On the morning of August 27, 2023, a symposium was held at Northwest University to celebrate the publication of two new works by Mr. An Weixian, a renowned translator, writer, and founder of the Shaanxi Snow Research Center. The two new works are A Great Woman - Helen Foster Snow and Unforgettable Camaraderie.
The symposium was jointly organized by our school, the Shaanxi Writers Association, and the Shaanxi Translators Association, with the Shaanxi Snow Research Center undertaking the event. More than 60 experts and scholars from the Shaanxi Provincial Foreign Affairs Office, the Provincial Association for Friendly Relations with Foreign Countries, the Provincial Writers Association, the Provincial Translators Association, the Northwest Worker-Peasant-Soldier Studies Center, the Yan’an Revolution Memorial Hall, the Shaanxi Snow Research Center, and several universities in the province attended the symposium. Guests provided comments on the two new works from various perspectives such as artistic merit and historical significance, and highly praised the bridging spirit of generations including the Snows and Mr. An, who have been dedicated to fostering friendly exchanges between the Chinese and American peoples. Video congratulations came from international friends, including Adam Foster, Chairman of the Helen Foster Snow Foundation, Ouyang Wen, Director of the Helen Foster Snow Cultural Center at Southern Utah University, and Sharon Crain, recipient of the Sanqin Friendship Award.
Our dean, Professor Cao Ruonan, as the leader of the organizing committee, delivered a speech, praising Mr. An Wei’s steadfast dedication to research and his enthusiasm for and commitment to Helen Snow studies. She also introduced several initiatives and achievements of our school in the field of Snow research and educational inheritance since the establishment of the Shaanxi Snow Research Center at our school.
The symposium was chaired by Yuan Xiling. Professor Hu Zongfeng, our retired faculty member, delivered a speech as the leader of the Shaanxi Translators Association, which co-hosted the event. During the book launch segment, Su Rui, our associate dean, read the “Afterword” of the book A Great Woman - Helen Foster Snow, while Chen Juan, the foreign affairs secretary, read the message Unforgettable Camaraderie written on the title page of the book. Gao Minna shared some good news and introduced two English-language books published in the United States, The Face of Time and One in a Billion.
The symposium was attended by retired faculty member Professor Wang Aifen, Vice Dean Yang Ying, Professor Gao Shuling, and Teacher Li Siyuan. Members of our “RED Memory Explanation Team” provided volunteer services for the symposium. After the symposium, the participants also visited our school’s exhibition “Building Bridges in Life - Helen Foster Snow Photo Exhibition”.
In the afternoon of that day, the board meeting of the Shaanxi Snow Research Center was held in our school’s conference room. Teacher Yuan Xiling, as the Executive Deputy Director of the Shaanxi Snow Research Center, reported to the board representatives on the development of the Snow Research Center since its establishment at our school in 2016, and played a retrospective video produced by our school.
Text: Yuan Xiling
Photo: RED Memory Explanation Team