Saturday, April 20, 3:00-5:00 PM
Event Fees: Free, but advanced registration is requested
The event will be conducted in Chinese
Location: 40 Rector Street, 2nd Floor, New York, NY 10006
A graduate from Columbia University with a Ph.D. in international law and diplomacy in 1912, Wellington Koo (顧維鈞) witnessed and participated in many historical international events in the Republic of China. He was China’s plenipotentiary to the Paris Peace Conference of 1919, where he made a decision that would steer the history of China and leave his mark on world history by refusing to sign the Treaty of Versailles; served as the Ambassador to France, Great Britain and the United States; was a participant in the founding of the League of Nations and the United Nations; and sat as a judge on the International Court of Justice in The Hague from 1957 to 1967. Between October 1926 and June 1927, while serving as Minister of Foreign Affairs, Koo briefly held the concurrent positions of acting Premier and interim President of the Republic of China. While his presidency was brief, his extraordinary lifespan of 97 years makes him the longest-lived person to ever have led China.
At this lecture, Prof. Jin Guangyao of Fudan University and the author of the Biography of Wellington Koo will discuss Koo’s distinguished career in diplomacy and his contribution to help abolish unequal treaties imposed on China and protect China’s rights and interests.
Free, but advanced registration is requested.
顧維鈞有民國第一外交家之稱，他服務外交界逾半個世紀，擔任過中國駐美、英、法使節及派駐國際聯盟的首任代表，北京政府外交總長和南京政府外交部長，出席過巴黎和會與舊金山會議，代表中國參與籌建國際聯盟和聯合國。在巴黎和會上，他為維護國家主權拒絕簽字，成為近代中國外交史上劃時代的里程碑。在舊金山會議上，他代表中國參與了聯合國的籌建工作，為中國成為安理會常任理事國做出了重要貢獻。
華美人文學會特邀國內顧維鈞研究專家、復旦大學金光耀教授於4月20日下午3時至5時做“顧維鈞與民國外交”的專題講座。金光耀教授現為複旦大學歷史系博導、復旦大學中華文明國際研究中心主任。多次赴海外訪學，先後為英國利茲大學(University of Leeds)、美國哥倫比亞大學訪問學者，瑞典隆德大學(Lunds University) 訪問教授、韓國高麗大學訪問教授以及美國弗吉尼亞聯邦大學(Virginia Commonwealth University)客座教授。金教授的研究領域為中國近代對外關係史，近年關注中國當代史，主要是上海文革史和知青史。著作有：《顧維鈞傳》、《中華民國史（第十卷）》（合著）、《知青部落：黃山腳下的10000個上海人》等。編有《顧維鈞與中國外交》、《北洋時期的中國外交》等。
本次講座將通過顧維鈞的外交經歷展現留美學生在民國外交界的崛起，並討論以顧維鈞為代表的職業外交官在廢除不平等條約、維護國家權益、對外交涉的觀念和方式上對民國外交的貢獻和影響。顧維鈞的後人將出席此次講座。
講座免費。因座位有限，請預先訂位。