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95-Year-Old Historian Wang Gungwu Launches Insightful Memoir

1/30/2026

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Summary

Story summary

Wang Gungwu, a prominent expert on ethnic Chinese in Southeast Asia, launched his memoir No Borders: Journeys Across Islands and Continents in Singapore.
At 95, he says he can no longer identify as a historian, viewing history as human experience rather than a strict reconstruction.
Veteran diplomat Tommy Koh challenges him, saying he remains a historian who explains the past to illuminate the present, dubbing him 'sage of Singapore'.

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Story summary

Wang Gungwu, a prominent expert on ethnic Chinese in Southeast Asia, launched his memoir No Borders: Journeys Across Islands and Continents in Singapore.
At 95, he says he can no longer identify as a historian, viewing history as human experience rather than a strict reconstruction.
Veteran diplomat Tommy Koh challenges him, saying he remains a historian who explains the past to illuminate the present, dubbing him 'sage of Singapore'.