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The James and Margaret Tseng Loe Center for China Studies

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The James and Margaret Tseng Loe Center
for China Studies

The James and Margaret Tseng Loe China Studies Center promotes cross-cultural understanding between China and the United States through cultural exchange and education. Inspired by the Loe family’s integration of American ideals of freedom, equality, and democracy and the Chinese cardinal moral principles of propriety, filial piety, integrity, and self-respect, the Center aims to cultivate the idea that there is more that unites us than divides us.

Dedication

With deep gratitude, the China Studies Center Fund is dedicated to the memory of Professor James Loe and Mrs. Margaret Tseng Loe for bestowing upon and instilling in their five daughters the great national heritage of America and of China. They taught their daughters the American ideals of freedom, equality, and democracy. They also passed on to their daughters the basic Chinese values of the four cardinal moral principles: 

proprietyFilialPietyintegrityselfrespect

Along with the eight basic ethical virtues:

loyalty.jpgFilialPietybenevolence.jpglove.jpgtrustworthiness.jpgrighteousness.jpgharmony.jpgtemperance.jpg

They led their daughters to understand that the foundation of true peace - within oneself or among nations - rests not in the power of conquering others, but in the conquering of one's self through these basic ideals and values. 

 

james_loe-web.jpg

James Loe, Professor,
Diplomat, Nanchang,
Jiangxi Province, China,
Sept. 10, 1900-Nov. 24, 1951

 

margaret_tseng_loe-web.jpg
Margaret Tseng Loe,
Poet, Nanchang,
Jiangxi Province, China,
Dec.31, 1900-Feb.14, 1939

 

 

James and Margaret Tseng Loe Chair

The James and Margaret Tseng Loe Chair pays tribute to Saint Vincent College’s long history of involvement in education in China, dating back to the 1920s. The Loe Professor Chair is a generous gift from Dr. Barbara Loe, with support of her sisters Mrs. Gertrude Loe Tai, Mrs. Lucy Loe Lee, Mrs. Agnes P. Loe Li and Mrs. Mary Jean Loe Wong, to honor their parents Professor James Loe and Mrs. Margaret Tseng Loe’s desire for them and others to obtain a higher education.  

Brother Nicholas Koss, O.S.B., served as the Loe Chair in 2021-22 and 2022-23 academic years, teaching courses in Chinese literature and doing research on the history of Benedictines in China. These video lectures are product of his research. Brother Nicholas earned a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from Saint Vincent College and studied Chinese at Chabanel Language Institute in Taiwan. He holds a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from Indiana University, Bloomington, and is a retired distinguished professor of comparative literature at Peking University. He is currently chair professor at Fu Jen Catholic University in Taipei. He was one of the founding members of the Taiwan Association for Classical, Medieval and Renaissance Studies and served as its first president (2006-2010). He is also an international consultant for the Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies, Zhejiang University, and is now doing research on the image of China in 16th- and 17th-century England, a subject about which he has published numerous articles.

 

Pre 1949 OSB as Missionaries

 

Pre 1949 OSB in Sichuan

 

Pre 1949 OSB in Northeast China

 

Pre 1949 OSB in Beijing

Academic Centers

Center Highlights

  • About the Center

    The James and Margaret Tseng Loe China Studies Center and the China Studies Program at Saint Vincent College provide students with the opportunity to study the Chinese language and culture in a campus setting, on study tours to China and in study abroad programs. A number of competitive scholarships are available to students who wish to expand their knowledge of the Chinese language and culture by traveling abroad.

  • Programs

    Chinese History and Language Courses Offered at Saint Vincent College:
    HI 108 Traditional East Asian Societies
    HI 109 Modern East Asian Societies
    HI 208 Modern China
    HI 209 Issues in Contemporary East Asia
    HI 270 The Rise of Chinese Civilization
    HI 274 China and Japan in Fiction and Film
    CHI 101 Elementary Chinese I
    CHI 102 Elementary Chinese II
    CHI 203 Intermediate Chinese I
    CHI 204 Intermediate Chinese II
    CHI 305 Advanced Chinese Conversation I
    CHI 306 Reading Chinese
    CHI 307 Advanced Chinese Conversation II
    CHI 310 Chinese Literature in Translation
    CHI 311 Selected Readings in Chinese
    CHI 320 Topics in Chinese Language, Civilization or Literature
    **Course descriptions available under Tools section.

    Study Abroad Opportunities Offered at Saint Vincent College
    Saint Vincent College students are encouraged to expand their knowledge of the Chinese language and culture by traveling abroad. The following competitive scholarship programs have been established to assist students with study abroad expenses.

    Endowments
    The A.J. Palumbo Student Research Endowment was established in 1996 to promote exemplary scholarship and academic achievement. Grant funding supports student-initiated learning and discovery in the arts, sciences, humanities, social sciences, and professional programs.

    The Elizabeth and Tom Andreoli Traveling Scholar Endowment was established to make awards to support special educational opportunities that will broaden students' horizons and deepen their experience beyond the formal classroom setting.

    China Scholarship Opportunities Offered at Saint Vincent College:
    The Rev. Gregory Schramm, O.S.B. and James and Margaret Tseng Loe Friendship Memorial Scholarship was established to be used toward tuition and room and board at Saint Vincent College. 

Contact Us

The Loe Center for China Studies

Phone: 724-805-2233
Email: sophia.geng@stvincent.edu

Academic Centers
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