Nelson Ikon Wu
Encyclopedia
Nelson Ikon Wu was a Chinese and American writer and professor of Asian art history.
and Taiwan
, occasionally using his pen name Lu Ch'iao (literally, Deer Bridge). In 1958 he published his first novel "Song Never to End" (Wei yang ko or Wei yang ge), which focused on friendships among four young people during the Second Sino-Japanese War
. It has sold more than 500,000 copies and in 1991 was voted most influential book of the 1950s by readers of the China Times
, Taiwan's largest daily newspaper.
"Nelson was an extremely charismatic figure with a large following on campus and in St. Louis," said Mark S. Weil, Ph.D., the E. Desmond Lee Professor for Collaboration in the Arts and director the Gallery of Art. "Every year around Christmas, he would give a lecture celebrating Pan-Asian spirituality that filled Steinberg Auditorium."
Born June 9, 1919, in Peking, Wu earned a bachelor's degree from the National Southwest Associated University in Kunming in 1942 and came to the United States in 1945. He attended the New School for Social Research in New York before earning a master's degree in 1949 and doctorate in 1954 in art history from Yale University
.
While at Yale, Wu met Mu-lien Hsueh, a Wellesley College graduate also born in Beijing. The couple married in 1951.
Wu taught at Yale, San Francisco State College and Kyoto University
in Japan and Washington University in St. Louis. His honors include a Guggenheim Fellowship and a Fulbright Research Scholarship.
:
in Boston
, Massachusetts. In that year, the Washington University East Asian Library established the Nelson I. Wu Memorial Book Fund. In 1998, Washington University and the Saint Louis Art Museum inaugurated the annual Nelson I. Wu Lecture on Asian Art and Culture. Lecturers have included (in order from 1998 to 2008) Richard Barnhart, Milo Beach, Nicole Coolidge Rousamaniere, Robert Mowry, Maxwell Hearn, Lothar von Falkenhausen, Timothy Clark, Lu Jie, Nancy Steinhardt, Jerome Silbergeld
, and Andrew Watsky
.
His home and bamboo grove in St. Louis which contains Nelson Wu's calligraphy of the Book of Changes (I-ching) handwritten covering the four walls of an entire room has been preserved.
The Washington University Libraries
maintain Nelson Wu’s collection on East Asian art, architecture, and Chinese culture.
Biography
Nelson Ikon Wu, Ph.D., an internationally respected scholar of Asian art and architecture. He was the Edward Mallinckrodt Distinguished University Professor Emeritus of the History of Art and Chinese Culture in Arts & Sciences. He came to Washington University in 1965, becoming a key figure for the promotion of Asian art in St. Louis and, in 1971, a founder of the Asian Art Society. He was named professor emeritus in 1984. Wu was a best-selling author in ChinaChina
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
and 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...
, occasionally using his pen name Lu Ch'iao (literally, Deer Bridge). In 1958 he published his first novel "Song Never to End" (Wei yang ko or Wei yang ge), which focused on friendships among four young people during the Second Sino-Japanese War
Second Sino-Japanese War
The Second Sino-Japanese War was a military conflict fought primarily between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. From 1937 to 1941, China fought Japan with some economic help from Germany , the Soviet Union and the United States...
. It has sold more than 500,000 copies and in 1991 was voted most influential book of the 1950s by readers of the China Times
China Times
The China Times is a newspaper published in the Republic of China in Traditional Chinese. It is one of the four biggest newspapers in Taiwan, the other three being the Liberty Times, United Daily News, and Apple Daily ....
, Taiwan's largest daily newspaper.
"Nelson was an extremely charismatic figure with a large following on campus and in St. Louis," said Mark S. Weil, Ph.D., the E. Desmond Lee Professor for Collaboration in the Arts and director the Gallery of Art. "Every year around Christmas, he would give a lecture celebrating Pan-Asian spirituality that filled Steinberg Auditorium."
