Dr. Liliane Willens: Stateless in Shanghai

RAS WEEKENDER
Saturday November 21st, 2009 @ 4.00pm
Venue:Glamour Bar 6th Floor No. 5 The Bund, 20 Guangdong Road Shanghai

Dr. LILIANE WILLENS

STATELESS IN SHANGHAI

Liliane’s talk, based on a section of her book, Stateless in Shanghai: A Memoir of a Turbulent Era, just published by Earnshaw Books, describes the demise of the Kuomintang leading to the victory of the communist party, the peaceful arrival of the People’s Liberation Army, the societal changes which occurred during the two years she lived under the newly established People’s Republic of China and the outbreak of the Korean war. As a stateless person she had difficulties to obtain a visa to a country in the West but was finally able to leave the PRC for Japan in 1951 to await her immigration quota number to the United States.

Liliane was born and raised in the former French Concession and attended the French lycée, the Collège Municipal Français.  She and her family lived in Shanghai during the Japanese occupation, the wartime bombings by American planes, the liberation by the U.S. and British armed forces and the civil war between the Kuomintang and the communist forces. 

Liliane studied as an undergraduate at Boston University from where she also received a Ph.D. in French Language and Literature and later taught these subjects at Boston College and at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. During her academic career she published a book on Voltaire and a number of articles on 18^th century France.  Later moving to Washington, DC, she worked for the U.S. Agency for International Development and the Peace Corps.

Since retirement Liliane has given lectures on history and culture on cruise ships, allowing her to travel around the world. Presently, she gives talks at various venues on China—specifically the old and new Shanghai.

ENTRANCE: RMB 65.00 including one drink. Those unable to make the donation but wishing to attend may contact us for exemption, prior to the ‘Weekender’ Membership applications and membership renewals will be available this afternoon.

RSVP: to RAS Enquiry desk at:  enquiry@royalasiaticsociety.org.cn

BOOKS WILL BE AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE AT A SPECIAL RAS MEMBERS PRICE OF RMB 100.00

VENUE KINDLY SPONSORED BY M ON THE BUND 

“This is an engrossing story encompassing the experiences of Liliane Willens with 3 cultures: a Russian heritage, a privileged Shanghai education in French schools, and finally entrapment when the Chinese Communists came to power in 1949. Willens relates this amazing story with grace and pleasing humor.”
Marcia R. Ristaino, author of Port of Last Resort

“Willens’ story is compelling to all generations. Now that China has risen onto the world stage, her first-hand experience is more relevant than in any prior generation to understanding how Chinese and Western views can both clash and coalesce.”
Nien Cheng, author of Life and Death in Shanghai