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Emeritus Professor David Faure
科大衛榮休敎授
Class of 1964 - Historian in South China Studies
1964屆畢業 — 華南歷史敎育家
David Faure enrolled at St. Paul’s College in 1957. He was the president of the Students’ Association and the head prefect, and graduated from sixth form in 1966. A historian, Faure specialises in South China studies. He has lectured at Indiana University and at the University of Oxford, and he currently teaches history at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Selected works include China and Capitalism (2006) and Emperor and Ancestor (2007).
Faure is an advocate of historical anthropology in writing, which emphasises fieldwork and oral history; Faure’s works incorporate expanses of carvings, genealogy books, and oral interviews to build a more complete picture of China’s past, reflective of its socio-economic complexity. For Faure, sources provide only half the picture; only through conversation and participation can history’s impact on people be understood.
In his College years, Faure co-founded the Arts Association Journal. Originally intended to hone his writing, the journal received favourable reviews and sales continued growing; this allowed him a glimpse into the world of publishing, an experience he remains fond of to this day. The College’s liberal atmosphere and teachers’ encouragement to research and create provided solid foundations for Faure’s academic career.