George Kao
Encyclopedia
George Kao was a Chinese American
author, translator, and journalist. He is best known for translating English-language classics into Chinese and for his efforts to bring Chinese classics to English-speaking audiences.
in the United States
to parents who were studying as Boxer Rebellion Indemnity Scholarship Program
students and moved with them to China at age three, living in Nanjing
, Beijing
, and Shanghai
. He graduated from Yenching University
in 1933 and returned to the United States, enrolling in the University of Missouri
School of Journalism, where he received a masters degree in 1935, and Columbia University
, where he received a masters degree in 1937.
From 1937–47, Kao worked for the Publications Section of the Chinese News Service, Inc., a news agency sponsored by the Republic of China
's Board of Information and Ministry of Foreign Affairs
. There he edited a daily news bulletin called The Voice of China based on radio reports from Chongqing
, the Republic's capital during World War II
. From 1947–49, he worked for China's newly-formed Government Information Office
as director of the West Coast office and, later, as editor-in-chief of The Chinese Press (華美周報 Huá-Měi Zhōubào).
From 1951–53, Kao was a Chinese-language instructor at the United States Department of Defense
's Defense Language Institute
in Monterey, California
. In 1957, he became chief editor for the Washington, D.C.
Voice of America
's radio Chinese Broadcast and resided in nearby Kensington, Maryland
. In 1972, he moved to Hong Kong
as a visiting senior fellow
at the newly-founded Research Centre for Translation at the Chinese University of Hong Kong
. He returned to Kensington, Maryland in 1976 and lived in Rockville, Maryland
and in Florida
for the remainder of his life. His wife of 57 years, Maeching Li Kao (born ca.
1920), died on 25 July 2003 and Kao himself died at a retirement home in Winter Park, Florida
in 2008.
Before his death, Kao established the George and Maeching Kao Endowment for Chinese Studies at Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida. The memorial funding, a living testimony to Kao's lifelong dedication of promoting mutual understanding between American and Chinese peoples, provides funding for scholarship, language learning and library purchases each year.
, he founded (in 1973) and served as editor of the highly regarded Renditions: A Chinese-English Translation Magazine which translates classical and contemporary Chinese literature into English. He also contributed a number of translations to the journal himself. He edited or translated several of Taiwan
author Pai Hsien-yung
's collections into English.
Chinese American
Chinese Americans represent Americans of Chinese descent. Chinese Americans constitute one group of overseas Chinese and also a subgroup of East Asian Americans, which is further a subgroup of Asian Americans...
author, translator, and journalist. He is best known for translating English-language classics into Chinese and for his efforts to bring Chinese classics to English-speaking audiences.
Biography
Kao was born in Ann Arbor, MichiganAnn Arbor, Michigan
Ann Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County. The 2010 census places the population at 113,934, making it the sixth largest city in Michigan. The Ann Arbor Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 344,791 as of 2010...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
to parents who were studying as Boxer Rebellion Indemnity Scholarship Program
Boxer Rebellion Indemnity Scholarship Program
The Boxer Indemnity Scholarship Program was a scholarship program funded by Boxer Rebellion indemnity money paid to the United States that provided for Chinese students to study in the U.S...
students and moved with them to China at age three, living in Nanjing
Nanjing
' is the capital of Jiangsu province in China and has a prominent place in Chinese history and culture, having been the capital of China on several occasions...
, Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
, and Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
. He graduated from Yenching University
Yenching University
Yenching University was a university in Beijing, China. It integrated three Christian colleges in the city in 1919. Yenching is an alternative name of Beijing - derived from its status as capital of Yan state, one of the seven Warring States from 5th century BC to 3rd century BC.The university...
in 1933 and returned to the United States, enrolling in the University of Missouri
University of Missouri
The University of Missouri System is a state university system providing centralized administration for four universities, a health care system, an extension program, five research and technology parks, and a publishing press. More than 64,000 students are currently enrolled at its four campuses...
School of Journalism, where he received a masters degree in 1935, and Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
, where he received a masters degree in 1937.
From 1937–47, Kao worked for the Publications Section of the Chinese News Service, Inc., a news agency sponsored by the Republic of China
Republic of China
The Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan , is a unitary sovereign state located in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China currently governs the island of Taiwan , which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other minor...
