Gifts from Chinese Guests Express Respect and Admiration for the World's First School of Journalism on the Occasion of the Centennial/Dedication Celebration

Symbolic Items Include a Carved Sandalwood Tiger, a Jade Seal and Embroidered Cloths

More than 40 Chinese news media and academic officials attended the recent centennial/dedication celebration, bringing special gifts to express their congratulations and appreciation for the century-long relationship they have enjoyed with the Missouri School of Journalism. In this article, Ernest Zhang, coordinator of the School's China Programs, shares information about these unique items and the sentiments they convey.

Brian Brooks Journalism Studies Associate Dean Dean Mills Convergence Journalism Dean Esther Thorson Strategic Communication Faculty Ernest Zhang International Programs Staff

Links

Apple Beijing Youth Daily Chinese Embassy Chongqing University School of Humanities and Journalism Communication University of China Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute Fudan University School of Journalism Jinan University College of Journalism and Communication Renmin University Shanghai University Media Economics Research Center University of Missouri Walter Williams (Bio) Walter Williams Hall Xiamen University School of Journalism and Communication

Columbia, Mo. (Oct. 13, 2008) -- More than 40 guests from influential universities and news media organizations across China contributed meaningful gifts to celebrate the recent centennial of the Missouri School of Journalism and the dedication of the Reynolds Journalism Institute (RJI).

(Left to right) 1. Shaode Qin, Fudan University chancellor; Dean Mills, Missouri School of Journalism dean. 2. Tianchuan Cheng, Renmim University chancellor; Mills. 3. Mills; Fritz Cropp; Missouri School of Journalism international programs director; Gang Gao, Renmim University executive associate dean. 4. Zhengrong Hu, Communication University of China vice chancellor; Brady Deaton, University of Missouri chancellor. 5. Mills; Zhengrong Hu, Communication University of China vice chancellor. 6. Ernest Zhang, Missouri School of Journalism China programs director; Deaton; Min Yang, Nanjing University Jinling School new media sequence chair. 7. Zhang; Kewu Tian, Beijing Youth Daily managing editor; Brian Brooks, Missouri Journalism associate dean. 8. Zhang; Cropp; Brooks; Ye Zheng, Chengdu Economic Daily editorial committee member. 9. Zhang; Xiaodan Yu, Guangzhou Daily human resources director; Brooks. 10. Zhang; Guangjun Zhuo, Chongqing University School of Humanities and Journalism executive associate dean; Brooks. 11. Esther Thorson, Missouri School of Journalism associate dean; Tiance Dong, Jinan University College of Journalism and Communication executive associate dean. 12. Thorson; Xinxun Wu, Shanghai University Media Economics Research Center dean. 13. Cropp; Aihua Yan, Qilu TV Station president; Thorson; Zhang. 14. Zhang; Xinmin Huang, Xiamen University School of Journalism and Communication executive associate dean; Thorson; Cropp.

In presenting the gifts to Dean Mills, dean, and Esther Thorson and Brian Brooks, both associate deans, the international guests expressed their respect and admiration for the world's first journalism school and the long-term connection between the School and China's journalism education programs and news media industry.

"All of the Chinese guests have highly treasured the opportunity to come to Missouri to celebrate its centennial, and they also want to strengthen their bonds with our School during their visit," said Ernest Zhang, PhD '08, coordinator of the School's China program. "Chinese culture has always emphasized the exchange of protocols, so every guest had given a lot of thought in choosing and preparing gifts that can express their best wishes for this historical occasion."

Zhengwei Yu, executive associate dean of China's Fudan University School of Journalism, began thinking about his gift after a visit to the School in 2007. While touring the facilities, two artifacts impressed him very deeply. One was the pair of lions from Confucius' hometown. These were dedicated to the School in 1931 and now sit under the Journalism Arch. The other was the wood horizontal scroll and vertical couplets respectfully endowed in 1928 to Dean Walter Williams from Yingbin Wang, a Missouri alumnus who lived in Shanghai, China. Today these frame the door to the School's museum in 243-D Walter Williams Hall. During the celebration, this room housed an exhibit of items given to the School by international visitors and associates and highlighted the world travels of founding Dean Williams and his wife, Sara Lockwood Williams, BJ '13.

