Jonathan Spence, Who Helped the West Understand China, Dies at 85

Jonathan Spence, a leading American Sinologist whose studies and writings about Chinese history helped the West understand China, died Saturday at his home in West Haven, Connecticut. He was 85.

Spence, who taught at Yale University for more than 40 years, passed away due to complications from Parkinson’s disease, his wife and fellow Yale professor Annping Chin said, according to U.S. media reports.