Personal profile
Research overview
Professor Lee specialises in the culture and cultural history of China and its diaspora from the nineteenth-century imagining of China the nation-state to today. His areas of interest include collective memory, censorship, the technical/technological society, the Anthopocene, and the ideology and representation of work. He is particularly interested in the contribution premodern, pre-Chinese thought — as found in the Zhuangzi 莊子 — may make to the resolution of contemporary problems.
His current research project involves creating an archive, and writing a multi-volume history, of Chinese culture 1976-2025. Amanda Mantong Zhang, Research Fellow, works alongside him on this project.
He has supervised numerous doctoral students in the fields of Chinese Studies and Transcultural Studies.
Education/Academic qualification
Doctor of Philosophy, PhD, SOAS University of London
1 Oct 1981 → 10 Jul 1985
Award Date: 10 Jul 1985
Diploma Political Economy , Peking University
Sept 1979 → Aug 1981
Award Date: 9 Jul 1981
Bachelor of Arts, Chinese (Classical and Modern), SOAS University of London
Oct 1975 → Jul 1979
Award Date: 9 Jul 1979
Fellow, British Academy Chinese Academy of Social Sciences Postdoctoral Fellow, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS)
1 Oct 1985 → 31 Dec 1985
External positions
Université Jean Moulin - Lyon 3
Keywords
- PL Languages and literatures of Eastern Asia, Africa, Oceania
- Chinese
- Cantonese
- DS Asia
- China
- Diaspora
- Hong Kong
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
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SDG 10 Reduced Inequalities -
SDG 13 Climate Action
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Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
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2025年如何改变了中国(及世界)近代史的书写
Translated title of the contribution :How the year 2025 changed writing recent Chinese (and world) history Research output: Contribution to specialist publication › Article
Open AccessFile -
2025年如何改變了中國 (及世界) 近代史的書寫
Translated title of the contribution :How the year 2025 changed writing recent Chinese (and world) history Research output: Contribution to specialist publication › Article
Open AccessFile -
從反殖民主義到去殖民性，以及里昂中法大學
Translated title of the contribution :From anti-colonialism to decoloniality and the Sino-French Institute Research output: Contribution to specialist publication › Article
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De l’anticolonialisme à la décolonialité: le piège nationaliste
Translated title of the contribution :From anticolonialism to decoloniality: the nationalist trap Research output: Non-textual form › Digital or Visual Products
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De l’anticolonialisme à la décolonialité et l'Institut franco-chinois de Lyon
Translated title of the contribution :From anticolonialism to decoloniality and the Lyon Institut franco-chinois Research output: Contribution to specialist publication › Article
Activities
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La Chine, la Russie, les États-Unis et la (géo)politique des années 1980 vue depuis le moment « post-historique »
Lee, G. (Speaker)
28 Nov 2025Activity: Talk or presentation types › Invited talk
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Autour de l'Institut franco-chinois (1921-1950)
Lee, G. (Member of programme committee), Estran, J. (Chair of organising committee), Laureillard, M. (Chair of organising committee) & Villard, F. (Member of programme committee)
26 May 2025 → 28 May 2025Activity: Participating in or organising an event types › Participation in or organising a workshop, seminar, course
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« De l’anticolonialisme à la décolonialité : le piège nationaliste »
Lee, G. (Speaker)
26 May 2025Activity: Talk or presentation types › Invited talk
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‘Loving Ghosts: Is it ever too late to honour the dead?’ Keynote Talk
Lee, G. (Speaker)
11 Oct 2024Activity: Talk or presentation types › Invited talk
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Tate Liverpool + RIBA North Talk - Scattered Belongings
Lee, G. (Participant), Lee Tsai, J. (Participant), Doble, F. L. (Participant) & Beswick, E. (Organiser)
26 Sept 2024Activity: Participating in or organising an event types › Participation in or organising a workshop, seminar, course
File
Press/Media
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Fear of Beijing harassment skews Chinese studies in UK, report says
10/08/25
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Relating to Research
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Chinese students pressured to spy on classmates: PROBE INTO UK UNIVERSITIES
5/08/25
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Relating to Research
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100 Years of Louis Cha: The Legacy of Jin Yong
8/03/24
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media: Relating to Research
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Discussion of "#chinesevirus: The Long Racism that Lurks Behind COVID-19" in podcast relating to Dr. Amy Matthewson's ”Cartooning China: Punch, Power, & Politics in the Victorian Era“ (Routledge, 2022)
6/12/23
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media: Relating to Research
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The Drummer in the Background Keeping Cadence: Micro- and macro-histories of the Chinese migrants in Britain
24/11/23
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Relating to Research
Impacts
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The New Hong Kong Chinese Diaspora and the Cultural and Educational Future for Hong Kongers in Scotland and the UK
Lee, G. (Participant) & Zhang, A. (Participant)
Impact: Cultural, Creative Impact, Public Policy Impact, Educational Impact (Beyond St Andrews), Social Impact