One of the most prominent scholars on China and East Asia, Ezra F. Vogel, has passed away at the age of 90 on Sunday (Dec. 20) from complications after surgery.

Harvard University's Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies, where Vogel served as director, posted a tribute to him, saying he was "a true champion" of the center, "an erudite scholar, and a wonderful friend".

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our former director Ezra F. Vogel (1930-2020).

Professor Vogel served as director from 1973-75 and from 1995-99. He was a true champion of our center, an erudite scholar, and a wonderful friend. He will be truly missed. pic.twitter.com/Zz5XydfEzH

— Fairbank Center, Harvard University (@FairbankCenter) December 21, 2020

Vogel's passing was covered by China's official state-run media Xinhua as well, which wrote that in a 2019 interview, Vogel still believed that both the U.S. and China should work together on their common interests despite their tense relations.

He had also stressed the importance of a stable relationship between the world's two largest economies.

China paid tribute to Vogel

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin expressed China's deep condolences on Vogel's passing at a Monday press conference, calling him "an old friend of the Chinese people".

"Professor Vogel dedicated tireless efforts to promoting communication and exchange between China and the U.S., and to enhancing the two peoples' mutual understanding," Wang said.

He added that Vogel's contributions to the advancement of U.S.-China relations "will not be forgotten".

Academics mourned Vogel's death

Vogel's death was "a huge blow to the field, especially at this critical time" as he was "a major support of the effort to inject greater sanity and balance into U.S. thinking about China," Michael Swaine, director of the East Asia Program at Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft.

It is with enormous sadness that I convey the news that Ezra Vogel, stellar scholar of China and Japan, mentor, colleague,and friend passed away today in Mt. Auburn hospital in Cambridge. As with so many others, Ezra was a huge figure in my life from the time I was a graduate...

— Michael D. Swaine (@Dalzell60) December 21, 2020

Commenting on the Facebook page of Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies, eminent historian Wang Gungwu and Singapore's longest-serving ambassador to the U.S. Chan Heng Chee expressed their condolences for Vogel as well.

An "old friend" of PM Lee's

Among the many prominent public figures that Vogel counted as his friends was Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

Back in 2012, PM Lee posted about the "lively and interesting evening" he had catching with Vogel, whom he called "an old friend".

The two discussed the progress that China has made, as well as the challenges it faces ahead, and also agreed that "a stable, prosperous China will be a great plus to the world".

Scholar on both China and Japan

Vogel was born in Delaware, Ohio, on July 11, 1930, to Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe.

His father ran a men’s and boy’s clothing store, and his mother was a homemaker.

Vogel was known for his award-winning biography on China's late paramount leader Deng Xiaoping, titled "Deng Xiaoping and the Transformation of China", a book he completed at the age of 81.

The book became a bestseller in China and was seen by many as the definitive biography of Deng.

The book was written mostly for American readers as he felt it was his responsibility to help them know more about East Asia, Vogel, whose Chinese name is "Fu Gaoyi", told Caixin in an interview this year.

A scholar on Japan as well, Vogel wrote "Japan as Number One: Lessons for America", a book that praised Japan's business practices after World War 2 which became a bestseller in that country.

He also published "China and Japan: Facing History" in 2019, which was a book that reviews the political and cultural ties between the two nations over a 1,500-year history.

In a January interview with Global Times, Vogel also advised the Japanese and South Korean governments to be "open to cooperation with China" should China proceed "in a peaceful way" its activities in the South China Sea.

Fluent in both the Chinese and Japanese languages, Vogel, who also had many Chinese and Japanese friends personally, said he wanted to write a book on these two countries that could "help them improve their relations".

He took pride in his ability to conduct research and give public lectures in both languages as well, his son, a professor of political economy, wrote in an obituary published in The Japan Times. 

"He had an irrepressible ability to see the good in every person and every nation, while recognising nonetheless that many of us fall short of our ideals," his son said.

Thanks to everyone who posted tributes to my father. I thought I might honor him with a not-too-serious thread on some of his major works, from the admittedly warped perspective of one of his offspring. 1/13

— Steven Vogel (@StevenKVogel) December 22, 2020

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Top image adapted via PM Lee/Facebook & Xinhua