Ronald C. Po

Biography

While the main focus of my teaching and research has been the history of late imperial China, I am drawn to the realm of maritime and global studies. I agree with John F. Kennedy, “we are tied to the ocean; and when we go back to the sea, whether it is to sail or to watch – we are going back from whence we came.” I’ve always had a keen interest in a broad range of maritime topics, ranging from the history of coastal governance and the dynamics of port cities, to the cartographic history of sea charts and the cultural history of naval uniforms. I am also fascinated by the social history of commodities and trans-regional exchanges of ideas since the early modern period. In the medium term I am working on a monograph-length project tentatively entitled The North China Sea: A History.

I am the author of The Blue Frontier: Maritime Vision and Power in the Qing Empire (Cambridge University Press, 2018), The Placid Ocean: Qing China and the Asian Seas (China Times Publishing Co., 2021) and Turning the Tide: Historical Actors and Social Memory in Late Qing China (China Times Publishing Co., 2022). Additionally, I have published articles in peer-reviewed journals such as Modern Asian Studies, The English Historical Review, The Historical Journal, Late Imperial China,  Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, Ming Qing Studies, and The American Journal of Chinese Studies.

Prior to my academic appointment at the LSE, I was Postdoctoral Fellow at McGill University (2013-16) and Visiting Lecturer at the University of Chicago (2013). I was also previously an Erasmus Scholar at Cambridge (2011-12) and a Baden-Württemberg Fellow at Kyoto University (2012).

I was educated at Universität Heidelberg, receiving my D.Phil. in History, and at Hong Kong Baptist University, earning my M.Phil. and BA degrees. In 2019, I was elected a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. I was also appointed a Research Fellow by the International Institute for Asian Studies in the Netherlands in 2021, and then an APC-CCK Visiting Scholar by the Chinese University of Hong Kong the subsequent year. During the 2023-24 academic year, I was in residence at Leiden University as the Chair of Taiwan Studies.

Courses

Dr Ronald C. Po teaches the following courses:

At undergraduate level:

• HY118: Faith, Power and Revolution: Europe and the Wider World, c.1500-c.1800 (taught jointly with other members of staff)
• HY330: From Tea to Opium: China and the Global Market in the Long Eighteenth Century

At Masters level:

• HY489: China and the External World, 1644-1839
• HY4A4: Dissertation with an Asian focus 
• HY4B4: Maritime Asia in Transition, 1405-1839

 

Publications

Books

•  The Blue Frontier: Maritime Vision and Power in the Qing Empire (Cambridge University Press,  2018) - longlisted by the International Convention of Asia Scholars for the 2019 Humanities English Edition book prize and recipient of the Interntional Convention of Asia Scholars 2019 Specialist Publication Accolade in the Humanities.
• The Placid Ocean: Qing China and the Asian Sea  海不揚波：清代中國與亞洲海洋 (Taipei: China Times Publishing Co. 時報出版; 2021).
• Turning the Tide: Historical Actors and Social Memory in Late Qing China 手挽銀河水：清季人物、歷史與記憶 (China Times Publishing Co., 2022).

 

Articles & chapters

Forthcoming

• “China in the Age of Unequal Treaties,” in H.E. Chehabi and David Motadel (eds.), Unconquered States: Non-European Powers in the Imperial Age (Oxford: Oxford University Press).

2024

• “The Dunn Map: An American and a Long-Forgotten Curio from Nineteenth-Century China,” Crossroads: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Asian Interactions (published online ahead of print 2024).
• “Qing China and Its Offshore Islands in the Long Eighteenth Century,” The Historical Journal, vol. 67, no. 3, 430-462.

2023

• “The Bohai Sea and Mount Penglai: In Search of a Maritime Religiosity in Imperial China,” Coastal Studies and Society, volume 2 issue 3, pp. 274-294.
• “Consuming China in Early Modern England and Beyond: A Critical Review and Re-examination,” Asian Review of World Histories, vol. 11 issue 2, pp. 180-209.
• “Defining Chinese Commodities in the Early Modern Era: A Historical and Conceptual Analysis,” in David Ludden (ed.), Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Asian History (Oxford: Oxford University Press, published online on May 24, 2023).
• “Crafting a Nation, Fishing for Power: The Universal Exposition of 1906 and Fisheries Governance in Late Qing China,” Modern Asian Studies (Firstview, 2023), pp. 1-27.
• “China and the Sea in Literature and (Mis)Perception, 1644-1839,” in Paul D'Arcy (ed.), The Cambridge History of the Pacific Ocean (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2023), vol. 1, pp. 549-573.
• “Fortifying the Maritime Frontier: Diagrams of Coastal Garrisons (Yingxun tu) in the Qing Empire,” Ming Qing Studies (December 2022), pp. 67-100. 

