Achilles Chih-t'ung Fang was a sinologist and comparatist. He was held in great esteem by those who knew him in life. Marianne Moore, a famous American poet, called him "the word wizard".
Fang was born as Chih-t'ung (or Fang Zhitong 方志浵).
Works[]
Achilles Fang worked for Beijing based Monumenta Serica from 1940 until 1947. Historian Paul Michaud, author of The Yellow Turbans, also worked for Monumenta Serica.
The main content of Fang's work was to proofread translations in submissions to the journal; he corrected errors with a pedant's callous zeal. He also included a regular "Review of Reviews" feature, wherein he summarized important articles in European and Japanese sinological journals, providing Western sinologists with news of developments in Japanese sinology those without Japanese would otherwise not have had.
Among people interested in the Three Kingdoms, Achilles Fang is known for his partial translation of the Zizhi tongjian. Fang translated the parts that cover the years 220 - 265 A.D. and released it as The Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms in 1952. Australian professor Rafe de Crespigny translated the years 157 - 220 A.D. and released it as Emperor Huan and Emperor Ling and To Establish Peace in 1989 and 1996 respectively, completing a translation of the fall of Han and Three Kingdoms period.