I am saddened to share the news of Professor de Bary’s passing. He was an inspiration to generations of students of Chinese thought. I knew him as a gracious and persistent interlocutor at the Columbia Neo-Confucianism Seminar that he continued to attend, as he continued to teach. His influence on our understanding of Neo-Confucianism throughout East Asia was enormous, and his early fascination with Huang Zongxi seems as relevant today as ever.

There is an obituary here; it begins: Wm. Theodore de Bary, acclaimed scholar of East Asian thought and a leader in the development of Asian Studies in the United States, died peacefully in his home, Hotokudo, in Tappan, New York, on July 14, 2017. John Mitchell Mason Professor Emeritus and Provost Emeritus of Columbia University at the time of his death, de Bary continued to teach after his formal retirement in 1989. Although weakened by a heart condition, he completed grading the papers for his last course in May, 2017….

Several friends have written me to share the sad news of Henry Rosemont’s passing. There is a brief remembrance here; please share any other thoughts or links. Henry was a wonderful, passionate soul who will be greatly missed.