Edward Hetzel Schafer (August 23, 1913 – February 9, 1991) was an American historian, sinologist, and writer noted for his expertise on the Tang dynasty, and was a professor of Chinese at University of California, Berkeley, for 35 years.
Schafer's most notable works include The Golden Peaches of Samarkand and The Vermilion Bird, which both explore China's interactions with other cultures and regions during the Tang dynasty.
The financial hardships brought about by the Great Depression prevented Schafer's family from sending him to university, and he spent seven years working at a wholesale grocery to save up the money required.
[1] Schafer then entered Harvard University where he began work on his Ph.D, but his studies were interrupted in December 1941 by the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and the United States' subsequent entry into World War II.
[1] After the war's conclusion in 1945, Schafer returned to Berkeley and completed his Ph.D. in 1947 with a dissertation entitled "The Reign of Liu Ch'ang, Last Emperor of Southern Han; A Critical Translation of the Text of Wu Tai shih, with Special Inquiries into Relevant Phases of Contemporary Chinese Civilization".