Category: CCEPS

Disclaimer: This post contains images of historical documents, some of which include perspectives and language reflecting the time in which they were written. The Claremont Colleges Library does not endorse all the views expressed in these documents.

This week I input some correspondences between Ch’en and his family members. In the past weeks we have introduced Ch’en Shou-yi’s academic contributions and social relationships. This week I would like to briefly introduce part of Ch’en’s family. Ch’en’s brothers like Stanley H. Chan (陳受康) were also famous scholars and left works in Ch’en’s collections of academic offprints. In order to study Chen Li (or Chan Lai, 陳澧), the brother of Ch’en Shou-yi’s great grandfather as well as the leader of Lingnan intellectuals, Ch’en studied his clan and left some family trees. Thanks to Ch’en’s research and correspondence, we are able to realize his family and glimpse their life in the chaotic modern Chinese history. 

Tak-yi (德儀) was Ch’en’s elder sister who was married to Shuchong (or Shuzhong, 叔重). Ch’en’s collection preserves her family’s letters to Ch’en. Although those letters don’t have a date, they were likely written in 1937, when Ch’en and his wife were stuck in Shanghai due to the Japanese invasion. In a letter from Tak-yi to Ch’en, Tak-yi described her frightening experience during a Japanese airstrike in Canton. Her husband, Shu Chong, a law consultant, wrote to Ch’en to express his despair over the endless war. Thanks to Ch’en’s help from the United States, Tak-yi and her family were able to move to Hong Kong in 1937. They were safe temporarily, but had to struggle for survival. Although Tak-yi and Shu Chong accepted higher education, they did not have good job opportunities, and thereby relied on Ch’en’s financial assistance. Their children, Ch’en’s niece and nephew, were grateful to Ch’en, and felt worried about Ch’en’s situation in Shanghai. The children suffered through Japanese airstrikes and skin disease, but  luckily survived in Hong Kong. According to other governmental documents in Ch’en’s collections, Ch’en went back to China to accept his professor position in Peiping (now Beijing). However, due to the breakout of the Japanese invasion, Ch’en and his wife were stuck in Shanghai, and they had to return to the United States while searching for a job on an American campus. The war changed Ch’en and his family completely.

Lau Tai-chi (劉體志) is Ch’en’s elder cousin as well as a famous photographer and dentist. Lau’s father contributed to the founding of Lingnan University, where Ch’en’s family and Lau’s family completed their undergraduate programs. Lau’s two daughters had different destinies according to Lau’s letters to Ch’en. In 1963, Lau’s elder daughter, Hei-lun (希麟) after a long and difficult affection experience, became engaged for marriage with a man. Although Lau complained of this sudden engagement, he chose to respect his daughter’s choice. In 1972, Lau wrote to Ch’en and Ch’en’s younger brother for suggestions on his young daughter Hei-yin (希賢), who was suspected of having a mental disorder because she always insisted that she had been besieged and suppressed by communists in Hong Kong. Lau even considered severing all ties with her.   

There are no more files in Ch’en’s collection to disclose the final destiny of Ch’en’s family members. The fortunate and misfortunate life of Ch’en’s family was the epitome of a chaotic Chinese modern history full of warfare and political movements.  

Disclaimer: This post contains images of historical documents, some of which include perspectives and language reflecting the time in which they were written. The Claremont Colleges Library does not endorse all the views expressed in these documents.

This week I processed Ch’en Shou-yi’s correspondences. As we know, Ch’en was so professional at West-East exchange that he also transplanted his academic perspective to analysis of contemporary politics. As a result, in this box of Ch’en’s correspondence, I found many invitations from different organizations to invite Ch’en to introduce and analyze China. Ch’en was not only a mere scholar on campus, but also was an active participant in social activities to introduce Chinese culture, study Chinese domestic situations, and explore better ways to teach Chinese language and related Chinese studies. 