On behalf of Fudan, Yu and other representatives of the university including Chancellor Shaode Qin unveiled a true-to-life-size tiger figure. The carving, approximately 2-feet long and 1.5-feet high, is sculptured from sandalwood. Qin said the tiger symbolizes the power and king-like status of the Journalism School across the world. This association is captured in a framed Chinese calligraphic work that accompanied the figure called "The Powerful Tiger." Four Chinese characters handwritten by Qin expressed the sentiment.

The sandalwood tiger was one of several gifts to highlight the University of Missouri's official mascot, the tiger. Others include:

Renmin University proudly presented a 2.5-feet-high camphorwood statue of General Guan Yu, a well-known war hero in the period of the Three Kingdoms (A.D. 220-280) in China. Famous for his courage and loyalty, General Guan is considered a household symbol in China for faith, fairness and trust. These qualities, noted Chancellor Tianchuan Cheng and Journalism Executive Associate Dean Gang Gao during the presentation, are those that should be cultivated in journalists.

Renmin and Missouri established a strategic partnership in 2005, and the Chinese university served as host to the 58 Missouri Journalism students who worked as news media interns during the Beijing 2008 Olympics Games.

Vice Chancellor Zhengrong Hu of Communication University of China, which is located in Beijing, presented the School with a red-lacquered plate portraying Beijing's Temple of Heaven. The temple was once the site of ceremonial prayers for good harvest that drew yearly visits from the emperors of China's Ming and Qing dynasties.

Aihua Yan, president of Qilu TV Station, located in China's Shandong province, dedicated a kite and a camphorwood sculpture of Confucius to the School. The swallow-shaped kite is from Weifang, a city in Shandong province known for its annual kite festivals. The birthplace of Confucius is located in the Qufu city of Shandong Province, where Qilu TV Station is based.

A bright yellow tablecloth delicately embroidered with gourds by using gold, silver and blue brocade threads was presented by Kewu Tian, managing editor of the Beijing Youth Daily. Commonly called a table flag in Beijing, China. Tian said the pine, bamboo and plum blossoms brocaded in the gourds symbolize happiness and auspiciousness. The large number of gourds in the cloth's design represents the depth of his newspaper's heartfelt congratulations to the School on this occasion of the centennial/dedication celebration, he noted. The three plants are traditional Chinese symbols that serve to characterize the friendship between the daily newspaper and the School, Tian added.

Guangzhou Daily Human Resources Director Xiaodan Yu dedicated a Guangzhou colorized porcelain plate with gilded decorations of peonies. According to Yu, in all of Guangzhou, whose metropolitan area numbers approximately 10 million people, there is only one master who is an expert at the whole process of making this kind of colorized porcelain plate. "This is an endangered art, and we reserved this plate long before I got aboard. I hope it can express our enthusiasm for the eight-year cooperation between us," said Yu.

Other congratulatory gifts included:

Additionally, Shaozhong You, the minister counselor for educational affairs of Chinese Embassy in Washington, D.C., sent a congratulatory letter to Dean Mills. China Central Television Station (CCTV) America Center's Director Shiding Tang led a four-member reporting-and-greeting delegation to attend the celebration activities. The group recorded many of the sessions and conducted interviews with Mills and some Chinese guests. The video will be edited into a program about the centennial/dedication event and aired on CCTV at a future date.

Mills reciprocated with gifts from the School and RJI, which included state-of-the-art Apple products.

Related

Aug. 8, 2008: Missouri Journalism Interns at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games Blog about Experiences As the 2008 Summer Olympic Games kick off in Beijing, Missouri School of Journalism students are detailing their experiences with blog coverage for news media outlets throughout the United States, as well as being featured on television throughout China. [More]

April 24, 2008: Ten Graduate Students to Be Selected for Prestigious WHCA-Missouri Fellowship in Government Affairs Reporting The White House Correspondents' Association will announce at its annual dinner on Saturday, April 26, a new WHCA-Missouri Fellowship Program in government affairs reporting. The Missouri School of Journalism was one of three schools selected by the WHCA for their innovative new scholarships at the graduate level. [More]

Nov. 27, 2007: Missouri School of Journalism Launches Brussels Program with Inaugural Class of Seven The Missouri School of Journalism will send students to work as journalists in Brussels, Belgium, headquarters of the EU, through a new study abroad program. Beginning in January, the inaugural class of seven students will spend four days a week in Brussels covering international issues for media organizations and one day a week attending a seminar class. [More]

