washington from 1946 to 1969. He became a naturalized U.S. citizen on May 11, 1943. He married Roberta Stevens White in 1933. She died in 1967. He married Florence R. Kluckhohn in 1968.
Life and career
George Taylor was born in Coventry, England, on December 13, 1905, and received degrees in history and politics from the University of Birmingham before coming to the United States in 1928 on a Commonwealth Fund fellowship. After study at Johns Hopkins UniversityJohns Hopkins University
The Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...
and Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, he studied in Peking from 1930 to 1932 on a fellowship from the Harvard-Yenching Institute
Harvard-Yenching Institute
Harvard-Yenching Institute is an independent foundation dedicated to advancing higher education in Asia in the humanities and social sciences, with special attention to the study of Asian culture...
. From 1933 to 1936, he was professor of international relations at the Central Political Institute in Nanking, then moved to teach at Yenching University
Yenching University
Yenching University was a university in Beijing, China. It integrated three Christian colleges in the city in 1919. Yenching is an alternative name of Beijing - derived from its status as capital of Yan state, one of the seven Warring States from 5th century BC to 3rd century BC.The university...
in Beiping. He was among the group of scholars in Peking who exchanged ideas and advanced the study of Chinese history with new techniques, laying the groundwork for, among other projects the Chinese Dynastic Histories Project organized by Karl August Wittfogel
Karl August Wittfogel
Karl August Wittfogel was a German-American playwright, historian, and sinologist. Originally a Marxist and an active member of the Communist Party of Germany, after the Second World War Wittfogel was an equally fierce anticommunist.-Biography:...
and sponsored by the Institute of Pacific Relations
Institute of Pacific Relations
The Institute of Pacific Relations was an international NGO established in 1925 to provide a forum for discussion of problems and relations between nations of the Pacific Rim. The International Secretariat, the center of most IPR activity over the years, consisted of professional staff members who...
. After war broke out in 1937, Taylor spent the summer of 1938 traveling with the Chinese Communist Eighth Route Army
Eighth Route Army
The Eighth Route Army was the larger of the two major Chinese communist forces that formed a unit of the National Revolutionary Army of the Republic of China which fought the Japanese from 1937 to 1945. In contrast to most of the National Revolutionary Army, it was controlled by the Communist...
, and smuggled medical supplies to them. These experiences were the basis of his book, The Struggle for North China.
In 1939 Taylor become chair of the Department of Oriental Studies at the University of Washington
University of Washington
University of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...
, Seattle. He took leave in 1942 to become deputy director of the U.S. Office of War Information in charge of Pacific operations. Under his leadership the Foreign Morale Analysis Division recruited Clyde Kluckhohn, the Harvard anthropologist, and a team of twenty five others to study Japanese culture in order to formulate policy based on the best understanding. These studies included Ruth Benedict
Ruth Benedict
Ruth Benedict was an American anthropologist, cultural relativist, and folklorist....
’s The Chrysanthemum and the Sword
The Chrysanthemum and the Sword
The Chrysanthemum and the Sword: Patterns of Japanese Culture is an influential 1946 study of Japan by American anthropologist Ruth Benedict written at the invitation of the U.S. Office of War Information in order to understand and predict the behavior of the Japanese in World War II by reference...
. After the war he was director of the Office of War Information at the State Department. Among the others who worked for Taylor were John Fairbank, who Taylor later criticized for failing to understand the dangers of Soviet Communism.
Back in Seattle in 1947, Professor Taylor contended that the decision to drop the atomic bombs on Japan had not been based on all the available evidence. It is essential for the future, he said, that the skills of social scientists be used in the formulation of key decisions. Under his leadership as director, the Far Eastern and Russia Institute was home to scholars such as Wittfogel, Franz Michael, Hsiao Kung-ch’uan, and Chu T’ung-tsu.
As the Chinese Communists gained the upper hand in China, Taylor was among the strongest voices condemning American policy and opposing diplomatic recognition of the new government. With his colleagues Wittfogel and Nicholas Poppe, Taylor testified before the McCarran Committee that the scholar and activist Owen Lattimore
Owen Lattimore
Owen Lattimore was an American author, educator, and influential scholar of Central Asia, especially Mongolia. In the 1930s he was editor of Pacific Affairs, a journal published by the Institute of Pacific Relations, and then taught at Johns Hopkins University from 1938 to 1963...
had acted in the interests of the Soviet Union and had not recognized the danger of Soviet expansionism. In addition to these scholarly and political activities, Taylor co-authored a standard survey text, The Far East in the Modern World, which went through three editions. In the 1960s he was a strong supporter of American policies in the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
.
He retired from the University of Washington in 1969, but turned to the promotion of trade, serving as president of the Washington Council on International Trade from 1976 to 1987.
Major works
- George E. Taylor, The Struggle for North China (New York: International Secretariat Institute of Pacific Relations, 1940).
- - America in the New Pacific (New York: Macmillan 1942).
- -, Maxwell Slutz Stewart, et al., Changing China (St. Louis, Dallas, Institute of Pacific Relations, American Council, 1942).
- Franz H. Michael, George E. Taylor, The Far East in the Modern World (New York,: Holt, 1956; Hindsdale, Illinois: Dryden Press, 3rd, 1975).