CHIANG, Yee 1903-1977

PERSONAL: Born May 19, 1903, in Kiu-chiang, China; immigrated to the United States, 1955; naturalized U.S. citizen, 1966; died October 17, 1977, in Peking, China; son of Chiang Ho-an (an artist) and Tsai Hsiang-Lin; married Tseng Yun, June 3, 1924; children: Hsiao-Yen, Chien-Fei, Chien-Lan, Chien Kou. Education: National Southeastern University, Nanking, China, B.Sc., 1925.

CAREER: Teacher of chemistry in middle schools in China; National Chi-Nan University, China, lecturer in chemistry; assistant editor of a daily newspaper in Hangchow, Chekiang, China; district governor of districts of Chiu-chiang, Yushan, Tangtu, and Wu-Hu, China; University of London, London School of Oriental and African Studies, London, England, lecturer in Chinese, 1935–38; Wellcome Museum of Medical Science, London, in charge of Chinese section, 1938–40; designer of decor and costumes for the ballet "The Birds," performed by the Sadler Wells Ballet, 1942; Columbia University, New York, NY, associate professor, 1959–68, professor of Chinese, 1968–71, professor emeritus, 1971–77. Peabody Museum, honorary curator of Chinese ethnology, beginning 1955. Harvard University, Phi Beta Kappa orator, 1956, Emerson fellow in poetry, 1958–59. Visiting professor, Chinese University at Hong Kong, 1971, and Australian National University, 1972–73. Military service: Served in Chinese Army for one year.

MEMBER: American Academy of Arts and Sciences, National Society of Literature and the Arts, Royal Society of Arts (fellow), Century Association (New York, NY).

AWARDS, HONORS: Senior specialist award, East-West Center, Honolulu, HI, 1967; named honorary mayor of Oklahoma City, OK, 1969; H.L.D., Hofstra University, 1970; D.Litt., Australian National University, 1972; Leverhulme fellow, University of West Australia, 1976; D.Arts, Rider College.

WRITINGS:

The Chinese Eye: An Interpretation of Chinese Painting, Methuen (London, England), 1935, 4th edition, Norton (New York, NY), 1960.

Chinese Calligraphy: An Introduction to Its Aesthetic and Technique, Methuen (London, England), 1938, 3rd edition, Harvard University Press (Cambridge, MA), 1973.

The Silent Traveller: A Chinese Artist in Lakeland, Scribner (New York, NY), 1938.

Chinpao and the Giant Pandas, Country Life (London, England), 1939.

(And illustrator) The Silent Traveller in London, Scribner (New York, NY), 1939, new edition, Transatlantic Arts (New York, NY), 1951, reprinted, Interlink Books (New York, NY), 2002.

The Silent Traveller in War Time, Country Life (London, England), 1939.

A Chinese Childhood, Methuen (London, England), 1940, 3rd edition, 1946, John Day (New York, NY), 1952.

The Silent Traveller in the Yorkshire Dales, Methuen (London, England), 1941.

The Men of the Burma Road, 3rd edition, Transatlantic Arts (New York, NY), 1942.

The Silent Traveller in Oxford, Methuen (London, England), 1944, 2nd edition, 1945.

The Silent Traveller in Edinburgh, Methuen (London, England), 1948, 2nd edition, 1950.

The Silent Traveller in New York, preface by Van Wyck Brooks, Methuen (London, England), 1950, John Day (New York, NY), 1953.

The Silent Traveller in Dublin, John Day (New York, NY), 1953.

The Silent Traveller in Paris, W. W. Norton (New York, NY), 1956.

The Silent Traveller in Boston, W. W. Norton (New York, NY), 1959.

The Silent Traveller in San Francisco, W. W. Norton (New York, NY), 1964.

The Silent Traveller in Japan, W. W. Norton (New York, NY), 1972.

Chiang I shu hua (title means "Calligraphy and Paintings by Chiang Yee"), Hyde Printing Co., 1972.

China Revisited, after Forty-two Years, W. W. Norton (New York, NY), 1977.

(With others) Chinese Fine Arts, China Academy (Taipei, Taiwan), 1980.

Also author of Chan shih Pu-lieh-tien and Ya hsing che fang Hua kuei lai hua chin hsi.

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Journeys, June-December, 2000, Da Zheng, "Home Construction: Chinese Poetry and American Landscape in Chiang Yee's Travel Writings," p. 59.

Times Literary Supplement, May 10, 2002, Frances Wood, review of The Silent Traveller in London, p. 31.

ONLINE

Guardian Web Site, Travel Section, http://travel.guardian.co.uk/ (January 12, 2002), Nicholas Lezard, "Nicholas Lezard on Chiang Yee's [sic] The Silent Traveller in London, an Enchanted Visitor to the Big Smoke."

OBITUARIES:

PERIODICALS

New York Times, October 21, 1977.