Passages - Celebrating Connection
From short-term visits in both directions to year-long Fellowships and lasting installations, Yale-China has been celebrating and strengthening our community across the world.
Strengthening Partnerships Across Continents
After beginning his tenure as Yale-China's president during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, this September John Frisbie was at last able to travel to Hong Kong and mainland China to meet several of our partners in person.
Read more about his visit to Hong Kong, Changsha, and Kunming below.
Dr. Yan Returns to Yale
Yale-China and the Yale School of Medicine recently welcomed several esteemed guests from China and the Yan family for the unveiling of a bust in honor of Dr. Yan Fuqing.
Read more about the events below.
Fellows Find New Home in New Haven
Three teachers from the Yali Education Group in Changsha are spending the academic year in New Haven, teaching Mandarin language and Chinese culture while exploring everything New Haven and Yale have to offer.
Read more about their experiences below.
Community Updates
New Office in Changsha
Last month, Yale-China received approval from the Hunan provincial government to open a representative office in Changsha. Fittingly housed in one of the original buildings at Xiangya Hospital, the office will open in 2024, and is a key milestone in our plans to expand our programming and impact.
In Memoriam
Yale-China is saddened by the passing of Dr. Doreen Chen, Dr. Yan Fuqing's granddaughter and a long-time friend of Yale-China, who continued her grandfather's medical legacy as a pediatric cardiologist. She was a driving force behind the event honoring her grandfather in October, and we are grateful she was able to witness the celebration of his legacy.
Strengthening Partnerships Across Continents
The goals of the trip were simple: to meet with partners face-to-face, reinforce relationships, scope out plans for future growth, and witness Yale-China's program work in action. Yale-China President John Frisbie was joined for most of his trip by Hong Kong Director Andy Junker and Director of Health Programs Junya Zhu. In each of the three cities they visited, they were welcomed warmly by their hosts with meals, tours, and even a fireworks display in addition to the more formal meetings.
The visits were an important reminder of the strength of Yale-China: the people-to-people relationships. In Hong Kong, John met with the leadership of New Asia College and CUHK, discussed Yale-China's work with members of the Yale-Club of Hong Kong, and witnessed the Yale-China Fellows teaching their students at CUHK. In Kunming and Changsha, he was likewise able to meet with leadership of Kunming Medical University and Xiangya Medical School, Nursing School, and Hospital, including newly appointed Dean of Xiangya School of Nursing, former Chia Fellow Wang Honghong. In Changsha, John again had the opportunity to observe the Yale-China Fellows with their students at Yali High School, as well as meeting with the principal and other administrators.
In addition to reinforcing longstanding partnerships, the trip also built a new ones, namely with the Hunan Foreign Affairs Office, who agreed to supervise the forthcoming Yale-China office in Changsha. At each stop, central to the discussions were reassessing priorities after the pandemic and determining the path ahead for program expansion.
“Zoom and WeChat are great tools, but they can’t replace the value of in-person visits. After years of pandemic travel restrictions, this trip felt so important. We visited the leaders of many partner institutions in Hong Kong and the mainland. We were in the same room, face-to-face for discussions, for meals, shoulder-to-shoulder for those necessary “he-ying” pictures. It all creates a different kind of connection, something that builds a deeper level of trust and mutual appreciation. That is vital for the long-term success of Sino-American cooperation.”
Dr. Yan Returns to Yale
More than a century after he became the first Asian doctor to graduate from the Yale School of Medicine, Yale-China and the Yale School of Medicine unveiled a new bust in honor of Dr. Yan Fuqing. Dr. Yan worked with Yale-China as the founding dean of Xiangya School of Medicine, and went on to found Shanghai Medical College and several other Chinese medical institutions.
It was standing room only in the large lecture hall of the Harvey Cushing Library, as hundreds gathered to hear Dr. Nancy Chapman, Dr. David Luesink, and Dr. Yan Zhiyuan speak about the life and legacy of Yan Fuqing. In the audience were not only a large contingent of Yale community members, but also more than a dozen members of Dr. Yan’s family; members of the Xiangya Overseas Alumni Association; and representatives of Xiangya, Central South University, Shanghai Medical College, and the provincial government of Hunan, who traveled from China for the event.
The academic program was followed by the official unveiling of Dr. Yan’s bust, which was donated by Xiangya Hospital and Dr. Yan’s grandchildren in honor of Dr. Yan’s legacy and the long partnership between Yale-China and Xiangya.
The unveiling featured speeches by Yale-China President John Frisbie, Yale School of Medicine Dean Nancy Brown, President Li Jiancheng of Central South University, and Vice Governor Qin Guowen of Hunan province, as well as Dr. Doreen Chen and Dr. Yan Zhiyuan, two of Yan Fuqing’s grandchildren. A common thread among all the speeches was the importance of Dr. Yan’s contributions to both medicine and US-China relations, as well as the lasting partnerships between Yale-China and Xiangya.
The delegations from China had a jam-packed couple days in New Haven. In addition to the events in honor of Dr. Yan, they were able to visit the Yale-China office, hold a joint meeting with the Yale-China Health Committee, and meet with Yale University President Peter Salovey, Dean Nancy Brown, and New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker.
“My grandpa taught us to be decent, to study hard, and to serve the people. He cultivated passion and willingness to serve in his students, which led to many of them becoming leaders and experts in China. I am grateful to share this personal experience of him to this historical room to celebrate the long-term friendship of Yale and China.”
Fellows Find New Home in New Haven
Since their arrival from Hunan in September, Chinese Teaching Fellows Victor YIN Da Long, Bob YAN Bo, and Leah LI Yu have been very busy. In addition to teaching Chinese language and culture to over 880 students at four different New Haven public schools—ranging from five-year-old kindergarteners to 14-year-old eighth graders—they are taking advantage of everything their surroundings have to offer. The Fellows have been auditing classes at Yale, exploring New Haven by bike, and discovering new favorite foods. Together with their ambassador families, they have celebrated Thanksgiving, gone kayaking, carved Jack-o'-lanterns, explored street and county fairs, attended local concerts, and so much more.
The Fellows' adventures haven’t been limited to New Haven, either. Given the opportunity to explore the US, they have jumped in wholeheartedly, travelling to nearby cities like New York and Boston, as well as the more far-flung Washington, DC and San Francisco; wherever they have traveled, they have found themselves welcomed by members of the Yale-China family.
“This experience will make my local community proud. I grew up in an impoverished mountain village in the southwest of Hunan Province. My father and other relatives never dreamed I would be able to go to college, let alone work abroad.”
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