Paul Clark has been involved with China and Chinese language for more than forty years. One of the first New Zealand students under an official exchange program, he studied in Beijing in 1974-1976. He went on to do a Ph.D. in History and East Asian Languages at Harvard and worked for ten years in the States, before returning to New Zealand in 1993 to serve as Professor of Chinese at the University of Auckland.

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Clark’s research interests are in Chinese history, society, and culture since 1949. He has published books on Chinese filmmaking and a cultural history of the Cultural Revolution. His first book was in nineteenth-century Maori history, based on his Auckland Master’s thesis. His current book project is a history of leisure in Beijing from the 1950s until now.

 

Clark is also Director of the North Asia CAPE (Centre of Asia-Pacific Excellence), charged with building New Zealanders’ skills for engagement with East Asia, including China.