Roderick MacFarquhar
Encyclopedia
Roderick Lemonde MacFarquhar (born 2 December 1930) is a Harvard University
professor and China
specialist, British
politician
, newspaper and television journalist
and academic orientalist
. He served briefly as a Member of Parliament
.
where he eventually became Under Secretary for Personnel.
He was born in Lahore
, Pakistan
and educated at the leading Scottish
public school, Fettes College
.
from 1949 to 1950 in Egypt
and Jordan
as a Second Lieutenant in the Royal Tank Regiment, he went up to Keble College
, Oxford
to read Philosophy, Politics and Economics, obtaining a BA in 1953. He then went on to obtain a Master's degree from Harvard University
in Far Eastern Regional Studies in 1955.
He worked as a journalist on the staff of the Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph
from 1955 to 1961 specialising in China, and also reported for BBC
television Panorama
from 1963 to 1964. He was editor of China Quarterly from 1959 to 1968, and a non-resident Fellow of St Antony's College, Oxford
from 1965 to 1968. In 1969 he was a Senior Research Fellow at Columbia University
in New York City
, and in 1971 he returned to England to hold a similar fellowship at the Royal Institute of International Affairs
. He was also the founding co-presenter of BBC World Service
"24 Hours" in 1971.
, MacFarquhar fought the Ealing South
constituency for the Labour Party
but failed to dislodge the sitting Conservative
MP. Two years later, he was Labour candidate who attempted to retain the Meriden
seat in a by-election
; he was on the wrong end of a 18.4% swing
at the height of the Wilson
government's unpopularity.
Following the defeat of George Brown
in 1970 and favourable boundary changes, MacFarquhar was selected to fight the Belper
constituency, and at the February 1974 general election
succeeded in winning the seat from its sitting Conservative MP Geoffrey Stewart-Smith
. Although he won, there was an estimated swing of 4% to the Conservatives had the same boundaries applied in the previous election.
MacFarquhar proved a moderate figure, in line with Brown's views. He abstained on a vote to remove the disqualification of left-wing Labour councillors in Clay Cross
who had broken council housing laws enacted by the previous Conservative government. However there were exceptions: he also abstained on a vote to increase the Civil list
payments on 26 February 1975. He acted as Parliamentary Private Secretary
(PPS) to David Ennals, a minister of the state at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office
, and retained the job when Ennals was promoted to be Secretary of State for Social Services
. He was made a member of the Select Committee on Science and Technology.
, a University of London
constituent body. The post gave him a job which he could do if he lost his seat. In the 1979 general election
, MacFarquhar did indeed lose by 800 votes, and returned to academia and broadcasting (returning to "24 Hours" for a year).
He remained involved in politics and his moderate beliefs made him increasingly uncomfortable in the Labour Party: on 22 October 1981 he announced that he had joined the Social Democratic Party
. He fought the South Derbyshire
seat, which contained most of then-abolished Belper, for the SDP in the 1983 general election
, and nearly succeeded in beating the Labour candidate, although the seat was easily won by the Conservatives.
by the University of London. He was a Fellow of the Woodrow Wilson Centre in Washington D.C. in 1980-81 and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences since 1986. In 1980-1983, he was a Leverhulme Research Fellow from 1980 until 1983.
In 1986-1992, MacFarquhar was Director of the Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies
at Harvard University
. He was a Walter Channing Cabot Fellow at Harvard in 1993-1994.
Currently, he is the Leroy B. Williams Professor of History and Political Science at Harvard. He has written many books and articles on modern Chinese subjects. He is considered by many to be the West's preeminent scholar of Chinese politics from the founding of the People's Republic through the Cultural Revolution.
/WorldCat
encompasses roughly 140+ works in 330+ publications in 11 languages and 11,00+ library holdings
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...
professor and China
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...
specialist, British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
, newspaper and television journalist
Journalism
Journalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering organizations and institutions such as government and...
and academic orientalist
Orientalism
Orientalism is a term used for the imitation or depiction of aspects of Eastern cultures in the West by writers, designers and artists, as well as having other meanings...
