2014…A Look Back

So although it’s been a relatively quiet year compared to 2013 when we were traveling all over the place, 2014 was definitely filled with its own kind of activity! We met some more wonderful people, I gave my first lecture at Smith College and some other opportunities may be coming down the line in the next year!

• We recently spent a lovely Saturday afternoon with Timothy Liu and his wife, Pei-Lu. He is the son of Liu Chi-Wen (1890 -1957) who was the Mayor of Nanjing for 3 years during the Republican Period and a key figure in the reconstruction of Nanjing as the new capitol of the Nationalist Government. His main responsibility was to work on Nanjing’s infrastructure and complete the boulevard leading to Sun Yet-Sen’s Memorial. In 1923 – 1926, Liu was sent to Europe by Chiang Kai-Shek to recruit China’s brightest and most promising students to be a part of the Nationalist Government. We believe that Liu Chi-Wen met Liu Jipiao and his cohorts during their time in Paris in the 1920’s and when they returned to China, enlisted them to work for the government. There are some records of my grandfather working on the waterways/infrastructure in Nanjing. My grandmother always claimed that LJP helped build the Sun Yet-Sen Memorial. Tim and his wife were kind enough to gift us his father’s biography, Liu Chi-Wen, Biography of a Revolutionary Leader, by Betty Peh T’i Wei.

 

• We also had the pleasure of a visit from one of the board members of the Art Deco Society of Los Angeles, Celeste Hong at Miller and Jetty Fong’s. She came over to see Liu’s work for the afternoon. She told us that the 13th World Congress on Art Deco will be held in Shanghai, China this November 2015. I also received an email from someone who will be presenting at the Congress. She had written about LJP and was happy to make contact. I put her in touch with Weng Tongrun, the student who did the research on Liu and they are meeting up to work on a collaboration! Who knows, I may be in Shanghai this year!

 

• I finished my first class in Mandarin since my college days back in 1988. I found out that I remembered a lot more than I thought I did. I speak much better than I can read or write. But people still have to speak slowly for me to understand a lot of what is being said. I am certainly more confidant having taken the class! I am continuing with my Mandarin at UCLA Extension for the Winter and Spring Sessions. I am determined!

 

• We are also looking forward to the launching of AMCA (Archives of Modern Chinese Artists) website dedicated to Liu Jipiao! We are hoping that it will be finished early this year. (Maybe around Chinese New Years??)

 

• For those of you who have asked, my mother Gayook is doing as well as to be expected under the circumstances. She is taking pretty well to the new medication and we were able to catch this relatively small tumor right at the beginning. We are very optimistic about her treatment!

 

We are looking forward to a new year filled with changes, excitement and surprises! We hope you are all well and wish to hear from you in the near future to tell us what you’ve been up to. On a personal note, the next blog will be about the newest addition to the family!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Jenn Wong