Li Lienfung
Li Lienfung (1923 – 3 August 2011) was a Singaporean chemist and writer. She was a bilingual writer, using both English and Chinese. Li was known for her plays, short stories and especially for her newspaper column, "Bamboo Green."
Biography
[edit]Li was born in Shanghai in 1923.[1] Her father, Li Kuo Ching, left to work in the United States, leaving Li's mother to raise her in China.[2] He eventually abandoned his family when Li's mother would not move to the U.S.[1] When China was invaded by Japan in 1937, she moved to Hunan, and then to Hong Kong.[1]
She went to Mills College in 1940 and graduated with a degree in chemistry.[1] She worked for a short time in an aluminum smelting plant in New Jersey as a lab assistant.[3] She studied organic chemistry at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), but transferred to Cornell University where she earned her master's degree in literature in 1946.[3] At Cornell, her master's thesis was on Chinese folk literature.[4]
In July 1946, she married Ho Rih Hwa, who was also a student at Cornell.[1] She and her father also reconciled at this time.[1] Her father sent her to Bangkok in 1948, where she became the chief chemist analyzing tungsten ores that her father exported, trading with the Wah Chang Group company.[3][1] Her family then moved to Yangon in 1949.[1] Later, Li helped her father set up tapioca factories and other food-related ventures.[3]
Li's daughter, Ho Minfong, was born in Yangon in 1951.[5] Minfong would go on to become a noted writer.[5] Her son, Ho Kwon Ping, was born in Hong Kong in 1952 and later became a businessman.[6] Li has another son, Kwon Cjan, who is also involved in business.[3] In 1952, Li returned to work for the company, and was eventually made the vice-chair of Wah Chang.[1]
Li's husband became Singapore's ambassador to Thailand in 1967.[3] After Thailand, he was made the ambassador to several European countries and entities, meaning that Li lived in Europe until the early 1970s, when they moved to Singapore.[3]
Li died on 3 August 2011 after going into a coma following a massive brain haemorrhage.[7] She died in the National University Hospital.[1] Li was inducted into the Singapore Women's Hall of Fame in 2014.[2]
Work
[edit]The Sword Has Two Edges had its origins in research she started in 1956 on the story of San Guo Shi Yan Yi.[4] Li wrote the manuscript quickly and when she was asked to rewrite it as a comedy, she put it away, only to revisit the story in 1971.[4] A member of the Experimental Theatre Group, D. Murugan, decided to produce the play in 1977.[8][4] Her next play, Trials and Turbulence of the Twilight Years won a first place award in its category from the Ministry of Culture in 1978.[1] In 1981, her play, The Late Storm was produced.[9]
Li wrote a popular column in English and Chinese, called "Bamboo Green" which ran between 1979 and 1984 in The Straits Times.[10] In 1986, a compilation of her columns, A Joss Stick for My Mother was released.[2] Li revived the column in 1993, and continued to write it until 1998.[10][7] The column educated Singaporeans on Chinese history, literature, life and culture.[10] Li then started writing a Chinese column for the Lianhe Zaobao between 1998 and 2009.[7]
Li published the Chinese version of her memoir, A Daughter Remembers, in 2010, with the English translation coming out after her death.[2]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Chua, Alivin. "Li Lienfung". Infopedia Singapore. National Library Board Singapore. Retrieved 2017-11-28.
- ^ a b c d "Li Lienfung". Singapore Women's Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2021-08-11.
- ^ a b c d e f g Stevenson, Sarah (31 March 2011). "Around the World in 80 Years". Mills Quarterly. 99 (3): 14–15 – via Issuu.
- ^ a b c d Mahbubani, Gretchen (8 March 1980). "The woman behind 'The Sword'". The Straits Times. Retrieved 2017-11-29.
- ^ a b Koh, Tai Ann (2012). "Ho Minfong". In Suryadinata, Leo (ed.). Southeast Asian Personalities of Chinese Descent: A Biographical Dictionary, Volume I & II. Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. p. 340. ISBN 9789814345217.
- ^ Tan, Kevin Y.L. (2012). "Ho Kwon Ping". In Suryadinata, Leo (ed.). Southeast Asian Personalities of Chinese Descent: A Biographical Dictionary, Volume I & II. Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. p. 336. ISBN 9789814345217.
- ^ a b c Lim, David (5 August 2011). "Bilingual writer Li Lienfung dies at 88". Archived from the original on 2017-12-01. Retrieved 2024-04-01.
- ^ Tan, Corrie (2014-07-22). "One of Singapore's first English political plays, Are You There, Singapore?, might never have seen light of day". The Straits Times. Retrieved 2017-11-29.
- ^ Fan, Yi Fu (17 December 1981). "Play highlights problems of aged in modern society". The Straits Times. Retrieved 2017-11-29.
- ^ a b c Lee, San Chouy (26 July 1993). "Li's Personal Glimpses". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 28 November 2017 – via LexisNexis.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
- 1923 births
- 2011 deaths
- Scientists from Shanghai
- Singaporean chemists
- Mills College alumni
- Cornell University alumni
- Singaporean people of Chinese descent
- Singaporean women scientists
- Singaporean women chemists
- Singaporean dramatists and playwrights
- Women dramatists and playwrights
- Singaporean columnists
- Singaporean women columnists
- 20th-century Chinese dramatists and playwrights
- 20th-century journalists
- 20th-century chemists
- 20th-century Singaporean women writers
- 20th-century Singaporean writers
- 20th-century women scientists
- 21st-century journalists
- 21st-century Singaporean women writers
- 21st-century Singaporean writers
- Writers from Shanghai
- Chinese dramatists and playwrights