To be a big shot or to be shot: Zing-Yang Kuo's other career

The radical behaviorist Zing-Yang Kuo's other career reveals a figure who moved in the circles of senior university administrators and significant political figures. When he left China for Hong Kong after World War II (WWII), he did no more scientific research but embarked on an autobiography and a study of Chinese national character. A chance renewal of his acquaintance with Leonard Carmichael led to the simultaneous publication of several articles based on work done in the 1930s, and thereby to the revival of Kuo's scientific reputation. However, Kuo preferred to pursue his national character studies--his only post-WWII funded work. The author argues that it was the failure of Kuo's ambitions in China that led to both his interest in national character and to the revival of his scientific reputation, which might otherwise have lain dormant.