2013, The Symposium for the New Edition of the 13-volume Wellington Koo Memoirs
The symposium for the new edition of the 13-volume Wellington Koo Memoirs was held in Beijing on August 20th, 2013. This was the first time that the 13-volume memoirs were published as a whole set.
The Institute of Modern History at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and Zhonghua Book Company hosted the symposium. It was attended by staff from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the All-China Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese, and the National Library, as well as scholars studying modern history. Shirley Young, the President of U.S.-China Cultural Institute and the stepdaughter of Wellington Koo, was also in attendance.
The first volume of the series was published by Zhonghua Book Company in 1983 and the whole series was finished in 1994. Because the publishing period of the first edition took so long, it was difficult for readers to acquire the whole series. Therefore, all 13 books of the series were re-composed and edited, then published as a whole set.
During the symposium, scholars such as Zhang Baijia and Wu Jingping said that Koo’s memoirs contained the history, characters, and events of the 20th century, both at home and abroad, revealing many backgrounds and secrets that few people had known, making these materials very important to Chinese modern history, especially diplomatic history.
It was also announced that Mr. Koo’s archive in Columbia University would be digitized and made available to scholars, with the collaboration of Columbia University, the Institute of Modern History at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, and the Shanghai Library.
The Institute of Modern History at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and Zhonghua Book Company hosted the symposium. It was attended by staff from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the All-China Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese, and the National Library, as well as scholars studying modern history. Shirley Young, the President of U.S.-China Cultural Institute and the stepdaughter of Wellington Koo, was also in attendance.
The first volume of the series was published by Zhonghua Book Company in 1983 and the whole series was finished in 1994. Because the publishing period of the first edition took so long, it was difficult for readers to acquire the whole series. Therefore, all 13 books of the series were re-composed and edited, then published as a whole set.
During the symposium, scholars such as Zhang Baijia and Wu Jingping said that Koo’s memoirs contained the history, characters, and events of the 20th century, both at home and abroad, revealing many backgrounds and secrets that few people had known, making these materials very important to Chinese modern history, especially diplomatic history.
It was also announced that Mr. Koo’s archive in Columbia University would be digitized and made available to scholars, with the collaboration of Columbia University, the Institute of Modern History at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, and the Shanghai Library.