's Board of Information and Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Republic of China)
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of China is a cabinet level policy-making body, governed under the Executive Yuan of the Republic of China. The fundamental purpose of the ministry is to promote, expand, and conduct bilateral foreign affairs with other nations. It is in charge of...
. There he edited a daily news bulletin called The Voice of China based on radio reports from Chongqing
Chongqing
Chongqing is a major city in Southwest China and one of the five national central cities of China. Administratively, it is one of the PRC's four direct-controlled municipalities , and the only such municipality in inland China.The municipality was created on 14 March 1997, succeeding the...
, the Republic's capital during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. From 1947–49, he worked for China's newly-formed Government Information Office
Government Information Office
The Government Information Office is a cabinet-level agency of the Executive Yuan of the Republic of China in charge of promoting government policies and regulating domestic media.-History:...
as director of the West Coast office and, later, as editor-in-chief of The Chinese Press (華美周報 Huá-Měi Zhōubào).
From 1951–53, Kao was a Chinese-language instructor at the United States Department of Defense
United States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...
's Defense Language Institute
Defense Language Institute
The Defense Language Institute is a United States Department of Defense educational and research institution, which provides linguistic and cultural instruction to the Department of Defense, other Federal Agencies and numerous and varied other customers...
in Monterey, California
Monterey, California
The City of Monterey in Monterey County is located on Monterey Bay along the Pacific coast in Central California. Monterey lies at an elevation of 26 feet above sea level. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 27,810. Monterey is of historical importance because it was the capital of...
. In 1957, he became chief editor for the Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
Voice of America
Voice of America
Voice of America is the official external broadcast institution of the United States federal government. It is one of five civilian U.S. international broadcasters working under the umbrella of the Broadcasting Board of Governors . VOA provides a wide range of programming for broadcast on radio...
's radio Chinese Broadcast and resided in nearby Kensington, Maryland
Kensington, Maryland
Kensington is a town in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. The population was 1,873 at the 2000 census. Greater Kensington encompasses the entire 20895 zip code and its population is an order of magnitude larger than that of the town at its center....
. In 1972, he moved to Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
as a visiting senior fellow
Fellow
A fellow in the broadest sense is someone who is an equal or a comrade. The term fellow is also used to describe a person, particularly by those in the upper social classes. It is most often used in an academic context: a fellow is often part of an elite group of learned people who are awarded...
at the newly-founded Research Centre for Translation at the Chinese University of Hong Kong
Chinese University of Hong Kong
The Chinese University of Hong Kong is a research-led university in Hong Kong.CUHK is the only tertiary education institution in Hong Kong with Nobel Prize winners on its faculty, including Chen Ning Yang, James Mirrlees, Robert Alexander Mundell and Charles K. Kao...
. He returned to Kensington, Maryland in 1976 and lived in Rockville, Maryland
Rockville, Maryland
Rockville is the county seat of Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. It is a major incorporated city in the central part of Montgomery County and forms part of the Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area. The 2010 U.S...
and in Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
for the remainder of his life. His wife of 57 years, Maeching Li Kao (born ca.
Circa
Circa , usually abbreviated c. or ca. , means "approximately" in the English language, usually referring to a date...
1920), died on 25 July 2003 and Kao himself died at a retirement home in Winter Park, Florida
Winter Park, Florida
Winter Park is a suburban city in Orange County, Florida, United States. The population was 24,090 at the 2000 census. According to the U.S. Census Bureau's 2006 estimates, the city had a population of 28,083. It is part of the Orlando–Kissimmee Metropolitan Statistical Area...
in 2008.
Before his death, Kao established the George and Maeching Kao Endowment for Chinese Studies at Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida. The memorial funding, a living testimony to Kao's lifelong dedication of promoting mutual understanding between American and Chinese peoples, provides funding for scholarship, language learning and library purchases each year.
