There is a post for special studies of Chinese culture and Han teachings called the “Dean Lung Professorship” in the prestigious Columbia University Department of East Asian Studies. This post was established and funded by University Trustee Horace Walpole Carpentier in 1901 to commemorate Dean Lung, his noble Chinese servant.
Horace Walpole Carpentier (1824-1918) was born in New York City, graduated from Columbia University, and later became a lawyer. He served as the first mayor of Oakland, California. In 1888, he returned to his hometown of New York City and was elected to the Board of Trustees of Columbia University.
Dean Lung, a humble servant
Carpentier hired Dean Lung as his valet in California and accompanied him back to New York. Due to his busy schedule, Carpentier often verbally abused him. Once, he threw a fit over something trivial and fired him.
Later, Carpentier’s house was gutted by fire. He was unharmed but suffered a significant loss. Dean Lung heard about it and came to see him. He told Carpentier that he would serve him again. Carpentier asked why, and Dean Lung said: “There was a sage named Kong Zi who taught people to be forgiving and tolerant. He even said: ‘Do not do to others what you do not want done to yourself.’ Now, your house was burned down by fire, and you are living alone. I have worked for you before, and I feel sorry for you. That’s why I want to continue to serve you.”
Carpentier praised Dean Lung, saying: “I did not know that you liked to read and understood ancient teachings.” Dean Lung replied that he was illiterate and that what he knew was told by his father. Surprised, Carpentier said: “It is good that your father liked to study ancient teachings.” Dean Lung replied: “My father was also illiterate, and so were my grandfather and great-grandfather. However, Confucius’s teachings were our family’s tradition and were passed down from generation to generation.”
After hearing this, Carpentier was very moved and treated Dean Lung like a friend. He never verbally abused him again.
A few years later, in 1901, Dean Lung became seriously ill. He told Carpentier: “I live here carefree and have no worries. I am about to leave this world. The entire wage you gave me is in my savings. Since I have neither family nor friends, I would like to give this money to you in gratitude for your kindness all these years.” He wrote a letter with his US$12,000 gift to Columbia President Seth Low.
Dean Lung Professorship established at Columbia University
Dean Lung’s remarkable generosity prompted Carpentier to make additional donations totaling US$200,000 in honor of his friend and employee for the endowment of Chinese studies at the University. Thus, the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures was founded.
Carpentier also established the “Dean Lung Professorship” post for special studies of Han teachings.
It was said that Columbia University wanted to name this position after the Qing Dynasty Prime Minister Li Hong Zhang or the Qing Ambassador Wu Ting Fang. However, Carpentier threatened to divest unless they followed his wish. Carpentier even wrote a letter to President Low saying: “Dean Lung came from a poor family. He is not a legend but a real living being. I say so because I was fortunate enough to encounter someone from a humble family with a noble character. He was born kind and had never hurt anyone.”
In 1902, the University appointed its first professor of Chinese, Friedrich Hirth, previously from the University of Munich. Hirth began intending to use his books to support the study of China at Columbia.
Still, in the same year, the University received a substantial donation of books from the government of imperial China, founding the University’s Chinese book collection, which would form the basis of what is now the C.V. Starr East Asian Library. Later holders of the founding Dean Lung Professorship included L. Carrington Goodrich, Hans Bielenstein, and its current occupant, Madeleine Zelin.
More than a century after the founding gift in Chinese, the Department and the University boast a faculty, library, and record of educational innovation and service to East Asian studies undreamed of in the days of the generous valet Dean Lung.
Translated by Isabel Chang
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