A New Journey at The Asian Library

Hello everybody! I have been processing the documents of Prof. Ch’en Shou-yi for three semesters, and I am looking forward to continuing processing this semester. Before posting my findings during the process, I wish to briefly introduce myself. My name is Yuda Li and I am a Chinese Ph.D. student at the Department of History at Claremont Graduate University. I got my B. A. in Economics from the Central University of Finance and Economics in Beijing, China, and my MPA from Florida State University in Tallahassee, U.S. This is my second year in history doctoral program with a concentration in Chinese immigrants in the 19th and 20th century. Prof. Ch’en, a Chinese exile in the U.S., enriched the materials for Chinese immigration studies.  

After two semesters of preliminary processing, I have been familiar with Prof. Ch’en Shou-yi (or Ch’ên Shou-yi/ Shau Yi Chan, Chinese: 陳受頤, 1899-1978), who was born in Canton Province, China. Prof. Ch’en was skilled at history, Chinese and English literature, and cultural studies. Prof. Ch’en taught at Lingnan University, Peking University, The University of Hawaii, and Pomona College, making groundbreaking contributions to the comparative cultural studies of modern China and the historical studies of Sino-Western cultural exchange. Furthermore, Prof. Ch’en maintained lifelong friendships with Chinese contemporary top intellectuals such as liberalist historian and writer Hu Shih (胡適), historian Fu Ssu-nien (傅斯年), famous writer Lin Yutang (林語堂), the father of Chinese library studies T. L. Yuan (袁同禮), and other creative scholars who made revolutionary contributions to modern China. However, unlike his well-known friends who were written into Chinese textbooks, Prof. Ch’en has been forgotten by modern Chinese people.  

Photo of Ch’en Shouyi (Right), Hu Shih (Middle), and Lin Yutang (Left)
Photo of Ch’en Shouyi (Right), Hu Shih (Middle), and Lin Yutang (Left) 

Why must we study Prof. Ch’en? On the one hand, Prof. Ch’en established a bridge for Chinese to learn the West represented by Western Europe and the U.S., and for American students to learn the Oriental culture. This contribution should not be forgotten or hidden. On the other hand, Prof. Ch’en experienced the most chaotic century of China that was full of revolutions, war, fires, and numerous political movements. Prof. Ch’en faithfully recorded an oversea scholar’s perspective of the changes of modern China. We can always see Ch’en’s struggle for academic freedom and spiritual independence during the WWII, the Chinese Civil War, and the political movements in both Mainland China and Taiwan. 

Until next time,

Yuda