Sept. 26, 2007: Missouri School of Journalism Students Hone Skills at Top Media Institutions For 12 weeks this past summer, going to work meant going to a baseball game for Carolyn Rauen, a senior radio-television journalism major. Dozens of Missouri Journalism students spent the academic off-season involved in prestigious internships across the country. Internships are a key element of the "Missouri Method," a proven style of instruction that emphasizes learning through hands-on experience. [More]

Aug. 24, 2007: University of Missouri-Columbia, Beijing Olympic Organizing Committee, Renmin University of China Sign 'Memorandum of Understanding' On Aug. 23, the Missouri School of Journalism, the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG) and Renmin University of China (RUC) signed a Memorandum of Understanding concerning a student volunteer project. As part of this project, MU and RUC will cooperate to select and train journalism students for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. [More]

April 25, 2007: Missouri School of Journalism Senior Wins $12,000 O.O. McIntyre Fellowship to Document "Lost Boys of Sudan" Reunion in Africa Jennifer Price has won the O.O. McIntyre Postgraduate Writing Fellowship, which will allow her to travel with Abraham Lueth, one of the "Lost Boys of Sudan," back to Kenya and the Sudan as he reunites with his family, two decades after the terror that forced him to leave. Established in 1986, the annual McIntyre Fellowship helps aspiring writers further their careers. [More]

April 16, 2007: Journalism Master's Student Wins Prestigious Fulbright Scholarship to Germany Robin Hoecker, a master's student at the Missouri School of Journalism, has received one of five Fulbright Beginning Professional Journalism Awards to Germany, the U.S. Department of State and the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board announced recently. During her 10-month Fulbright program, Hoecker, from Monroeville, Pa., will study how photojournalism and citizen journalism can be used to promote dialogue among ethnic groups in Germany. [More]

May 26, 2006: Journalism Master's Student Wins The New York Times "Win a Reporting Trip to Africa" Contest Missouri School of Journalism master's student Casey Parks is the winner of a "Win a Reporting Trip to Africa" contest sponsored by The New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof. Parks will write a blog about her experience for nytimes.com and create a video blog for MTV-U. Kristof selected Parks' winning entry from 3,800 applications. Her essay spoke of her southern Mississippi heritage, of growing up poor and isolated from the world. [More]

May 3, 2006: Master's Student to Use $12,000 Fellowship to Write about China's Economic Development Missouri School of Journalism graduate student Michelle Dammon Loyalka wants to combine her experiences living in China with her journalism education to improve reporting on China's rapid economic development. As the recipient of the 2006 O.O. McIntyre Postgraduate Writing Fellowship, Loyalka can do just that. Loyalka was recently awarded the $12,000 fellowship in order to write a book on the rise of China. [More]

Feb. 27, 2006: Missouri-Moscow State Faculty Collaborate to Offer New Convergence Course Seven Missouri School of Journalism faculty are working with 13 Moscow State University faculty in Russia this semester to teach a media convergence journalism course modeled on the School's new sequence in this area. The new course being offered to 50 MGU students brings together American and Russian teachers who specialize in different aspects of journalism, including photography, radio, television and print reporting, graphic design and Web publishing. [More]

March 31, 2005: Journalism Students Visit with Iraqi Journalists about Freedom of the Press Some Missouri School of Journalism students got the rare opportunity to converse with journalists from Iraq during a recent 80-minute live satellite video conference. The six journalists, all from Baghdad newspapers, were part of a business journalism training session in Amman, Jordan, led by Marty Steffens, the SABEW Chair in Business and Financial Reporting. [More]

April 26, 2004: Missouri Team Places First at Midwest Model European Union A team of students from the Missouri School of Journalism placed first at the recent Midwest Model European Union Conference held at Indiana University - Purdue University in Indianapolis. This is the third time that Missouri has won the top spot in as many years. [More]

Feb. 10, 2003: Partnership with Russia's Largest School of Journalism Announced Faculty from the world's first school of journalism and the world's largest school of journalism have announced plans to collaborate on a project to strengthen journalism education in Russia and the United States. The partnership of the Missouri School of Journalism and Moscow State University, popularly known as MGU, its initials in Russian, will concentrate on new curricula and laboratory media for MGU and enhanced education for Missouri. [More]