Writings and translations
Kao was prolific as a translator from both English to Chinese and Chinese to English. He is known in the Chinese world as the translator of several classics of English-language literature and as the author of several books on the English language and about the United States. With his brother Irving K.Y. Kao, he was editor of a popular New Dictionary of Idiomatic American English. He also translated numerous Chinese works into English. At the Chinese University of Hong KongChinese University of Hong Kong
The Chinese University of Hong Kong is a research-led university in Hong Kong.CUHK is the only tertiary education institution in Hong Kong with Nobel Prize winners on its faculty, including Chen Ning Yang, James Mirrlees, Robert Alexander Mundell and Charles K. Kao...
, he founded (in 1973) and served as editor of the highly regarded Renditions: A Chinese-English Translation Magazine which translates classical and contemporary Chinese literature into English. He also contributed a number of translations to the journal himself. He edited or translated several of Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
author Pai Hsien-yung
Pai Hsien-yung
Kenneth Hsien-yung Pai , born July 11, 1937) is a writer who has been described as a "melancholy pioneer." He was born in Guilin, Guangxi, China at the cusp of both the Second Sino-Japanese War and subsequent Chinese Civil War...
's collections into English.
Selected works
Some works written or edited by George Kao include:- New Dictionary of Idiomatic American English: A Compendium of Popular Words and Phrases (coedited with Irving K.Y. Kao) (1994) ISBN 9789629962005
- Cathay by the Bay: San Francisco Chinatown in 1950 (1987) ISBN 9789622014237
- The Translation of Things Past: Chinese History and Historiography (1982) ISBN 9780295959108
- Two Writers and the Cultural Revolution: Lao She and Chen Jo-hsi (1980) ISBN 9789622012028
- 紐約客談 (Niǔyuē Kètán) (1964)
- The Collected Wartime Messages of Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek, 1937–1945 (1946) ISBN 9780527168001
- Chinese Wit and Humor (1946) ISBN 9780806980034
Selected translations
- The Great GatsbyThe Great GatsbyThe Great Gatsby is a novel by the American author F. Scott Fitzgerald. First published in1925, it is set on Long Island's North Shore and in New York City from spring to autumn of 1922....
(大亨小傳) F. Scott FitzgeraldF. Scott FitzgeraldFrancis Scott Key Fitzgerald was an American author of novels and short stories, whose works are the paradigm writings of the Jazz Age, a term he coined himself. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest American writers of the 20th century. Fitzgerald is considered a member of the "Lost...
. (1971) ISBN 9789571335247 - Long Day's Journey Into NightLong Day's Journey Into NightLong Day's Journey Into Night is a 1956 drama in four acts written by American playwright Eugene O'Neill. The play is widely considered to be his masterwork...
(長夜漫漫路迢迢). Eugene O'NeillEugene O'NeillEugene Gladstone O'Neill was an American playwright and Nobel laureate in Literature. His poetically titled plays were among the first to introduce into American drama techniques of realism earlier associated with Russian playwright Anton Chekhov, Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen, and Swedish...
. (1973) ISBN 957390215x - Look Homeward, AngelLook Homeward, AngelLook Homeward, Angel: A Story of the Buried Life is a 1929 novel by Thomas Wolfe. It is Wolfe's first novel, and is considered a highly autobiographical American Bildungsroman. The character of Eugene Gant is generally believed to be a depiction of Wolfe himself. The novel covers the span of time...
(天使，望故鄉). Thomas WolfeThomas WolfeThomas Clayton Wolfe was a major American novelist of the early 20th century.Wolfe wrote four lengthy novels, plus many short stories, dramatic works and novellas. He is known for mixing highly original, poetic, rhapsodic, and impressionistic prose with autobiographical writing...
. (1985) ISBN 9787108000033 - Taipei PeopleTaipei PeopleTaipei People is a collection of 14 short stories written by Pai Hsien-yung in the 1960s, published in 1971. The length and art of each story is different, but all these short stories are about people who came from Mainland China to Taiwan in the 1950s, and about their life in Taipei...
. Pai Hsien-yungPai Hsien-yungKenneth Hsien-yung Pai , born July 11, 1937) is a writer who has been described as a "melancholy pioneer." He was born in Guilin, Guangxi, China at the cusp of both the Second Sino-Japanese War and subsequent Chinese Civil War...
. (2000) / ISBN 9789622018594
External links
- 大亨小傳:增訂版前言 (The Great Gatsby: Introduction to the Expanded Edition by George Kao) at ReadingTimes.com