. He served briefly as a Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
.
Family and early life
MacFarquhar is the son of Sir Alexander MacFarquhar, a member of the Indian Civil Service and later a senior diplomat at the United NationsUnited Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
where he eventually became Under Secretary for Personnel.
He was born in Lahore
Lahore
Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...
, Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
and educated at the leading Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
public school, Fettes College
Fettes College
Fettes College is an independent school for boarding and day pupils in Edinburgh, Scotland with over two thirds of its pupils in residence on campus...
.
Academic and journalistic career
After spending part of his national serviceNational service
National service is a common name for mandatory government service programmes . The term became common British usage during and for some years following the Second World War. Many young people spent one or more years in such programmes...
from 1949 to 1950 in Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
and Jordan
Jordan
Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
as a Second Lieutenant in the Royal Tank Regiment, he went up to Keble College
Keble College, Oxford
Keble College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its main buildings are on Parks Road, opposite the University Museum and the University Parks. The college is bordered to the north by Keble Road, to the south by Museum Road, and to the west by Blackhall...
, 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...
to read Philosophy, Politics and Economics, obtaining a BA in 1953. He then went on to obtain a Master's degree from 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...
in Far Eastern Regional Studies in 1955.
He worked as a journalist on the staff of the Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph
Sunday Telegraph
The Sunday Telegraph is a British broadsheet newspaper, founded in February 1961. It is the sister paper of The Daily Telegraph, but is run separately with a different editorial staff, although there is some cross-usage of stories...
from 1955 to 1961 specialising in China, and also reported for BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
television Panorama
Panorama (TV series)
Panorama is a BBC Television current affairs documentary programme, which was first broadcast in 1953, and is the longest-running public affairs television programme in the world. Panorama has been presented by many well known BBC presenters, including Richard Dimbleby, Robin Day, David Dimbleby...
from 1963 to 1964. He was editor of China Quarterly from 1959 to 1968, and a non-resident Fellow of St Antony's College, Oxford
St Antony's College, Oxford
St Antony's College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England.St Antony's is the most international of the seven all-graduate colleges of the University of Oxford, specialising in international relations, economics, politics, and history of particular parts of the...
from 1965 to 1968. In 1969 he was a Senior Research Fellow 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...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, and in 1971 he returned to England to hold a similar fellowship at the Royal Institute of International Affairs
Chatham House
Chatham House, formally known as The Royal Institute of International Affairs, is a non-profit, non-governmental organization based in London whose mission is to analyse and promote the understanding of major international issues and current affairs. It is regarded as one of the world's leading...
. He was also the founding co-presenter of BBC World Service
BBC World Service
The BBC World Service is the world's largest international broadcaster, broadcasting in 27 languages to many parts of the world via analogue and digital shortwave, internet streaming and podcasting, satellite, FM and MW relays...
"24 Hours" in 1971.
Political career
In the 1966 general electionUnited Kingdom general election, 1966
The 1966 United Kingdom general election on 31 March 1966 was called by sitting Labour Prime Minister Harold Wilson. Wilson's decision to call an election turned on the fact that his government, elected a mere 17 months previously in 1964 had an unworkably small majority of only 4 MPs...
, MacFarquhar fought the Ealing South
Ealing South (UK Parliament constituency)
Ealing South was a parliamentary constituency in what was then the Municipal Borough of Ealing in west London. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post system....
constituency for the Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
but failed to dislodge the sitting Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
MP. Two years later, he was Labour candidate who attempted to retain the Meriden
Meriden (UK Parliament constituency)
-Elections in the 2000s:-Elections in the 1990s:- Notes and references :...
seat in a by-election
Meriden by-election, 1968
The Meriden by-election, 1968 was a by-election held for the British House of Commons constituency of Meriden in Warwickshire on 28 March 1968. It was won by the Conservative Party candidate Keith Speed.- Vacancy :...
