Owing to its early abandonment by the Government, the Chinese Educational Mission became a mere footnote in history, and all but forgotten by the general public. However, in recent decades, it has gained increasing attention and is now being studied as a significant milestone in China's hesitant journey towards modernization. Furthermore, Yung Wing is now acclaimed in China as 留学生之父 ─ "the Father of Foreign-educated Students."

In 1998, a first mini-conference on Yung Wing and the CEM was held at Yale University, followed in 2001 by a second, more comprehensive gathering of descendants, historians and graduate students. Meanwhile, in 2000 Yung Wing's historic role in China-U.S. cultural exchange was recognized by the unveiling at Yale of a new portrait of Yung Wing as an undergraduate, commissioned by the Yale-China Association and painted by American artist Judith Reeve of New Haven. In 2004, as part of Yale University’s commemoration of the 150th anniversary of his graduation, a bronze statue of Yung Wing was donated to Yale by the municipal authorities of Zhuhai, Yung's birthplace. Within China, there have been conferences on Yung Wing and the CEM held in Zhuhai in 2002 and 2004, and in Hong Kong in 2003. The China Central TV documentary Boy Students 幼童 (2004), together with its related print publications, were widely circulated in the country. 

The CEM has also figured prominently in major exhibitions in 2003 on the history of China's foreign-educated students in both Beijing and Hong Kong, and most recently in 2023 at the Connecticut Museum of Culture and History in Hartford, Connecticut which commemorated the 150th anniversary of the CEM with the comprehensive exhibition Journeys 旅途: Boys of the Chinese Educational Mission. These are all positive signs of interest.

CEM Connections began as an idea shared among several third-generation descendants of CEM students who met at the Yale and Zhuhai conferences. Our strong interest in preserving the heritage of our pioneering grandfathers and their compatriots on the Mission prompted us to research and assemble accurate historical and biographical data about this unique chapter of Chinese history.

In 2006 we built the website to disseminate this information in a format freely accessible to researchers, descendants and other interested individuals. It was redesigned in June 2008. Unfortunately, during the COVID pandemic, the site was decommissioned in 2022. With assistance from members of the original team, we are happy to revive the site under a new URL, cemconnections.com.

REQUESTS FOR INFORMATION

Thank you for your interest. Due to work on other projects, the current site team has limited capacity to field questions on the CEM or support requests for information, photos or other materials.

Please refer to the comprehensive Bibliography and list of Credits and Sources we have compiled for further information.

Should you find any factual errors or omissions, please contact us at info@cemconnections.com

SITE TEAM

Founding member Bruce A. Chan 陈肇基, grandson of Chung Mun Yew (Zhong Wenyao 钟文耀 I, 2), is a former professor of English literature and professional librarian. He was responsible for drafting five of the essays in the History Section, as well as the Student Profiles of the First and Fourth Detachments. 

Bruce has engaged in research with other CEM descendants, contributing to conferences on the CEM, both in China and the U.S. Most recently, he served as principal consultant for the 2022-2023 exhibition Journeys 旅途: Boys of the Chinese Educational Mission at the Connecticut Historical Society Museum in Hartford, USA. 

Caroline Chan 陈慕真 ─ great-granddaughter of Chung Mun Yew (Zhong Wenyao 钟文耀 I, 2) and Trevor Oke of Workyard Labs redesigned the site in 2008 and relaunched it in 2026.

FOUNDING MEMBERS

Dana B. Young, grandson of Yung Kwai (Rong Kui 容揆 II, 34), is a former teacher of classical Japanese language and literature. He was responsible for drafting two of the essays in the History Section, as well as the Student Profiles of the Second and Third Detachments.

Jacqueline Wei Mintz, granddaughter of Chung Mun Yew (Zhong Wenyao 钟文耀 I, 2) and former attorney, built the first iteration of the website and contributed in the editing.