Ma, Meng, 1916-2006

Ma Meng (1916-2006)（馬蒙）, courtesy name Shunzhi（順之）, an educator and scholar on Chinese Studies. Ma pursued higher education at the Yenching University（燕京大學）and received B.A. degree in Sociology in 1939. In the winter of 1939, he went to Xi’an（西安）to join the North-west Military Institute as an instructor on Social Studies. In 1941, he became the secretary of General Hu Zongnan. Invited by the National Agricultural College in Shaanxi（陝西）, Ma was a part-time lecturer on Rural Sociology between 1942 and 1944. In 1944, he was also appointed as part-time lecturer on Sociology at the National North-west University. Moreover, Ma was a consultant of the Board of the Co-operative Administration of Shaanxi Provincial Government from 1943 to 1946.

In 1947, Ma continued his studies of Sociology and Social Anthropology at the London School of Economics on a government scholarship. However, the scholarship was suspended due to the Civil War in China and Ma returned to Hong Kong to reunite with his family in the summer of 1949 without completing his studies.

In 1950, Ma joined the University of Hong Kong (HKU) as a senior instructor of the Chinese Language School to train foreign students to attain proficiency in Chinese language. He was first promoted to the Principal of the Language School in 1959, then Ma was appointed as the Supervising Principal of the Government Language School from 1963 to 1966. After that, he joined the Department of Chinese of HKU in 1966 and became the Chair Professor and Head of the Department of Chinese in 1968.

In recognition of Ma’s contributions to education, he was awarded to be an Honorary Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 1967.

In addition to teaching and administrative works at HKU, Ma was appointed as the Director of the Summer School of Chinese at Middlebury College, Vermont in 1968. He was also a member of the Editorial Committee of the Journal Oriental Studies, a member of the Council of the Hong Kong Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society as well as the Editorial Committee of its journal, the founding chairman of the Hong Kong Translation Society.

Upon his retirement in 1981, Ma Meng was awarded an Emeritus Professor at HKU. In 1983, Ma was appointed as a member of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference.

References:

Letter from Ma Meng to Secretary, Association of Universities of the British Commonwealth, 30th August 1952, Series 2, Subseries 3, Folder 21, Ma Meng papers, CUHK Library Archival Collections, the Chinese University of Hong Kong Library.

Letter from Ma Meng to the Secretary-General, Association of Commonwealth Universities, 26th March 1968, Series 2, Subseries 3, Folder 21, Ma Meng papers, CUHK Library Archival Collections, the Chinese University of Hong Kong Library.

Memo from Ma Meng to the Registrar, HKU, 26th November 1965, Series 2, Subseries 3, Folder 21, Ma Meng papers, CUHK Library Archival Collections, the Chinese University of Hong Kong Library.