Chih-Tsing Hsia

Chih-Tsing Hsia, 92, on December 29, 2013. Chih-Tsing was the devoted husband of Della (nee) Wang a loving father, beloved brother and fond uncle. Born in Pudong, China, Hsia graduated from the now-defunct University of Shanghai. In September 1946, he followed his brother to Peking University to accept the position of teaching assistant. During this time period, he continued to study Western literature. An outstanding thesis on William Blake won him a scholarship to attend Yale University. He moved to the United States in 1947, and was awarded a Ph.D. from Yale University in 1951. Hsia then went on to teach at the Huston-Tillotson College, Austin, Texas, 1956-57, the State University of New York, Potsdam, New York 1957-61, and the University of Pittsburgh 1961-62. He was a professor of Chinese Literature at Columbia University until his retirement in 1991. The China-born academic was credited with helping Chinese writers such as Eileen Chang, Shen Congwen and Qian Zhongshu gain greater recognition in the West. Hsia's book A History of Modern Chinese Fiction, which was published in English in 1961, was a pioneering study of 20th century Chinese fiction. In 2006, Hsia was inducted into the Academia Sinica at the age of 85, making him the oldest person ever for this appointment. Hsia joked about this experience, saying that he felt like "a new bride.