Lunch and Learn – Kuang Qizhao, the Chinese, and Mark Twain

Virtual Presentation!

Please join us for a virtual presentation by Sam Wong and Evelyn Wong as they discuss the life of Kuang Qizhao, the official translator for the Chinese Educational Mission (CEM) in Hartford, Connecticut.

The CEM was the first time that the Chinese sent students abroad. Kuang was worked for the mission from 1874-83 and was a neighbor of Mark Twain’s. Reflecting his prominence in the neighborhood, according to The New Haven Register, if one wanted to visit with Kuang, he needed to get “the social endorsement” of Mark Twain or Joseph Twichell, Twain’s best friend.

This talk will discuss Kuang’s time in Hartford and his interactions with his neighbors—interactions which enabled him to formulate new ideas about how to modernize China.  At the same time, Kuang astounded Americans by publishing A Dictionary of English Phrases, surprising many Americans that a Chinese person, a person from an “inferior” race, could compile a dictionary to teach them their own language.

English scholars now recognize that Twain’s literature was influenced by the Chinese in Hartford, and Kuang may have had an instrumental impact. Building on that scholarship, this talk will provide specific examples of how Kuang and the Chinese may have influenced Twain, particularly in Twain’s overlooked play called Ah Sin, and then in his more famous books, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court.  

This virtual event is free and open to the public. Get tickets to receive the Zoom link.

Questions? Contact Jen Busa, Public Programs Coordinator at jbusa@connecticutmuseum.org.

TICKETS
This virtual event is free! Click the button below to register.

About the speakers: Sam Wong is the great great grandson of Kuang Qizhao. He has been conducting research on Kuang since 2010 and has co-authored three articles on the subject.  Sam Wong is Executive Director of China Renewable Energy Investment. He previously worked in investment banking at Kidder, Peabody, Bear Stearns, Societe Generale, and Credit Suisse First Boston. Mr. Wong has a B.A. from the University of Chicago and an MBA from the Yale School of Organization and Management. Evelyn Wong is the great great great granddaughter of Kuang Qizhao. She has authored and presented several articles on Kuang.  Evelyn Wong assisted in translating the book, Searching for My Ideal China: An Illustrated Biography of Yung Wing, the Father of Chinese Students Abroad. She co-presented at the book launch ceremony in Zhuhai, China. She is a student at Singapore International School in Hong Kong.

Image: Kwong Ki Chiu, The Dictionary of English Phrases. New York: A.S. Barnes, 1881.