Earl H. Pritchard
Encyclopedia
Earl H. Pritchard was a scholar of China
and one of the founders of the Association for Asian Studies
and served as its president.
Pritchard was born on June 5, 1907 in Pullman
, Washington, where he spent his childhood on the farm of his father, Thomas Pritchard. He attended Washington State College and graduated with his B.A. in 1928. He then attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign where completed his M.A. in 1929. Returning to Pullman in 1930, he applied for a Rhodes Scholarship
and became the second student from Washington State College to win the scholarship. He spent three years at the University of Oxford
and was awarded his PhD in history in 1933.
After completing his doctoral dissertation, Pritchard taught at Reed College
in Portland, Oregon
from 1934 until transferring to Washington State in 1935, where he stayed until 1937. He studied Chinese
at Columbia University
and the University of Michigan
between 1937 and 1939, but he later regretted that his Chinese did not reach the level of proficiency he felt any serious student of China should be.
Pritchard taught at Wayne State University
in Detroit between 1939 and 1947. This stint was interrupted from 1942 to 1945 when he was a civilian analyst with military intelligence
during the Second World War. He was in charge of a 15-20 person group that studied Japanese transportation networks in China and Japan. He was the first recipient of the War Department
's highest award for intelligence service, the Distinguished Civilian Service Medal. After the end of the war, he was an Associate Professor of history
at the University of Chicago
from 1947 until 1962. He was disappointed when the Fulbright Fellowship that he earned in 1948 to go to China was canceled because of the Communist revolution led by Mao Zedong
that was sweeping away the nationalist forces of Chiang Kai-shek
at the time. Pritchard never had an opportunity to visit the country he researched and taught about for most of his life, although he did travel to Japan
in 1957. He moved to Tucson in Arizona
to assume the chair of the Oriental Studies Department at the University of Arizona
. He significantly built up the program until his retirement in 1972. He taught for several more years as Professor Emeritus.
Pritchard was the founder and editor of the Bulletin of Far Eastern Bibliography which became the Far Eastern Quarterly before assuming its present form as the Journal of Asian Studies
. He was one of the founders of the Far Eastern Association, which later became the Association for Asian Studies
. Se served as the President from 1962 to 1963, Vice President from 1961 to 1962, was a director in 1948-51, 1952-55, and 1961-64.
He cited the major achievements of his career as the foundation of what was to become the Association for Asian Studies and the Journal of Asian Studies, and secondly the growth of the oriental studies at the University of Arizona. He cited as his third most important achievement the publication of Anglo-Chinese Relations During the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries’’ (a compacted version of his M.A. thesis), The Crucial Years of Early Anglo-Chinese Relations 1750-
1800 (based in part on his doctoral thesis, 1936), sections written for The American Historical Association's Guide to Historical Literature (1961), the coauthoring of Volume 4 of the UNESCO
History of Mankind: Cultural and Scientific Development.
He died on May 9, 1995 in Tucson at the age of 87.
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
and one of the founders of the Association for Asian Studies
Association for Asian Studies
The Association for Asian Studies is a U.S. society focused on facilitating contact and information exchange among scholars of Asian fields. It is the self-proclaimed largest society of its kind. The Association consists of eminent Asianists, and is a non-profit organization...
and served as its president.
Pritchard was born on June 5, 1907 in Pullman
Pullman, Washington
Pullman is the largest city in Whitman County, Washington, United States. The population was 24,675 at the 2000 census and 29,799 according to the 2010 census...
, Washington, where he spent his childhood on the farm of his father, Thomas Pritchard. He attended Washington State College and graduated with his B.A. in 1928. He then attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign where completed his M.A. in 1929. Returning to Pullman in 1930, he applied for a Rhodes Scholarship
Rhodes Scholarship
The Rhodes Scholarship, named after Cecil Rhodes, is an international postgraduate award for study at the University of Oxford. It was the first large-scale programme of international scholarships, and is widely considered the "world's most prestigious scholarship" by many public sources such as...
and became the second student from Washington State College to win the scholarship. He spent three years at the University of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
and was awarded his PhD in history in 1933.