; he was on the wrong end of a 18.4% swing
Swing (politics)
An electoral swing analysis shows the extent of change in voter support from one election to another. It is an indicator of voter support for individual candidates or political parties, or voter preference between two or more candidates or parties...
at the height of the Wilson
Harold Wilson
James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, KG, OBE, FRS, FSS, PC was a British Labour Member of Parliament, Leader of the Labour Party. He was twice Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during the 1960s and 1970s, winning four general elections, including a minority government after the...
government's unpopularity.
Following the defeat of George Brown
George Brown, Baron George-Brown
George Alfred Brown, Baron George-Brown, PC was a British Labour politician, who served as the Deputy Leader of the Labour Party from 1960 to 1970, and served in a number of positions in the Cabinet, most notably as Foreign Secretary, in the Labour Government of the 1960s...
in 1970 and favourable boundary changes, MacFarquhar was selected to fight the Belper
Belper (UK Parliament constituency)
Belper is a former constituency in the UK Parliament. It was created at the 1918 general election as a county division of Derbyshire, comprising the area in the centre of the county and surrounding Derby, and named after the market town of Belper although this was in the north of the constituency....
constituency, and at the February 1974 general election
United Kingdom general election, February 1974
The United Kingdom's general election of February 1974 was held on the 28th of that month. It was the first of two United Kingdom general elections held that year, and the first election since the Second World War not to produce an overall majority in the House of Commons for the winning party,...
succeeded in winning the seat from its sitting Conservative MP Geoffrey Stewart-Smith
Geoffrey Stewart-Smith
Geoffrey Stewart-Smith was a British politician. He served one term as Conservative Member of Parliament for Belper in Derbyshire after he defeated the Deputy Leader of the Labour Party George Brown...
. Although he won, there was an estimated swing of 4% to the Conservatives had the same boundaries applied in the previous election.
MacFarquhar proved a moderate figure, in line with Brown's views. He abstained on a vote to remove the disqualification of left-wing Labour councillors in Clay Cross
Clay Cross
Clay Cross is a former mining town and civil parish in the North East Derbyshire district of Derbyshire, England, about six miles south of Chesterfield. It is directly on the A61, the former Roman road Ryknield Street...
who had broken council housing laws enacted by the previous Conservative government. However there were exceptions: he also abstained on a vote to increase the Civil list
Civil list
-United Kingdom:In the United Kingdom, the Civil List is the name given to the annual grant that covers some expenses associated with the Sovereign performing their official duties, including those for staff salaries, State Visits, public engagements, ceremonial functions and the upkeep of the...
payments on 26 February 1975. He acted as Parliamentary Private Secretary
Parliamentary Private Secretary
A Parliamentary Private Secretary is a role given to a United Kingdom Member of Parliament by a senior minister in government or shadow minister to act as their contact for the House of Commons; this role is junior to that of Parliamentary Under-Secretary, which is a ministerial post, salaried by...
(PPS) to David Ennals, a minister of the state at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office, commonly called the Foreign Office or the FCO is a British government department responsible for promoting the interests of the United Kingdom overseas, created in 1968 by merging the Foreign Office and the Commonwealth Office.The head of the FCO is the...
, and retained the job when Ennals was promoted to be Secretary of State for Social Services
Secretary of State for Social Services
The Secretary of State for Social Services was a position in the UK cabinet, created on 1 November 1968 with responsibility for the Department of Health and Social Security...
. He was made a member of the Select Committee on Science and Technology.
After Parliament
In 1978 MacFarquhar resigned his office as PPS after voting against the Government. In that year, he became a Governor of the School of Oriental and African StudiesSchool of Oriental and African Studies
The School of Oriental and African Studies is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the University of London...
