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Hello and welcome to the VCF web page dedicated to the Hsu Chang Ling Nyi School, which will be funded entirely by the friends and family of Ling Nyi in her loving memory. the school opening and dediction ceremony was held on May 19th, 2008. Click here to see the commemorative photo book created by Irene Hsu.
Ling Nyi Chang Hsu ~~ In her 98 years, Ling Nyi covered a lot of ground—both literally and figuratively. The eldest granddaughter of Hsieh Fu-cheng, the ambassador to England, France, Belgium and Italy for the court of the Empress Dowager, Ling Nyi Chang was born in the last years of the Ching Dynasty in 1909 in Suzhou, and raised in her grandfather’s compound in Wuxi. She attended McIntyre School in Shanghai and graduated from Suzhou University in 1932. That same year, she met her husband, Kwangtze W. Hsu a newly minted Harvard MBA, who had just returned from studying in the States. They were married the following year.
During the war with Japan, Ling Nyi and her family moved to Chungking where her husband became the head of the Bank of China. There she spearheaded the building of a school for the children of the employees at the bank and then—much to the consternation of the other ladies—opened it up to the children of their servants as well. After the war, the family returned to Shanghai, but it was not long before the family emigrated to the U.S. during the country's transition to a Communist government.
From a life with many servants, she suddenly found herself cooking her first meal and running a household by herself. She rose to the occasion, and became a suburban housewife in Harrison, New York, surprising her children by even becoming a Brownie leader. In 1958 she and her husband moved to New York City. After receiving her masters in education from NYU in 1960, she taught science for ten years at Nightingale Bamford, a private girls school.
It was not until she was almost fifty, however, before Ling Nyi found her true passion. She suffered a minor stroke in 1957 and thought she could be helped by Tai Chi. One of the great masters of Tai Chi, Cheng Man-ching, had just moved to New York. She studied with him for fifteen years until his death, and devoted the rest of her life to studying, writing and teaching Tai Chi.
In 1986, Ling and her husband moved to Oakland, California, where she continued to teach Tai Chi until her early nineties. She leaves behind a legion of admirers— from her large extended family, Tai Chi friends and students to anyone else who crossed her path and was moved by her spirit, her commitment to help others and her passion for life. |
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The Hsu Chang Ling Nyi School
Photo: THE ROAD LESS TRAVELLED ~ The Hsu Chang Ling Nyi school will be located in a village called BanKung. From the closest airport in Guiyang, the capital of Guizhou province, it is a five hour drive by SUV through mountainous highway, to twisty country roads, to dirt roads. Happily the Ban Kung school only requires driving on 8 kilometers of hard core off road terrain so it is easier to access than the previous two VCF projects.
Photo: OLD AND NEW ~ The existing Ban Kung village school can be seen in the background overlooking the construction of the new school. |
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Photo: OLD SCHOOL: ~ The existing school is a worn concrete structure with limited windows. It is actually in outstanding condition compared to the first two schools that VCF replaced, however, it is only able to hold a total of 75 students, leaving the Ban Kung village with more than 125 children unable to attend school due to lack of facilities.
Photo: THE CLASSROOM ~ The interior of one of the classrooms from the old school. Two children share a stool and a desk. About 20 kids can sit. Standing room only for everyone else. The existing school will be converted to teachers quarters when the Ling Nyi school is completed.
Photos: THE LING NYI SCHOOL ~ The new school will be a two story building with eight classrooms. It will have a capacity of 200 children; enough classroom space for the entire child population of BanKung to attend grade school for the first time. The new school was started in earnest in Sept 2007 and is shown with one month of construction .From the looks of it, the school is well on track to open its doors for class in December before the cold rainy winter would typical require construction to halt!
Photo: CELEBRATION FEAST ~ After visiting the school grounds the Guiyang government officials, educators, and engineers related to the school construction treated VCF officers to a hot pot feast. |
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March 2008 Update: Winter 2008 was one of the worst in history for all of China. Bitter cold temperatures reached record lows, and the accumulation of heavy snow caused rooftops and power lines to crumble; leaving our very own BanKung village without power for much of the coldest portions of the winter. As a result, construction of the LingNyi school was halted in January while the local residence grappled with this state of emergency. Power is just getting back online, and the school completion date is now pushed back to April.
Two dedication plaques were crafted in Shanghai and were shipped to Ban Kong for permanent mounting at the school. The plaques will be a reminder of the generosity that built the school; and provide an inspirational role model for the students of what they can achieve in their lives. The plaques are constructed of hi-grade industrial lucite and are engraved with gold characters and were designed to easily withstand decades of punishing weather.
The official dedication of the school will take place at the BanKung school site on Monday May 19th, 2008. All friends and family of LingNyi are welcome to participate in the festivities. Jay Hsu, the son of LingNyi, will be the featured guest speaker at the ceremony. LingNyi's eldest daughter Mai, Jay's wife Irene and son Eugene, will also be present to represent the Hsu family. In total, over 300 residents, teachers, and local and provincial officials will be present at the ceremony.
That’s all for now. Send email directly to Eugene Hsu at Eugene_hsu@mac.com with all of your questions and I’ll post answers in subsequent blog entries.
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This school is build with funds raised by Hsu Chang Ling Nyi's (HCLN's) descendents and close friends, under the auspices of the Village Children's Fund. HCLN was born in the last years of the Manchu Dynasty in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province.
She was the granddaughter of Xue Fu-cheng, a famous diplomat of the Qing Dynasty. One year after graduating from Suzhou University, she and the returning Harvard graduate, Hsu Weiming were married. During the Sino-Japanese War, LN and family moved to Chongqing. She started to realize the importance of children's education and spent full energy in founding a high-caliber grade school. After the war, the Hsu family moved to America. LN earned the Mater's degree in Education from NYU. She then taught science at a high school for girls for 10 years. Aside from education, LN achieved deep understanding and skill in Tai Chi. In the U.S., she passed the skill to
hundreds of disciples.
HCLN passed away in 5/19/2007 in California, U.S.A., at age 98. Surviving her are one son, three daughters; ten grandchildren and 14 great grandchildren. |
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