Born June 9, 1919, in Peking, Wu earned a bachelor's degree from the National Southwest Associated University in Kunming in 1942 and came to the United States in 1945. He attended the New School for Social Research in New York before earning a master's degree in 1949 and doctorate in 1954 in art history from Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
.
While at Yale, Wu met Mu-lien Hsueh, a Wellesley College graduate also born in Beijing. The couple married in 1951.
Wu taught at Yale, San Francisco State College and Kyoto University
Kyoto University
, or is a national university located in Kyoto, Japan. It is the second oldest Japanese university, and formerly one of Japan's Imperial Universities.- History :...
in Japan and Washington University in St. Louis. His honors include a Guggenheim Fellowship and a Fulbright Research Scholarship.
English
- Chinese and Indian Architecture: The City of Man, the Mountain of God, and the Realm of the Immortals, “To Mulien and Ming , Ting , Ping , Ying ; my partners in building the Gardens of YENLING YEYUAN in the hope that we can be Once Returners together before becoming No Returners”
- The Chinese pictorial art : its format and program : some universalities, particularities and modern experimentations
- The intellectual aristocrat and justice in art: A cautionary story for the West about those Chinese masters who became their own patrons and, over the centuries, their own heroes
- Tung Ch'i-ch'ang, 1555-1636: Apathy in government and fervor in art
- Tung Ch'i-ch'ang : the man, his time, and his landscape painting (1954 PhD thesis Yale Univ.)
- Intellectual Movements Since the Teachings of Wang Yang-ming: Parallel but Nonconcurrent Developments, 1973
- The Juggler (a short story) "Little Little Boy put up his hands with all his little fingers outstretched. One by one, fireflies came out from the all grass and alighted on his fingers, one firefly to each finger, not one more, not one less. With his hand and face alight from the glow of ten fireflies, Little Little Boy looked magnificent."
Chinese
Dr. Wu has four major books in Chinese:
- "Never-Ending Saga" (Wei yang ko) 1947 ISBN 957-05-1157-5
- "Son of Man" (Ren Zi) 1993 ISBN 957-39-0137-4
- "Erotic Love Letter" (Chan qing shu) 1975 ISBN 957-39-0298-2
- "City chan home" (Shi chan ju) 1998 ISBN 957-13-2779-4.
Legacy
Dr. Wu died Tuesday, March 19, 2002, of cancer at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical CenterBeth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, Massachusetts is a major flagship teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School. It was formed out of the 1996 merger of Beth Israel Hospital and New England Deaconess Hospital...
in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, Massachusetts. In that year, the Washington University East Asian Library established the Nelson I. Wu Memorial Book Fund. In 1998, Washington University and the Saint Louis Art Museum inaugurated the annual Nelson I. Wu Lecture on Asian Art and Culture. Lecturers have included (in order from 1998 to 2008) Richard Barnhart, Milo Beach, Nicole Coolidge Rousamaniere, Robert Mowry, Maxwell Hearn, Lothar von Falkenhausen, Timothy Clark, Lu Jie, Nancy Steinhardt, Jerome Silbergeld
Jerome Silbergeld
Jerome Silbergeld, is a professor of Chinese Art in the Art and Archaeology Department at Princeton University. His research includes traditional and modern Chinese painting, cinema, and gardens...
, and Andrew Watsky
Andrew Watsky
Andrew Mark Watsky is an American academic, art historian, author and university professor.-Early life:Watsky was awarded his bachelor's degree from Oberlin College and his master's degree and doctorate from Princeton University....
.
His home and bamboo grove in St. Louis which contains Nelson Wu's calligraphy of the Book of Changes (I-ching) handwritten covering the four walls of an entire room has been preserved.
The Washington University Libraries
Washington University Libraries
Washington University Libraries is the library system of Washington University in St. Louis. With 14 libraries and over 4.2 million volumes, it is the largest library system in the state of Missouri. The John M...
maintain Nelson Wu’s collection on East Asian art, architecture, and Chinese culture.