, a University of London
University of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...
constituent body. The post gave him a job which he could do if he lost his seat. In the 1979 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1979
The United Kingdom general election of 1979 was held on 3 May 1979 to elect 635 members to the British House of Commons. The Conservative Party, led by Margaret Thatcher ousted the incumbent Labour government of James Callaghan with a parliamentary majority of 43 seats...
, MacFarquhar did indeed lose by 800 votes, and returned to academia and broadcasting (returning to "24 Hours" for a year).
He remained involved in politics and his moderate beliefs made him increasingly uncomfortable in the Labour Party: on 22 October 1981 he announced that he had joined the Social Democratic Party
Social Democratic Party (UK)
The Social Democratic Party was a political party in the United Kingdom that was created on 26 March 1981 and existed until 1988. It was founded by four senior Labour Party 'moderates', dubbed the 'Gang of Four': Roy Jenkins, David Owen, Bill Rodgers and Shirley Williams...
. He fought the South Derbyshire
South Derbyshire (UK Parliament constituency)
-Elections in the 2000s:-Elections in the 1990s:"-Elections in the 1980s:-Elections in the 1940s:-References:...
seat, which contained most of then-abolished Belper, for the SDP in the 1983 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1983
The 1983 United Kingdom general election was held on 9 June 1983. It gave the Conservative Party under Margaret Thatcher the most decisive election victory since that of Labour in 1945...
, and nearly succeeded in beating the Labour candidate, although the seat was easily won by the Conservatives.
Subsequent academic career
In 1981 he was awarded a PhDDoctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
by the University of London. He was a Fellow of the Woodrow Wilson Centre in Washington D.C. in 1980-81 and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences since 1986. In 1980-1983, he was a Leverhulme Research Fellow from 1980 until 1983.
In 1986-1992, MacFarquhar was Director of the Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies
Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies
The Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies at Harvard University is a post-graduate research center promoting the study of modern and contemporary China from a social science perspective. -History:...
at 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 was a Walter Channing Cabot Fellow at Harvard in 1993-1994.
Currently, he is the Leroy B. Williams Professor of History and Political Science at Harvard. He has written many books and articles on modern Chinese subjects. He is considered by many to be the West's preeminent scholar of Chinese politics from the founding of the People's Republic through the Cultural Revolution.
Selected works
In a statistical overview derived from writings by and about Roderick Macfarqhar, OCLCOCLC
OCLC Online Computer Library Center, Inc. is "a nonprofit, membership, computer library service and research organization dedicated to the public purposes of furthering access to the world’s information and reducing information costs"...
/WorldCat
WorldCat
WorldCat is a union catalog which itemizes the collections of 72,000 libraries in 170 countries and territories which participate in the Online Computer Library Center global cooperative...
encompasses roughly 140+ works in 330+ publications in 11 languages and 11,00+ library holdings
- The Hundred Flowers Campaign and the Chinese Intellectuals (1960)
- China Under Mao: Politics Takes Command (1963)
- Sino-American Relations: 1949-1971 (1972)
- The Forbidden City (1972
- Contradictions Among the People, 1956-1957 (1974)
- The Origins of the Cultural Revolution (1974)
- The Great Leap Forward, 1958-1960 (1983)
- The People's Republic: the Emergence of Revolutionary China, 1949-1965 (1987)
- The Politics of China, 1949-1989 (1993)
- Towards a New World Order (1993)
- The Politics of China : the Eras of Mao and Deng (1997)
- The Coming of the Cataclysm, 1961-1966 (1997)
- The Paradox of China's Post-Mao Reforms (1999)
- Mao's Last Revolution (2006), with Michael Schoenhals
External links
- Home page at Harvard.
- MacFarquhar's reviews for The New York Review of BooksThe New York Review of BooksThe New York Review of Books is a fortnightly magazine with articles on literature, culture and current affairs. Published in New York City, it takes as its point of departure that the discussion of important books is itself an indispensable literary activity...
.