Ho Peng Yoke (1926-2014)

Colin Mackerras's obituary of Ho Peng Yoke, published through the Australian Academy of the Humanities, is a memorial account written by a fellow academic and long-term colleague honoring the historian of Chinese science who directed the Needham Research Institute and led Griffith University's Asian studies program. As a professional obituary by a peer within the same academic community, it carries genuine biographical authority for Ho's career milestones, institutional roles and scholarly contributions, drawing on Mackerras's own direct knowledge of the man and his work. Like any memorial tribute written by a colleague and friend, it is naturally appreciative in tone rather than critically evaluative of Ho's specific scholarly conclusions, so assessment of Ho's own historical arguments about Chinese science and religion is better sought in reviews of his individual publications.