The House of Yan: A Family at the Heart of a Century in Chinese History

Please join SIPA and The Weatherhead East Asian Institute on Tuesday, January 28th, 2020 from 1:00pm-2:00pm for a book talk with Yan Lan, Managing Director and Head of Greater China Investment Banking for Lazard China in discussion with Dean Merit E. Janow, Dean of Columbia SIPA and Professor of Professional Practice International Economic Law and International Affairs. The HISTORY OF THE YAN FAMILY IS INSEPARABLE FROM THE HISTORY OF CHINA OVER THE LAST CENTURY. One of the most influential businesswomen of China today, Yan Lan grew up in the company of the country’s powerful elite, including Zhou Enlai, Deng Xiaoping, and other top leaders. Her grandfather, Yan Baohang, originally a nationalist and close to Chiang Kai-shek and his wife, Soong May-ling, later joined the communists and worked as a secret agent for Zhou Enlai during World War II. Lan’s parents were diplomats, and her father, Yan Mingfu, was Mao’s personal Russian translator. Inspite of their elevated status, the Yan’s FAMILY LIFE WAS TURNED UPSIDE DOWN BY THE CULTURAL REVOLUTION. One night in 1967, in front of a terrified ten-year-old Lan, Red Guards burst into the FAMILY HOME AND ARRESTED HER GRANDFATHER. Days later, her father was arrested, accused of spying for the Soviet Union. Her mother, Wu Keliang, was branded a counter-revolutionary and forced to go with her daughter to a re-education camp for more than seven years, where Lan came of age as a high school student. In recounting her FAMILY HISTORY, Yan Lan brings to life a CENTURY OF CHINESE HISTORY FROM THE LAST EMPEROR TO PRESENT DAY, including the Cultural Revolution which tore her childhood apart. The little girl who was crushed by the Cultural Revolution has become one of the most active businesswomen in her country. In telling her and her FAMILY’s story, she serves up an intimate account of the HISTORY OF CONTEMPORARY CHINA. Event Details: The School of International and Public Affairs | The Kellogg Center Room: 1512 | 420 West 118th Street, 15th Floor, NEW YORK, NY 10027 Event Contact Information: SIPA Events sipaevents@sipa.columbia.edu