CHEN (Ch’en), Kenneth Kuan-Sheng. Honolulu 20.9.1907 — 25.4.1993. U.S. Indologist (Buddhist scholar). Son of Hua-hsiu Ch’en and Chu See. Studies at University of Hawaii (A.B. 1931), at Harvard-Yenching University in Peking (M.A. 1934), at University of California (in 1940-41), and at Harvard (Ph.D. 1946 in Buddhism and Indology, under Ingalls). In 1935-36 Instructor in History at Harvard-Yenching Institute, 1936-40 in Chinese at University of Hawaii. In 1946-47 research fellow at Harvard-Yenching, 1947-50 assistant director and Professor ibid. 1950-58 Visiting Lecturer in Far Eastern Languages at Harvard. In 1958-61 Professor of Oriental Languages at University of California in Los Angeles, 1961-68 Professor of Buddhism at Princeton University. In 1968-71 William H. Danforth Professor of Religion at Princeton, and 1971-76 Professor of Buddhism and Chairman of Department of Oriental Languages at University of California in Los Angeles. In 1976 emeritus. Married 1935 Chao-ying Tan and as a widower 1970 Man Hing Yue Mok, two children.
In his active time Chen was rather well known and appreciated, but after retirement seems to disappear.
Publications: Diss. A study of the Svāgata story in the Divyāvadāna in its Sanskrit, Pāli, Tibetan, and Chinese versions. Manuscript 1946, publ. in HJAS 9, 1945, 207-314.
– Buddhism in China. A Historical Survey. 12+560 p. Princeton 1964.
– Buddhism, the Light of Asia. 8+297 p. Woodbury N.Y. 1968.
– The Chinese Transformation of Buddhism. 9+345 p. Princeton 1973.
– Articles and reviews in HJAS, e.g. “The Tibetan Tripitaka”, HJAS 9, 1945, 53-62; “Apropos the Neṇḍhaka Story”, HJAS 16, 1953, 374-403.
Sources: Peiris, Buddhism, 272f. with photo; Dir. Am. Sch. 1st ed. 1942; 2nd ed. 1951; 3rd ed. 1953; 5th ed. 4, 1969; 6th ed. 4, 1974; 8th ed. 4, 1982; parents and family (but not death) in prabook.com.
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