Marnix Wells
Marnix Curriculum Vitae
Marnix Wells (Wéi Mânyì 韦满易), b. 1945, London
Obtained BA/MA Oxford in Chinese (1968), before working in Japan, Taiwan and
South Korea, while learning practical Chinese culture in martial arts, music and
calligraphy. Received PhD in pre-Qin Chinese philosophy on Shi, Dynamics from
SOAS (2001). Authored translations on Chang Naizhou and taijiquan (Scholar
Boxer), early philosophy and religion (Pheasant Cap Master, Heguanzi, the Dao
of Unity). Presented papers at conferences over twenty years and wrote articles,
one with Laurence Picken, on Chinese music, lyrics and rhythm for Asian
Music, Chinoperl (ASA), and CHIME.
From JT Crowley the Podcaster and author who wrote - The Author of Heguanzi, The Dao of Unity: In the birth of the Chinese Empire
Dr Marnix Wells is a British Author living in Croydon a large town in South London in the UK. His fascination
with ancient Chinese History, art, culture and religion goes right back to his childhood days influenced by a book
his mother read. He obtained his first degree in Chinese from Oxford University in 1967 and later acquired a PhD
in Oriental and African studies from London University in 2001, with a thesis on Dynamics of Causation in
Ancient China. Dr Marnix is also responsible for writing’ The Pheasant Cap Master and the End of History:
Linking religion and philosophy in Early China, 2013.
I asked Dr Marnix for a quirky story about himself, and this is what he said.” A boy of pugnacious disposition,
his mother by reading aloud, sparked interest in history, and his father, through rabbit-skinning and shooting, in
nature. At boarding school, he won prizes for butterfly, wild-moth and wildflower collections from a Suffolk
landscape now sadly depleted. In holidays, archaeology inspired him to help the county museum, washing
excavated potsherds and joining a week’s dig on a turret of Hadrian’s wall. His mother’s teenage copy of The
Importance of Living by Lin Yutang fuelled a growing fascination with Chinese art, leading to a first degree from
Oxford University, a career in Far Eastern container shipping and a PhD from London School of Oriental and
African Studies, with his thesis: “Dynamics of Cognition and Causation in the axial period of Chinese Philosophy
(500-221 BC).”
This amazing book which is written for lovers of world history and religion has been dedicated to the author’s
late Parents Edward Preston ‘Hawkeye Bill’ and Mary Dorothea: daughter Sarah, helper and beloved soul-mate
Joyce, honorary proof-readers Angus Macindoe and Lilian Chia, my teachers at Oxford University’s Oriental
Institute , 1964-1967: Professor David Hawkes, lecturers Raymond Dawson, Glen Dudbridge, then PhD candidate
Wong Siu-Kit, and at London University School of Oriental and African Studies, 1993-2001 my PhD supervisor
Paul Thompson. Dr Marnix also acknowledges a debt of gratitude to all pioneers of Heguanzi studies, in particular