2020

• “The Camphor War of 1868: Anglo-Chinese Relations and Imperial Realignments within East Asia,” The English Historical Review, vol. 135, issue 576 (December, 2020).

2019

• “Hero or Villain? The Evolving Legacy of Shi Lang in China and Taiwan,” Modern Asian Studies, vol. 53 issue 4 (September, 2019), pp. 1486-1515.

2018

• “The Pearl by the Bohai Sea: Qinhuangdao in the Early Modern Period,” in Clara Ho, Ricardo Mak, and Y.H. Tam (eds.), Voyages, Migration, and the Maritime World: On China’s Global Historical Role (Berlin: De Gruyter, 2018), pp. 143-164.
• "China and the Global South: A Geostrategic Perspective," Radical History Review, vol. 2018 issue 131 (May, 2018), pp. 135-138.
• “Tea, Silk, and Porcelain: Chinese Exports to the West in the Early Modern Period” in David Ludden (ed.), Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Asian History (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2018).

2017

• “A Port City in Northeast China: Dengzhou in the Long Eighteenth Century,” Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, vol. 28 issue 1 (January, 2018), pp. 161-187.
• “Camphor-harvesting and Warship Construction in Early Qing China (康雍年間的戰船修造與樟木採辦)" (in Chinese), in Ricardo Mak (ed.) History of Coastal Defense in Modern China: A Revisionist Approach (近代中國海防史新論) (Hong Kong, Joint Publishing Co. Ltd., 2017), pp. 252-277.

2016

• “Mapping Maritime Power and Control: A Study of the Late Eighteenth Century Qisheng yanhai tu (A Coastal Map of the Seven Provinces),” Late Imperial China, vol. 37 no. 2 (December 2016), pp. 93-136.

2015

• “Writing the Waves: Chinese Maritime Writers in the Long Eighteenth Century,” American Journal of Chinese Studies, vol. 22, no. 2 (October, 2015), pp. 343-362.

2014

• “Maritime Countries in the Far West: Western Europe in Xie Qinggao’s Records of the Sea,” European Review of History, vol. 21, no. 6 (December, 2014), pp. 857-871.

2013

• “Merchants, Artisans, Grangers and Intellectuals: Xue Fucheng’s Re-conceptualization of the Social Stratification in Late Imperial China,” Chinese Culture Quarterly, vol. 31 (April, 2013), pp. 81-101.

2012

• “(Re) Conceptualizing the World in Eighteenth Century China,” World History Connected, vol. 9, no. 1 (February 2012).

2011

• “Zuozhu weizhi: Ding Richang 1843 nian zhi 1864 nian de zaimu shengya 佐主為治: 丁日昌1843年至1864年的在幕生涯 (Assisting the Patron: Ding Richang as a muliao, 1843-1864),” in Modern History Research Center (ed.) Ding Richang yu jindai Zhongguo 丁日昌與近代中國 (Ding Richang and Modern China) (Hong Kong: Zhonghua shuju, 2011), pp. 17-36.

2010

• “‘Zeng Zuo Li’ yi jiancheng de youlai yu neirong hanyi zhi yanbian 曾左李一簡稱的由來與內容涵義之演變 (The Triumvirate in Late Imperial China: A Discussion on the Abbreviation Zeng-Zuo-Li),” Si yu yan 思與言 (Thought and Words: Journal of the Humanities and Social Sciences Quarterly), vol. 48 no. 3 (September, 2010), pp. 1-36.
• “When the Sea Dragon Roars: Hydrological Disasters and the High Qing Emperors,” The School of Historical Studies, Newcastle University: Postgraduate Forum E-Journal, edition seven (2010), pp. 1-9.

2009

• “Qingji HuaYang muliao de hezuo yu hudong: Yi Mashi（H.B. Morse), Ma Xiangbo yu Ma Jianzhong zai Li Hongzhang mufu de guanxi weili 清季華洋幕僚的合作與互動: 以馬士 (H.B. Morse), 馬相伯與馬建忠在李鴻章幕府的關係為例 (Cooperation between Chinese and Foreign Muliao in Li Hongzhang’s Think Tank: With References to Ma Xiangbo, Ma Jianjong and H.B. Morse).” Chungguksa Yongu 中國史研究 (The Journal of Chinese Historical Researches), no. 63 (December 2009), pp. 121-135.
• “Qingji yangyuan zai Tai zhi renzhi: Yi Ma Shi (H.B. Morse) zai Danshuiguan de jiaose yu yingxiang weili 清季洋員在臺之任職: 以馬士 (H.B. Morse) 在淡水關的角色與影響為例 (Western Advisers in Late Qing: H.B. Morse in Taiwan, 1892-1895),” Xinbeida shixue 新北大史學, vol. 7 (October, 2009), pp. 59-82.
• “Xianggang chuban Zhongguo jindaishi yanjiu zhushu: Zhongwen shumu xinian (1930-2009) 香港出版中國近代史研究著述: 中文書目繫年(1930-2009) A Selected Bibliography on Modern Chinese History Published in Hong Kong,” Contemporary Historical Review, vol. 10, no.2 (June, 2009), pp. 60-72.

