Liu Chi-Wen, Chinese Revolutionary

There is an interesting talk this Friday sponsored by the Royal Asiatic Society taking place at 6:15pm in the Extension Activities Room on the 8th Floor of the City Hall High Block in Central. It is by local China historian Betty Wei on one of the leading lights of the KMT. Here is the description:

Liu Chi-wen-Revolutionary Leader: Friday, 24th February

Liu Chi-wen (1890-1957), from Canton (Guangdong), was a follower of Sun Yat-sen in the revolution that toppled the Manchu Dynasty in 1911. He was educated in Japan, at the London School of Economics and at Cambridge. He was best man at the wedding of Chiang Kai-Shek and Soong Mei-ling in 1927. In 1928, Liu became Mayor of Nanjing and in 1932 Mayor of Canton. Roads, bridges and noted civic buildings that Liu was responsible for still stand; these include the Mausoleum of Sun Yat-Sen in Nanjing and the Pearl River Bridge in Canton. Liu Chi-wen became a household name in China during the middle decades of the 20th century, for his political prominence as well as for his personal glamour and the rumours that surrounded him.

Dr. Betty Wei, a historian and a Council Member of the RAS, is a graduate of Bryn Mawe College, New York University and the University of Hong Kong. She is perhaps best known to members of the RAS for her book, Shanghai: Crucible of Modern China. Having been a schoolmate and longtime friend of two daughters of Liu Chi-wen, the family asked Betty to compile his biography, which was privately published in 2005. Dr. Wei's research was based on Liu's diary and letters, and interviews with his wife, children and colleagues, as well as academic and general publications.

Each person attending the lecture will be given, gratis, a copy of the 184-page book, Liu Chi-wen: Biography of a Revolutionary Leader, which is lavishly illustrated with family photographs.

Hey free book! I unfortunately cannot go, but if anyone reading this does go, leave us a quick comment on the talk!