Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
The name of the Siyi pavilion has an even more commemorative meaning than
the Boya Pagoda's. The “SI” in the name is a diminutive form of “Luce”, while “YI”
has the meaning of “a magnanimous act undertaken for the public good”. In English
it is called “Luce Pavilion”. It is in commemoration of Henry W. Luce, the fi rst vice-
president of Yenching University, who did so much to raise funds to set up Yenching
University.
2
I feel very privileged in arriving at Yenching in the period it had just been com-
pleted and being captured by the beauty of its surroundings; I was even more
inspired by Professor William Hung's research at that time on the campus' history,
which even infl uenced the direction of my later research.
In the very fi rst beginning, when I had only just enrolled in the university,
Professor William Hung's main work on the research of Shaoyuan, “On the Painting
and Records of Shaoyuan”, had been published smartly by the Yinde Compilation
Offi ce of Yenching University Press (the foreword was written on 29 October,
1932). The photo reprint in this topic of the hand-drawn “Friends Gathering at
Shaoyuan” by the prominent calligrapher Mi Wanzhong, the owner of the garden,
drawn in the 45th year of Wanli of the Ming dynasty (1617 AD), makes the scene of
300 years ago appear vividly before one's eyes. It is said that when Yenching
University was established, Professor William Hung had learned from archives that
this scroll was still around somewhere, and after painstaking searches he was fi nally
able to purchase it for the Yenching University Library. After the publication of the
photo reprint, Professor Hung obtained a poetry text from the late Ming concerning
Mi Wanzhong and a description of the lay-out of Shaoyuan, which enabled him
furthermore to verify the ancient site of Shaoyuan and its geographical position. At
the end of the scroll was added a map of the rivers, lakes and other waterways of the
campus and its surroundings, which was extremely valid for reference. Also
included was a record stating that the English envoy Lord George Macartney stayed
temporarily at the ancient site of Shaoyuan when coming to the Qing court during
the reign of the Qianlong emperor.
Thereafter, Hung wrote in English about his research on the Shuchun Yuan, in
which he covered important historical circumstances of most of the places inside the
Yenching University campus. Furthermore, he gave his special report in English at
the “university lecture”, which was very well received by both teachers and
students.
3
This historical research by Professor Hung led me to start an actual investigation
in the area of the historically famous gardens in the western suburbs of Peking, then
extending it to the research of the development of the whole Peking area.
2
Reference: Hou Renzhi,
Anecdotes about Yanyuan
(in Chinese,
lj
ԏ
ഝ
࢙
䈍NJ
), Beijing: Peking
University Press, 1988, pp. 74-75.
Susan Chan Egan,
A Latter-day Confucian, Reminiscences of William Hung
, Cambridge: Harvard
University, 1987, pp. 81-85.
3
Recently, with the aid of some newly discovered fi nds and new investigations in historical
geography, I wrote, with William Hung's research as base, the paper “On Mi Wanzhong's 'Map of
the Rebuilt Shaoyuan'”, published in 1993 in vol. 1 of
Guoxue Yanjiu
(National Studies) “by the
Research Centre of Traditional Chinese Culture of Peking University.”
