陳立夫   Chen, Li-Fu   1900~2001

Li-Fu Chen, real name Zu-Yan, was born in Wuxing, Zhejaing province, China, in 1900. He earned his Master’s degree in mining and metallurgy from the University of Pittsburgh, in the United States in 1924. He served as Kai-shek Chiang’s personal secretary after his return to China, and was appointed as the Minister of Education in 1938, after which he made difficult decisions to push through important educational reforms to meet the needs of wartime, such as student loans, university entrance examinations, the national system of teacher training and education, the teachers’ pension system, and the designation of Teachers’ Day. He took part in the Nationalist government’s retreat to Taiwan in 1949, following which he held office as a Minister without Portfolio and as a member of Kuomintang’s Central Review Committee. Later, he left the political stage due to the turbulent situation he faced in that period, and moved to the United States with his family in 1951, but he returned and settled permanently in Taiwan in 1968. Chen then held a number of public offices, such as a Senior Advisor to the Office of the President of the Republic of China, president of the Chair Board of Kuominang’s Central Review Committee, vice-president of the Promotion Committee of the Chinese Cultural Renaissance Movement, Chairman of the Director Board of China Medicine University, and Chairman of the Director Board of Confucius-Mencius Society of the Republic of China. In his twilight years, Chen practiced calligraphy by working hard and creating approximately 30,000 scrolls of calligraphy which he used to give as presents to those at home and abroad who wrote to request calligraphic works. He also studied sedulously both Confucianism and Taoism, and authored several related books, including Confucius’ Teachings and The Political Thought of Mengzi. Furthermore, preserving and promoting Chinese medicine was his lifelong endeavor. The LiFu Medical Research Foundation he established is dedicated to encouraging domestic and international research on Chinese medicine and to promote cultural studies. Chen’s life constituted a microcosm of the century-long history of the Republic of China, and also perfectly exemplified the quintessence of traditional Chinese culture with the enormous efforts he devoted to the preservation and promotion of calligraphy, Confucianism and Chinese medicine.