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Maeching Li Kao

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Maeching Li Kao
高李梅卿
Born
Li Maeching 李梅卿

(1920-02-20)February 20, 1920
Shanghai, China
DiedJuly 25, 2003(2003-07-25) (aged 83)
Winter Park, Florida, U.S.
OccupationSocial worker
SpouseGeorge Kao (m. 1946)
RelativesSzeming Sze (brother-in-law)

Maeching Li Kao (Chinese: 高李梅卿; pinyin: Gāo Lǐ Méiqīng; February 20, 1920 – July 25, 2003) was a Chinese-born American social worker and philanthropist, and wife of writer, editor, and translator George Kao.

Early life and education

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Li Maeching was born in Shanghai, the daughter of banker Li Ming.[1][2] She attended St. Mary's Hall and St. John's University in Shanghai[3] and Wellesley College, before graduating from Barnard College in 1944.[4][5] She wrote "A Spool of Thread", "an authentic story of the effect of the Chinese War on a Shanghai university student",[6] for the Winter 1943 issue of Barnard Quarterly.[7] She also participated in fundraising events for United China Relief.[8]

Kao earned a Master of Social Work degree in 1964, from Catholic University of America.[9] Her master's thesis was titled "A Study of Eight Mothers who Were Readmitted to St. Elizabeths Hospital and Their Children who Were in Care with Child Welfare Division".[10]

Her older sister Bessie Li was a pianist before she married diplomat Szeming Sze.[2][11]

Career

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During World War II and after, Li was on the staff of the China Institute,[12] assisting Chinese students who were unable to return home during wartime. In 1963, during graduate school, she worked part time at the Community Psychiatric Clinic in Bethesda, Maryland.[13] Later in life, she was an adoption specialist at the Montgomery County Department of Social Services in Maryland. In 1984, she wrote and published a cookbook on making Chinese food with a microwave oven.[9][14] Her husband's work meant that she lived in Carmel, California, Washington, D.C. and Hong Kong during her adult life, before retiring to Florida.[15]

Personal life and legacy

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Maeching Li married writer, translator, and editor George Kao in 1946;[16] they had two sons, William and Jeffrey.[17] Kao became a United States citizen in 1951.

Three Styles of Qipao

Among her personal acquaintances and social circles, Maeching was well-known for her fondness for the traditional Chinese qipao, for which she favored simple yet elegant and refined patterns.[18]

She died from leukemia in 2003, aged 83 years, in Winter Park, Florida.[9] Rollins College in Florida has a Maeching Li and George Kao Fund for Chinese Studies, assisting students and faculty to travel to China,[19] and a George and Maeching Kao Chinese Language Award.[20][21]

References

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  1. ^ United States Congress (February 4, 1954). Report. U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 5.
  2. ^ a b "Li Ming, A Banker and Industrialist". The New York Times. 1966-10-22. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-11-02.
  3. ^ Burstein, Miriam (1943-11-22). "She Goes to Barnard: Mae-Ching Li, Future Social Worker". Barnard Bulletin. p. 3. Retrieved 2021-11-03 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Troth is Announced of Miss Maeching Li". The New York Times. 1945-12-10. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-11-02.
  5. ^ Barnard College, The Mortarboard Archived 2021-01-17 at the Wayback Machine (1944 yearbook): 42.
  6. ^ "'Quarterly' Out Friday". Barnard Bulletin. 77: 3. December 14, 1942.
  7. ^ Howard, Clare (January 11, 1943). "Quarterly Reviewed". Barnard Bulletin. 47: 2 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Two Junior Show Collections Bring Drive Grosses to $217". Barnard Bulletin. 1943-03-25. p. 1. Retrieved 2021-11-03 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ a b c "Maeching Li Kao (obituary)". The Orlando Sentinel. 2003-08-01. pp. B6. Retrieved 2021-11-03.
  10. ^ Kao, Maeching Li (1964). A Study of Eight Mothers who Were Readmitted to St. Elizabeths Hospital and Their Children who Were in Care with Child Welfare Division. Catholic University of America.
  11. ^ "Dr. Szeming Sze Dies; Helped Found World Health Organization of U.N." The Buffalo News. November 10, 1998. Retrieved 2021-11-02.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  12. ^ "Maeching Li to Marry University Graduate". Columbia Missourian. 1945-12-28. p. 3. Retrieved 2025-11-17 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "Two Students Now Aid Clinic". Montgomery County Sentinel. 1963-10-10. p. 7. Retrieved 2025-11-17 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ "Obituaries". The Washington Post. August 6, 2003.
  15. ^ Kao, George (1988). Cathay by the Bay: Glimpses of San Francisco's Chinatown in the Year 1950. Chinese University Press. ISBN 978-962-201-423-7.
  16. ^ "Maeching Li to Marry University Graduate". Columbia Missourian. 1945-12-28. p. 3. Retrieved 2025-11-17 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ^ Holley, Joe (2008-03-07). "George Kao; Writer-Translator Helped Readers in China, U.S. Share Cultures". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on 2024-05-18. Retrieved 2021-11-02.
  18. ^ [https://chicagochinesetimes.com/2022/05/01/%e3%80%90%e6%95%a3%e6%96%87%e6%86%b6%e6%95%85%e3%80%91%e6%af%8d%e8%a6%aa%e6%97%97%e8%a2%8d%e4%b8%8a%e7%9a%84%e5%be%80%e6%97%a5%e6%83%85%e6%87%b7-%e6%96%87%ef%bc%9a%e5%90%b3%e5%be%b7%e9%87%8c/ 吳德里 Wu Deli, "散文憶故-母親旗袍上的往日情懷 Reminiscence- Sentiments inspired by my Mother's Qipao", The Chicago Chinese News, May 1, 2022: "這許多年中,印象最深的幾位,如旅美的翻譯泰斗高克毅夫人李梅卿,是我們父執輩,手邊一張酒會相片中,梅卿夫人當時大約已年過半百,淺妝輕就,挽了簡便的髮束,簡單及肘的銀灰色梅花織錦旗袍,一點也不囂張的美、在熱鬧的人群裡,卻最端莊搶眼,教人看了還想再看,好像其中有說不出的詩書氣韻,極頂聰慧卻不囂張的恬然。Over the years, among those who have left the deepest impression are Mme. Maeching Li, the wife of George Kao, a renowned translator in the United States. She was from our father's generation. In a banquet photo of mine, Mme. Maeching was probably over fifty years old at the time. She wore light makeup, her hair was simply tied, and she wore a simple silver-gray plum blossom brocade qipao that reached her elbows. Her beauty was not ostentatious at all. In the lively crowd, she was the most dignified and eye-catching. People wanted to look at her again and again. It seemed that she had an indescribable literary and scholarly charm, and she was extremely intelligent but not arrogant."
  19. ^ Jankowiak, William R.; Moore, Robert L. (2016-11-28). Family Life in China. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-0-7456-8558-8.
  20. ^ "Asian Studies Program". Rollins College. Archived from the original on 2021-05-04. Retrieved 2021-11-02.
  21. ^ Zhang, Wenxian (December 4, 2015). "Rollins' China Connection". From the Rollins Archive. Archived from the original on 2021-09-19. Retrieved 2021-11-02.