In the past weeks we have introduced the connections between Ch’en and global scholars who focus on Chinese studies. Due to Ch’en’s success in Chinese studies on American campuses, scholars in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Singapore wrote to Ch’en for suggestions and experiences in Chinese education. Ch’en’s contribution and influence in education fields also led him to be attractive to public audiences, who were eager to better understand China from a distance. On the one hand, many Chinese associations in the US such as China Institute in America, invited Ch’en for speeches not only for introducing Chinese culture, but also for drawing public attention on the Japanese invasion in China. Ch’en’s friends like famous Chinese writer Lin Yutang, and scholar Hu Shih, were important members or even founders of such associations, and thereby played important roles in introducing Ch’en to the public. On the other hand, American people were also passionate to understand China during the Cold War, and eager to review the failure of American diplomatic strategy in China with the victory of Chinese communists. Although Ch’en had his own political stance, he tried to introduce China vividly to the public from his perspective of Chinese culture, and reviewed the moral crisis and culture suppression in political movements. By studying the participations of Ch’en in various governmental and non-governmental organizations, scholars may uncover Ch’en’s social network in the United States, and understand how Ch’en became a bridge to maintain the cultural communication of China and the United States. 

Disclaimer: This post contains images of historical documents, some of which include perspectives and language reflecting the time in which they were written. The Claremont Colleges Library does not endorse all the views expressed in these documents.

In the past weeks we have introduced Ch’en Shou-yi’s contributions to the East-West exchange. As for the East civilizations, China is not Ch’en’s only one research topic. Actually, Chen did comprehensive research on other East Asian countries like Korea and Japan. This week I processed booklets, which were collected by Ch’en, and I was impressed by the many booklets on Japan. On the one hand, the booklets published from 1930s to 1940s reflected Japanese military aggression and expansion. On the other hand, the booklets published after WWII reflected the reconstruction and development of Japan and Japanese culture.

When the Second Sino-Japan War (China calls it Anti-Japanese War in these booklets) broke out in 1937, governmental and non-governmental agencies published  many booklets to disclose the war crimes of Japanese invaders, report on the suffering of refugees, and appeal to the world for aid.  For example, in 1933, The Intelligence and Publicity Department published a bulletin on the Japanese military aggression in Shanghai. In 1937, Chinese scholars Jen Tai (任泰) and Shuhsi Hsü (徐淑希) wrote several Information Bulletin to discuss the Japanese aggressive expansion policy in North China and related Sino-Japanese Crisis. In 1938, the China Information Committee, an official ministry of information of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), published a series of booklets reflecting the Japanese invasion and propaganda in China. In a booklet Pictorial Evidence of Japanese Atrocities, the China Information Committee even attached pictures of  executions by the Japanese military. In 1938, The Press Bureau of The Chinese Delegation published booklets criticizing the uselessness of the League of Nations in the Japanese invasion. Non-governmental agencies like Manchuria Refugees’ Relief Association exposed Japanese brutalities in Manchuria in a booklet. In addition, Ch’en collected booklets written and published by non-Chinese. Facts of The China Trouble was published by the contemporary Japanese Chamber of Commerce, trying to find excuses for Japanese aggression. The Sino-Japanese Issue Series contains some issues written by foreign reporters like (Mrs. Paul D.) Mary Fine Twinem, S. Lautenschlager, Rev. E. Stanley Jones, D.D., recording their witness of Japanese aggression in China. Additionally, as we introduced last week, Dr. Clinton N. Laird published his Life In A Japanese Internment Camp in 1943, introducing his family captured by Japanese invaders in Hong Kong. Chinese Americans also organized United China Relief to save Chinese refugees. After visiting China and talking to suffering people, United China Relief published What Li Wen Saw, to appeal to the American people for refugee relief.   

After WWII, Ch’en got an opportunity to visit Japan, and collected booklets reflecting Japanese religion and culture, especially on famous Japanese Buddhist temples like 熊野寺 (Kumano Temple) and 西光寺 (Saikou Temple). Japan: A Packet for Teachers contains a series of booklets on Japanese culture and history published by the Japan Society. In 1957, Japanese Prime Minister Kishi visited the US, and Ch’en collected the booklet published by Consulate General of Japan. At that time, the US and Japan had been allies and Japan was recovering rapidly form the war. As a Chinese American scholar, Ch’en paid attention to the suffering people of his homeland. With the end of the war, he finally focused on his interest in culture and history, and even had the opportunity to visit Japan in person. Booklets on Japan in Ch’en’s collections reflected two sides of Japan: the war provoked by aggressive Japanese invaders led Japan to the verge of destruction while peace made Japanese culture prosperous. 