After completing his doctoral dissertation, Pritchard taught at Reed College
Reed College
Reed College is a private, independent, liberal arts college located in southeast Portland, Oregon. Founded in 1908, Reed is a residential college with a campus located in Portland's Eastmoreland neighborhood, featuring architecture based on the Tudor-Gothic style, and a forested canyon wilderness...
in Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
from 1934 until transferring to Washington State in 1935, where he stayed until 1937. He studied Chinese
Chinese language
The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
and the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
between 1937 and 1939, but he later regretted that his Chinese did not reach the level of proficiency he felt any serious student of China should be.
Pritchard taught at Wayne State University
Wayne State University
Wayne State University is a public research university located in Detroit, Michigan, United States, in the city's Midtown Cultural Center Historic District. Founded in 1868, WSU consists of 13 schools and colleges offering more than 400 major subject areas to over 32,000 graduate and...
in Detroit between 1939 and 1947. This stint was interrupted from 1942 to 1945 when he was a civilian analyst with military intelligence
Military intelligence
Military intelligence is a military discipline that exploits a number of information collection and analysis approaches to provide guidance and direction to commanders in support of their decisions....
during the Second World War. He was in charge of a 15-20 person group that studied Japanese transportation networks in China and Japan. He was the first recipient of the War Department
United States Department of War
The United States Department of War, also called the War Department , was the United States Cabinet department originally responsible for the operation and maintenance of the United States Army...
's highest award for intelligence service, the Distinguished Civilian Service Medal. After the end of the war, he was an Associate Professor of history
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
at the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
from 1947 until 1962. He was disappointed when the Fulbright Fellowship that he earned in 1948 to go to China was canceled because of the Communist revolution led by Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong, also transliterated as Mao Tse-tung , and commonly referred to as Chairman Mao , was a Chinese Communist revolutionary, guerrilla warfare strategist, Marxist political philosopher, and leader of the Chinese Revolution...
that was sweeping away the nationalist forces of Chiang Kai-shek
Chiang Kai-shek
Chiang Kai-shek was a political and military leader of 20th century China. He is known as Jiǎng Jièshí or Jiǎng Zhōngzhèng in Mandarin....
at the time. Pritchard never had an opportunity to visit the country he researched and taught about for most of his life, although he did travel to Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
in 1957. He moved to Tucson in Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
to assume the chair of the Oriental Studies Department at the University of Arizona
University of Arizona
The University of Arizona is a land-grant and space-grant public institution of higher education and research located in Tucson, Arizona, United States. The University of Arizona was the first university in the state of Arizona, founded in 1885...
. He significantly built up the program until his retirement in 1972. He taught for several more years as Professor Emeritus.
Pritchard was the founder and editor of the Bulletin of Far Eastern Bibliography which became the Far Eastern Quarterly before assuming its present form as the Journal of Asian Studies
Journal of Asian Studies
The Journal of Asian Studies is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the Association for Asian Studies, covering Asian studies. The journal was first established in 1941 as The Far Eastern Quarterly, obtaining its new title in September 1956...
. He was one of the founders of the Far Eastern Association, which later became the Association for Asian Studies
Association for Asian Studies
The Association for Asian Studies is a U.S. society focused on facilitating contact and information exchange among scholars of Asian fields. It is the self-proclaimed largest society of its kind. The Association consists of eminent Asianists, and is a non-profit organization...
. Se served as the President from 1962 to 1963, Vice President from 1961 to 1962, was a director in 1948-51, 1952-55, and 1961-64.
He cited the major achievements of his career as the foundation of what was to become the Association for Asian Studies and the Journal of Asian Studies, and secondly the growth of the oriental studies at the University of Arizona. He cited as his third most important achievement the publication of Anglo-Chinese Relations During the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries’’ (a compacted version of his M.A. thesis), The Crucial Years of Early Anglo-Chinese Relations 1750-
1800 (based in part on his doctoral thesis, 1936), sections written for The American Historical Association's Guide to Historical Literature (1961), the coauthoring of Volume 4 of the UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
History of Mankind: Cultural and Scientific Development.
He died on May 9, 1995 in Tucson at the age of 87.