B.A. 1^st Class Honours; M. Phil., University of Hong Kong, and  Ph.D. Australian National University. A former Swire Scholar and Commonwealth Scholar. Research interests include Chinese intellectual history, culture, East-Asian Confucianism, and Chinese beliefs and customs. He has served as Sub-Dean of the Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences, Director of the Centre for Research in Chinese Studies and Head of the Department of Chinese Studies, National University of Singapore, and is currently Academic Convenor of the Minor in China Studies Programme. He is concurrently Council Member of the Presidential Council for Religious Harmony of the Singapore Government, Chairman of the Advisory Committee on Chinese Programmes of the Media Development Authority of Singapore, Member of the Chinese Language Curriculum and Pedagogy Review Committee of the Ministry of Education, and Chairman of the Academic & Research Section of the Singapore Federation of Chinese Clan Associations.