Irene Cheng

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Irene Cheng, née Hotung (October 21, 1904 – February 17, 2007; Chinese: 鄭何艾齡), was a Hong Kong educationalist. The first Chinese woman to graduate from the University of Hong Kong, she went on to become the highest-ranking woman in the city's Education Department. Throughout her career, she also worked as an educator in mainland China and in the United States.

Early life and education[edit]

Irene Cheng was born Irene Hotung in 1904.[1][2][3] She was the daughter of very wealthy Eurasian parents in Hong Kong.[1][3] Her father, Robert Hotung, was a businessman and philanthropist known as the "grand old man of Hong Kong."[3][4] Her mother was Hotung's second "co-equal" wife, Clara Hotung.[3][5] Hers was the first non-white family to live in Hong Kong's elite Victoria Peak neighborhood.[3]

After studying at the Diocesan Girls' School, in 1921 Cheng became one of the first women admitted to the University of Hong Kong.[1][2][3] In 1925, she became the first Chinese woman to graduate from the university, earning a degree in English.[1][2][3][6]

She then traveled to Britain to attend King's College London, but her education there was cut short due to family responsibilities; however, she eventually completed a master's in education at Columbia University's Teachers College in 1929.[1][7][8] She later attended the University of London, where she obtained a Ph.D. in 1936.[1][2][7] In between, she returned to China in the early 1930s to teach at Lingnan University in Guangzhou.[1][2][3]

Career[edit]

Throughout her career, Cheng focused her efforts on education, first in China and later in the United States.[1] She was a strong proponent of bilingual and special education.[5]

After obtaining her Ph.D., she returned to China the year after and served on the staff of the Ministry of Education in Nanjing.[3][8] In 1940, she married an engineer from Beijing, Cheng Hsiang-hsien, and they had a daughter. Two years into their marriage, her husband died.[1][3][8] As was customary, Chang never remarried.[2]

In 1948 she went to Hong Kong and began working in the city's Education Department, eventually rising to become the highest-ranking female staff member there.[1][3][6] She also served on the executive board of the World Federation for Mental Health from 1956 to 1959.[1][2]

Cheng retired from her position in the Education Department in 1961.[1][3] For her service as an education officer, she was named an officer of the Order of the British Empire that year.[1] For a few years after her retirement from government, she served as principal of the Confucian Tai Shing School in Hong Kong's Wong Tai Sin.[3] In 1967, she moved to the San Diego area to be closer to where her daughter and other relatives were living.[1][3]

Cheng wrote two memoirs chronicling her time in British Hong Kong: "Clara Ho Tung. A Hong Kong Lady: Her Family and Her Times" (1976), about her mother, and "Intercultural Reminiscences" (1997), an autobiography.[1][2][3]

Later years[edit]

In her retirement, Cheng continued her advocacy for educational opportunities, founding the Chung Hwa School, which taught Chinese culture, in San Diego in 1970.[1] She also taught at the University of California, San Diego, in this period, as well as teaching citizenship and other classes for immigrants to the United States.[1][3]

She died in 2007 at age 102.[1][3]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Kinsman, Michael (2007-03-04). "Irene Cheng, 102, Hong Kong-born educator was a citizen of the world". San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved 2022-02-10.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Philipp, Joshua (2007-03-17). "The Grand Life of Dr. Irene Cheng: She passes away at 102". The Epoch Times. Archived from the original on 2016-08-03.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Crawford, Barclay (2007-03-11). "Irene Cheng, teacher and daughter of Hong Kong". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 2022-02-14.
  4. ^ Mok, Laramie (2020-06-30). "Who was Sir Robert Hotung, great uncle of late casino king Stanley Ho?". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 2022-02-10.
  5. ^ a b Dungan, Eloise (1975-02-06). "'98% unemployed, but 200% busy'". The San Francisco Examiner. p. 27.
  6. ^ a b Growing with Hong Kong: The University and Its Graduates : the First 90 Years. Hong Kong University Press. 2002-01-01. ISBN 978-962-209-613-4.
  7. ^ a b Teng, Emma Jinhua (2013-07-13). Eurasian: Mixed Identities in the United States, China, and Hong Kong, 1842–1943. University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-95700-8.
  8. ^ a b c Lee, Vicky (2004-08-01). Being Eurasian: Memories Across Racial Divides. Hong Kong University Press. ISBN 978-962-209-670-7.
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