Disclaimer: This post contains images of historical documents, some of which include perspectives and language reflecting the time in which they were written. The Claremont Colleges Library does not endorse all the views expressed in these documents.

Newspapers, magazines, and other paper publications are important primary sources. As an outstanding historian, Ch’en Shou-yi preserved valuable publications. Two weeks ago, I briefly introduced Ch’en’s offprints, and this week I processed newspapers and magazine clippings, which Ch’en collected. Ch’en’s newspaper clippings and magazine excerpts dated from the 1910s to 1970s, covering many mainstream newspaper and magazine presses in both China and the United States such as the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Ta-Kung-Pao (大公報), Wen Wei Po (文匯報), and Shun Pao (申報). Ch’en had comprehensive interests in Chinese literature, history, linguistics, art, and education. In addition, Ch’en paid attention to contemporary global politics from the 1911 Revolution in China to the Cold War situations. I am impressed by some newspaper clippings on the news during the WWII because I found the participation and contributions of faculty, staff, and students from Lingnan University in Canton, China, and The Claremont Colleges.  

Dr. Clinton N. Laird was a chemist and the dean of Lingnan University, which was Ch’en Shou-yi’s alma mater. Mrs. Laird, a missionary nurse, also worked for Lingnan University, and was detained by Japanese invaders in Hong Kong after the breakout of the Pacific War in 1941. Some of Ch’en Shou-yi’s newspaper clippings focus on Mrs. Laird and other American citizens detained in Hong Kong, who were later released due to the pressure from American government. Dr. Laird wrote works such as Life in A Japanese Internment Camp and the Lairds participated actively in various public speeches to disclose the brutality of Japanese fascists and encourage American patriots to fight against fascists. (Ch’en Shou-yi’s booklets collections preserved related materials and I will introduce these in the future weeks). Ch’en’s newspaper clippings also describe Dr. Laird’s daughter, Miss Catherine Laird, who was born in Canton, China, and was able to speak Japanese. Having experienced Japanese invasion, Miss Laird fearlessly served the war work. In addition, Dr. Charlotte Gower, a female Professor of Anthropologists at Lingnan University, joined the United States Marines and became Capt. Charlotte Gower. After being released by Japanese troops as a POW, Capt. Gower told the public the life as a captive.  

Students from The Claremont Colleges also contributed to a great extent during WWII. James H. (Jimmy) Howard was an alumnus of Pomona College. After graduation, he joined the AVG (American Volunteer Group) led by Colonel Claire L. Chennault, to fight against Japanese Army Air Force. The AVG, nicknamed the Flying Tigers, became famous for their campaigns in China and Southeast Asia. Laurence G. Thompson, whom I introduced two weeks ago, was another Claremont Colleges student and studied under Ch’en Shou-yi. Dr. Thompson was born in Shandong Province, China and got his Ph.D. from Claremont Graduate School (now Claremont Graduate University). During the WWII, Dr. Thompson served in the U.S. Marine Corps as a Japanese-language interpreter, and fought in the South Pacific. After WWII Dr. Thompson was well-known for his contributions to East Asian studies.  

Scholars and students always have passion for the justice, empathy, and brotherhood for mankind. Ch’en’s newspaper and magazine collections recorded their contributions. Their sacrifice and glory should always be remembered.  

This week I input Ch’en Shou-yi’s research materials into the ArchivesSpace system. In the three boxes full of handwritten and typed notes, Ch’en Shou-yi left his comprehensive research and acute insights. Based on my rough observation, 76 folders of Ch’en Shou-yi’s research materials focused on his lifetime research topic: The West-East cultural communication, which referred to the cultural contact between the West represented by Europe and the United States, and the East represented by China. Ch’en’s notebooks contained numerous fields such as Chinese and European history, literature, archaeology, religion studies, culture studies, philosophy, and even language learnings like Russian. Many notes express Ch’en’s mature ideas because they were used finally in Ch’en’s published works.

