cultural china.jpg (Photo : Cultural China)
The first major exhibition on the life of Chinese philosopher Yan Fu was opened on Sunday at Britain's Old Royal Naval College in London, United Kingdom.
"Yan Fu and Chinese Imperial Students at the Royal Naval College" is an exhibition to showcase a collection of historical artifacts, books, and photographs, not only related to Yan's life, but also those that feature his Chinese fellows at the college.
Chinese ambassador to Britain Liu Xiaoming said that Yan built a good foundation in China in creating a modern society back then.
He added that Yan will be known by people as a person who had the courage to start reformation in China and his commitment to promote both countries' culture.
The British Yan Fu exhibit was curated by experts and was initiated by the Old Royal Naval College, in cooperation with the Yan Fu Foundation. It will be run until Feb. 2015.
The renowned philosopher Yan was born in 1854 and was the first fortunate Chinese to study in the U.K. He was sent to Greenwich in 1877 where he learned his naval expertise and became an influential scholar in China. He spent those years by thinking and understanding ideas from the Western culture and society that paved his career.
Yan, aside from being known as a thinker, was also an educator and a translator serving China and Britain for over a hundred of years ago.
In 1879, Yan introduced to China upon his return many foreign works such as the "Evolution and Ethics," "The Wealth of Nations," and "The Spirit of the Laws."
Yan's works, on the other hand, introduced Europe's culture--which includes the natural, political, and social sciences, and the theories of philosophy and economics--to other Chinese. These were, during that time, essential to China's entry to modernity.
Until now, Yan Fu is seen as a notable character in China's modern history.
