In 1950 Chang Kwang-chih tested into his first college choice, the department of archaeology and anthropology at National Taiwan University. His fervor for such an unpopular department was so unusual that on registration day, the president of the College of Liberal Arts, Shen Kang-po, made a point of asking him why he was so keen on it. Nevertheless, whenever he hears himself called a "rare bird," Chang Kwang-chih answers straight-faced, "I don't know how rare I was. The school never released statistics in that regard."

Always on the move: A meticulous academic approach built up during 40 years of toil in academia has clearly left its mark in his everyday life. in the eyes of his wife, Li Hui, Chang is "always on the move. He has to prepare for everything beforehand and finish everything ahead of time." In the words of his students, Chang is a strict teacher who is "helpful to students but rarely gives high grades and frankly criticizes papers that aren't well written--unlike most American professors, who add a few words of encouragement like 'interesting.'" And to his academic peers, Chang is a leading authority in Chinese archaeology noted for his solid scholarship.

Despite nearly 30 years of poor health, Chang hasn't slowed his pace a bit. He still regularly shuttles back and forth among the United States, Taiwan and mainland China. The Taiwan History Field Research Office that he pushed to set up has become a stronghold for the study of Taiwan history. And he currently heads up the Harvard side of a joint project with the archaeology department of the mainland's Social Sciences Research Institute to survey and excavate Shang dynasty relics and remains.

"Besides possessing skills in field work, a competent archaeologist hasto call on a broad understanding of human life in carrying out rational, circumspect inferences of the materials obtained, "Chang says. "That sort of ability depends on a foundation in other social sciences."

A field for polymaths: The study of ancient China isn't a specialist preserve, he holds--it's a field for polymaths. History, palaeography, fine art, archaeology... all are necessary prerequisites, nor can the course of development of other world cultures be ignored. "Chinese studies without Chinese training is superficial, but Chinese studies without a global perspective is narrow and blinkered, like the view of the proverbial frog in the well," Chang maintains.

A special feature of his work is citations from ancient texts, ranging from analysis of their reliability to interpretations of their contents set in the background of the times. An American anthropology student at Harvard with a strong interest in Chinese archaeology felt a great sense of frustration after reading his work: "As a non-Chinese, I'll probably never reach the stage of understanding of ancient China that he has."

His initial pursuit of archaeology and anthropology seems to have been arranged by fate. "I became interested in archaeology and anthropology after reading a book called A General Survey of Anthropology as a boy. When I took the university entrance exam, Academia Sinica had just moved to Taiwan and the scholars Li Chi and Tung Tso-pin had founded the department of archaeology and anthropology at National Taiwan University. Hearing those famous names, I knew it would bea strong department, so I listed it as my first choice. I don't remember what I put down second."

Archaeology in his blood: During his time in college, he participated with his teachers in archaeological field work at many sites in Taiwan, including the excavations at Yuanshan, Fengpitou, Tachia and Yingpu. He was awarded a doctorate in anthropology from Harvard in 1960 and began teaching the next year at Yale, where he remained for 16 years, moving up to department chairman and chairman of the Council on East Asian Studies. That was when he did most of his writing. Archaeology of Ancient China, now in its fourth edition, is required reading for serious students of Chinese archaeology.

Noted in the United States for his research on the Chinese bronze age (2000 to 500 B.C., during the Hsia, Shang and Chou dynasties), Chang himself avers that "my field of expertise is the archaeology of Taiwan." His explanation is simple: "That's where I'm from!"

Having taught at Yale for 16 years, he packed his bags and returned to Harvard when he was invited by the anthropology department there. "I always wanted to face a new challenge," Chang says. "And Harvard's my alma mater."

The joke goes that an archaeologist makes the perfect spouse--that way, when the bloom fades from rosy cheeks and raven locks are tinged with gray, you'll be treasured all the more. Asked if that's true, Mrs. Chang, who also teaches at Harvard, smiles and keeps mum.

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(photo by Pu Hua-chin)