This week I input Ch’en Shou-yi’s research materials into the ArchivesSpace system. In the three boxes full of handwritten and typed notes, Ch’en Shou-yi left his comprehensive research and acute insights. Based on my rough observation, 76 folders of Ch’en Shou-yi’s research materials focused on his lifetime research topic: The West-East cultural communication, which referred to the cultural contact between the West represented by Europe and the United States, and the East represented by China. Ch’en’s notebooks contained numerous fields such as Chinese and European history, literature, archaeology, religion studies, culture studies, philosophy, and even language learnings like Russian. Many notes express Ch’en’s mature ideas because they were used finally in Ch’en’s published works.

This week I input two boxes of offprints, booklets, and other academic publications written by Ch’en Shou-yi and other scholars into the online archive. As a scholar who studied the East-West exchange, Ch’en’s collections of academic works covered history, literature, archaeology, religion, and linguistic on China. Most of the academic works were written in English and Chinese, and published from 1870s to 1970s. These offprints and other academic publications crossing one century preserved research values apart from the contents.  

First, according to the publication date, I can imagine scholars in different eras had different research focuses. From 1871 to 1920, most offprints, excerpts, and other academic works were written by Christian intellectuals, who were also priests in China. Christian intellectuals studied Chinese language such as the Mandarin romanization, philosophy such as Confucianism, and Chinese culture and tradition like the festivals, trying to understand China and better introduce Christianity. After the Chinese Civil War in 1949, publications in Taiwan and on Taiwan became prosperous. Many scholars explored the history of Taiwan in diaspora history and global communication, and reviewed the ideologies and revolutions in modern China. Maybe these works reflect the Chinese intellectuals’ focus with the Kuomintang retreated to Taiwan.  

Second, if we link many of those authors with Ch’en’s correspondence, which I will post in the future weeks, we can clearly see the friendship between Ch’en and those authors, who are famous modern Chinese intellectuals. I made a rough statistic to recover Ch’en’s academic circle. I have input 196 academic works written by 101 authors. 4 authors stayed in China Mainland such as Luo Changpei (羅常培), one of the founders of Chinese linguistic. 1/3 of the authors including Ch’en Shou-yi came to the United States and became Chinese-American scholars such as Yuen Ren Chao (趙元任), another founder of Chinese linguistic, Chan Wing-tsit (陳榮捷), Ch’en Shou-yi’s alumnae in Lingnan University and colleague in University of Hawaii as well as famous historian, Wu Hsiang-hsiang (吳相湘), historian focusing on biography research, and Tung-Li Yuan (袁同禮), father of Chinese library studies. 1/10 of the authors went to Taiwan, making contributions to the Taiwan colleges and Academia Sinica, including Han-sheng Chuan (全漢昇), historian of the history of Chinese economics, Li Chi (李濟), father of Chinese archaeology, T. F. Tsiang (蔣廷黻), historian and Chinese ambassador in the US, and Yao Ts’ung-wu (姚從吾), historian and Ch’en’s colleague in Peking University. The other global scholars came from the Netherlands, Japan, France, and the United States, contributing insights to Chinese studies.  

In the end, the compliments and comments written by the authors also provided valuable information to recover Ch’en’s academic circle. Ch’en’s younger brother, Stanley H. Chan (陳受康), a law scholar, contributed one article on law. Nine scholars viewed Ch’en as a faithful friend including Chan Wing-tsit (陳榮捷), who sent Ch’en 12 papers. Almost 20 authors were Ch’en’s students, who also maintained correspondence with Ch’en. Wen-Djang Chu (朱文長) in Singapore, Wang Teh-chao (王德昭) in Hong Kong, Laurence G. Thompson (譚維理) in California, were not only outstanding scholars, but also improved Chinese studies teaching after consulting with their teacher, Ch’en.