CHUNG Po Yin 鍾寶賢 (Fellow)
Fields of study:
Social and Economic History, Trading Diaspora and Heritage Studies, Photogrammetry and Heritage Information Modelling
Profile:
A historian of Asian socio-economic and business history, Stephanie Chung Po Yin is described by her peers as a "wonderful storyteller" who meticulously documents the adventures of various groups of diaspora traders in Asia, combining historical depth with contemporary focus. She is enthusiastic about writing the kind of history that tells stories as well as making arguments. The history she is interested in is how these individuals and diasporic communities interpret and use the past to construct the present. Her research focuses on the historical and contemporary movements of people, goods and ideas that have linked South China, Southeast Asia and the Middle East. Her research shows how diasporic groups have shaped Asian societies, economies, identities and politics over the last few millennia.
Chung holds a B.A. (1st class) in History from the Chinese University of Hong Kong and a Ph.D. from the University of Oxford. After teaching at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, she joined HKBU in 1994. Her teaching interests include social and economic history. She was a board member of the HKSAR Antiquities Advisory Board (2011-2017) and is currently a trustee of the Lord Wilson Heritage Trust (2021-present), a member of the Intangible Cultural Heritage Advisory Committee (2021-present). She has also served as Director of the Modern History Research Centre and has been involved in a number of funded research projects, commissions and consultancy projects (including one for a London-based business conglomerate - John Swire and Sons Limited and the Singapore-based Shaw Foundation) - and continues to explore the material and cultural changes associated with trade and imperial empires, diasporic communities, religious traditions and colonial encounters over the last two centuries.