A Memorial Service to celebrate the life of Jinbao Qian was held on Tuesday, November 23. Those who were unable to attend, but wish to convey their recollections and tributes, are invited to do so by mail or email to Shinju Fujihira ( sfujihira@wcfia.harvard.edu). We will translate all messages and convey them to the family.

Jinbao Qian

Jinbao Qian, a scholar of Chinese-Japanese relations, died suddenly on October 22, 2004, after collapsing while playing badminton with friends from Harvard and MIT. He was 38 years old. When Jinbao left his native China in 1994 to pursue doctoral studies at Harvard, he had already made his mark in the field of history. As an archivist at the Second Historical Archives of China in Nanjing, he had been part of a team that had painstakingly documented one of the most shattering events in China's turbulent wartime relations with Japan, the Rape of Nanking. He sought to deepen his expertise by studying abroad, embarking on a path that led ultimately to his receiving a Ph.D. in History and East Asian Languages from Harvard in June 2004, working under the supervision of William Kirby, a leading specialist on twentieth century Chinese history. Among Harvard scholars of Chinese studies, he was widely heralded for his encyclopedic and unparalleled knowledge of archival materials throughout China. His extensive ties among archivists in his home country gave him unprecedented access to research materials there, and he was generous in helping researchers from the United States and other nations gain access as well.

Jinbao was a highly valued Graduate Student Associate of the Weatherhead Center from 2000 through 2003. "He was not only hard working but always kind and full of great humor," said Clare Putnam, the coordinator of student programs. When the current academic year began in September, Jinbao stayed at Harvard to take up a postdoctoral fellowship with the Weatherhead Center's Program on U.S.-Japan Relations, where he intended to investigate the wartime negotiations between Japan and China from 1937 through 1945 and to publish his dissertation as a book. Well known among his friends for his athletic prowess, the Somerville resident left many colleagues and acquaintances greatly saddened by his sudden and unexpected death. He is deeply mourned by his friends here and by his family members in Sheyang County, Jiangsu Province, China.

Jinbao Qian Memorial Fund

Jinbao came from a small village in Sheyang County, Jiangsu Province, and he leaves his parents who still reside there, as well as two brothers also living in China. Naturally, his sudden death at such a young age is a devastating loss to his family in China. Over the past week, we've heard from so many of you who've expressed a wish to do something to help Jinbao's family cope with this tragedy.

We have established this fund in order to give friends, colleagues and others who knew Jinbao the opportunity to make a contribution, which will go in its entirety to Jinbao's family. If you would like to make a contribution to this fund, please send a check made out to the "Jinbao Qian Memorial Fund," c/o Clare Putnam, Weatherhead Center, 1033 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138.