This collection is located on site.
This collection has no restrictions.
The Liu-Chiang family papers document the multigenerational immigration stories of the Liu and Chiang families from China to Cuba, Thailand, Taiwan, and then to the United States, dating from 1938 to 1967. The materials primarily consist of school, military, and travel documents, photographs, and memorabilia which belonged to Liu Cheng-Jung, Susie Ta Chih Liu-Chiang, and Ching Chiang. The bulk of materials document the Liu family and Liu Cheng-Jung's time working with the Nationalist Government in Chongqing, as well as his diplomatic posting in Cuba from 1945 to 1947, in Thailand from 1950 to 1955. Materials also include an annotated telegraphic codebook used by Liu Cheng-Jung during his work as a cryptographer. The school and military records, travel documents, and photograph albums also document both Susie Ta Chih Liu's college and social life and Ching Chiang's school, military, and social life in Taipei during the 1950s and their migration journey to the United States in 1960. The collection provides an insight into the daily lives of a multigenerational family living abroad.
You will need to make an appointment in advance to use this collection material in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room. You can schedule an appointment once you've submitted your request through your Special Collections Research Account.
This collection is located on site.
This collection has no restrictions.
Reproductions may be made for research purposes. The RBML maintains ownership of the physical material only. Copyright remains with the creator and his/her heirs. The responsibility to secure copyright permission rests with the patron.
Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Liu-Chiang family papers; Box and Folder; Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.
Materials may have been added to the collection since this finding aid was prepared. Contact rbml@columbia.edu for more information.
Gift of the Chiang Family (Celia, Kenneth and Stephanie Chiang), 2021. Celia Chiang, Class of 1992, GSAPP, M.S.AAD. Stephanie Chiang, Class of 2004, EdM at TC.
Columbia University Libraries, Rare Book and Manuscript Library
Processed by Yingwen Huang, 2021.
Liu, Cheng-Jung (Chinese: 劉正榮) was a cryptographer with the Chinese Nationalist Government. He was the brother of Liu, Cheng-I (劉正義), and one of the children in the Liu family. Liu worked in Diplomatic Cables Section (外交部電報科) in Chongqing, China, until 1944. In 1945, he was in New York for a brief time. From 1945 to 1948, he worked in Havana, Cuba, returning to Taipei in 1949, and later worked with Ambassador Sun, Patrick Pichi (Biqi, 孫碧奇/孙碧奇) at the Chinese Consulate in Bangkok, Thailand from 1951 to 1955, upon returning to Taipei in 1956. He married Liu-Tso, Chia Feng (劉左家鳳 b. 1915 in Hubei , d. 2009 in U.S.) in 1933, who later accompanied him on all of his postings. The couple had three children together.
Chiang-Liu, Susie Ta Chih (Maiden name: Liu, Ta Chih, Susie Ta Chih Liu; Chinese: 劉大智) was born in Hankou, Hubei province, on January 13, 1936. Susie was the second of the three daughters (sisters: Maria Liu and Liu, Ta Hui/劉大慧) of Liu Cheng-Jung. While her father, Liu Cheng-Jung, was working as a cryptographer with the Chinese Nationalist Government in China, Susie attended the No.17 Central Elementary School in Shanghai (上海市第十七區中心國民學校). Her family and she later moved to Havana as her father was posted to Cuba as a diplomatic staff of the Nationalist government. Because her father's postings lasted 4-5 years in each location, her schooling location was not consistent. Susie attended the Cathedral School in Havana, from 1945 to 1947, the Jinou Girls High School (私立金甌女子商業職業學校) in Taipei, from 1949 to 1950, and the Mater Dei School in Bangkok, from 1952 to 1955. The Liu family returned to Taipei in 1956 where Susie was enrolled at the National Taiwan University (NTU) as an overseas Chinese student. She majored in English Literature and received her Bachelor's degree in 1960. After graduation, she came to the US to study abroad. Susie later met Ching Chiang in New York during the early 1960s and got married. The couple had three children together: Celia, Kenneth, and Stephanie Chiang.
Chiang, Ching (Wade-Giles: Chiang, Ching; Chinese: 江菁; name was later changed to Chiang, Han Ching, 江漢菁) was born in Nanhai, Guangdong province, on September 22, 1926. He was the younger son of Chiang, Wei-Chou (江葦舟) and Chiang-Lee, Shang-Li (江李尚礼). He left home during his adolescence at the age of 12. He later moved to Taiwan and received his high school diploma in 1949. In college, he studied Agricultural Chemistry (台灣大學農化系畢業) at the National Taiwan University (NTU) and graduated in 1953. After graduation, he enlisted in the ROC army and enrolled in the Army Ordnance School (兵工學校), 1953 August-1954 July, and completed an Army, Navy and Air Force Translator Training Course (陸海空軍編譯人員訓練班), 1955 July-1955 August. He was a reserve officer (預備軍官) in 1958 before he was released from the military to study abroad in the US. After arriving in the US, he studied at the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) and the University of Wisconsin, and later received a Ph.D.
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