Nathan Sivin (11 May 1931 – 24 June 2022), also known as Xiwen (Chinese: 席文), was an American sinologist, historian, essayist, educator, and writer. He taught first at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, then at the University of Pennsylvania until his retirement in 2006.[1]
The major areas of study and focus in Nathan Sivin's career and publications were history of science and technology in China, medicine in traditional China, Chinese philosophy, and Chinese religious beliefs. He was a key player in the development of their scholarly study in the West. He collaborated with prominent scholars, such as G.E.R. Lloyd, A.C. Graham and Joseph Needham, and nurtured younger ones.
His wife was the artist Carole Delmore Sivin, who died in 2020. For many years they lived in Chestnut Hill, Pennsylvania.[2]
In 1977 he was elected to the American Academy of Arts & Sciences.[3] He was president of the Philadelphia literary society, Franklin Inn Club, 1996–1998.