2008

• “Qingji xifang guwen zai Hua de siying: Yi Mashi zhi zaimu shengya zuoli 清季西方顧問在華的肆應: 以馬士之在幕生涯作例 (Western muliao in Late Qing: Hosea Ballou Morse Encountered with Li Hongzhang's mufu),” Zhongzheng lishi xuekan 中正歷史學刊, vol. 11 (December, 2008), pp. 23-48.

 

Book reviews & review articles

2022

• “Book Review on Distant Shores: Colonial Encounters on China’s Maritime Frontier by Melissa Macauley,” The Journal of Asian Studies, vol. 81 no. 1 (February, 2022), pp. 173-174.

2019

• "Book Review on Boundaries and Beyond: China’s Maritime Southeast in Late Imperial Times by Ng Chin-keong", Journal of World History, vol. 30 no. 3 (September, 2019), pp. 464-467.
• "Book Review on Silk, Slaves and Stupas: Material Culture of the Silk Road by Susan Whitfield", The Journal of Asian Studies, vol. 78 no. 1 (March, 2019), pp. 184-186.

2018

• “Book Review on Sea Rovers, Silver, and Samurai: Maritime East Asia in Global History, 1550–1700 ed. by Tonio Andrade and Xing Hang,” Journal of World History, vol. 29 no. 1 (March, 2018), pp. 118-120.

2017

• “Book Review on Gang Zhao’s The Qing Opening to the Ocean,” Business History, vol. 59, no. 2 (2017), pp. 312-313.

2012

• “Haiyangshi shijiao xia de Zhongwai guanxishi 海洋史視角下的中外關係史 (The history of Sino-foreign relations from a maritime historical perspective),” Hanxue yanjiu 漢學研究 (Chinese Studies), vol. 30 no. 1 (March, 2012), pp. 351-357.
• “Book Review: Old Worlds, New Worlds: European Cultural Encounters, c. 1000-1750edited by Lisa Bailey, Lindsay Diggelmann, and Kim M. Phillips,” Journal of the Oxford University History Society, Issue 8 (Hilary, 2012).

2011

• “Shijie shi shiye xia de Zhongguo tiyushi - Xu Guoqi de Olympic Dreams: China and Sports, 1895-2008 世界史視野下的中國體育史 - 徐國琦的 Olympic Dreams: China and Sports, 1895-2008 (Global History and the History of Sport: Review on Xu's Olympic),” Hanxue yanjiu tongxun 漢學研究通訊 (Newsletter for Research in Chinese Studies), vol. 30, no. 2 (May, 2011), pp. 59-60.

2010

• “Keji, yiliao de renwen guanhuai: Keji, yiliao yu shehui xueshu yantaohui lunwenji 科技, 醫療的人文關懷: 科技, 醫療與社會學術研討會論文集(Book Review: Keji, yiliao yu shehui xueshu yantaohui lunwenji),” Hong Kong Journal of Social Sciences, no. 38 (Spring/Summer, 2010), pp. 147-152.
• “Book Review: Leprosy in China: A History,” Twenty-First Century, vol. 119 (June, 2010), pp. 152-155.

2009

• Co-author with Hoi-ling LUI, “Book reviews of Zhonghua wenhua de chuancheng yu chuangxin: Jinian Mou Fuli jiaoshou lunwenji (中華文化的傳承與創新: 紀念牟復禮教授論文集) and The Scholars Mind: Essays in Honor of Frederick W. Mote,” History Education Forum, vol. 5 (May, 2009), pp. 126-131.

 

Conference reports

2011

• “Report on International Symposium: Globalization, Identity, and Regional Integration in East Asia, 1861-2011,” Asian Studies Newsletter (The Association for Asian Studies), vol. 56 no. 2 (May, 2011), p. 24.

2010

• “Report on Annual Conference of the Cluster of Excellence: Asia and Europe in a Global Context, Heidelberg University,” Asian Studies Newsletter (The Association for Asian Studies), vol. 55 no. 4 (December, 2010), pp. 12-14.

 

Other contributions

2012

• “The Great Qing and the Third Frontier in the Eighteenth Century,” Asian Studies Newsletter (The Association for Asian Studies), vol. 56, no. 3 (October, 2011), p. 22.

2011

• “The East Asian Mediterranean?: The ‘Braudelian Framework’ and Maritime History in East Asia,” Asian Studies Newsletter (The Association for Asian Studies), vol. 56, no. 2 (May, 2011), p. 20.