Title
Chinese Badgers/Badgers in China
Abstract
This event spotlighted UW Madison’s earliest students from China. Current university community members learned how these students’ careers were impacted by their time in Madison. CEAS faculty and historian Joe Dennis moderated presentations by Badgers on Badgers from the early 1900s including:
- Paul Reinsch, Milwaukee native, 1869-1923, inaugural chair of the UW Political Science Department, and US Minister to Republican China, 1913-19
- Wen-Shion Tsu, Jiangsu Province, 1883-1939, UW Class of 1912, president of the UW’s Chinese Students Club, and pioneer in the use of modern scientific methods in the study of Chinese astronomy
- Yuan-Lung Yeh, Anhui Province, 1897-1967, UW bachelor in 1921, master’s degree in 1922, recipient of the prestigious “golden key” award from the Artus honorary economics fraternity in Madison
- Wen-Ying Peng, Jiangxi Province, 1904-1962, UW Class of 1927. Peng’s political writings and advocacy made him a target of both the left and the right in China, but also helped introduce the concept of human rights to Chinese audiences.
Members of the Tsu, Yeh, and Peng families were present at this workshop to listen to the presentations and offer personal reflections.
In conjunction with this workshop, the East Asian Reading Room in Memorial Library hosted an exhibit titled “Journey Across Cultures: The Saga of Early Chinese Badgers” that same day.
Biography
Presenters:
- Dr. Xingyu Chen, UW Alum
- Lihao Yuan, East Asian Studies Researcher
- Yu-Hsuan Wang, History of Science PhD
- Zhengzai Pei, History major