Chinese historian Yang Li won the "Arizona History Journal" Best Paper Award for the first time

Chinese history scholar Yang Li won the "Arizona History Journal" Best Paper Award for the first time Although Dr. Yang Li has been engaged in research on the Chinese history of Arizona for a short time, she can...

Dr. Yang Li, although her research time on the Chinese history of Arizona is short, she can conduct in-depth investigations, collect extensive historical materials, conduct objective analysis, repeatedly verify and discuss, obtain accurate conclusions, and then write a weighty paper. Her serious scholarly style of studying history is worthy of admiration. Many of her articles have been published in the literary history section of this newspaper and have been well received by readers. Now honored with an award from the Arizona Historical Journal. The Alberta Times would like to express its respect and gratitude to her. The "Journal of Arizona History" 2011 Best Paper Award has just been announced. The winning article is "In Search of a Homeland: Lai Ngan, A Pioneer Chinese Woman and Her Family on the U.S.-Mexico Border" (published in The Journal of Arizona History, Winter 2011): 337-54. Arizona Historical Society. Tucson, Arizona. The winner is Embry -Riddle Aeronautical University. Chinese teacher Dr. Yang Li. The award ceremony was held on April 21 at the scenic Pointe Hilton Tapitio Hills Resort on the outskirts of Phoenix. Dr. Yang Li drove from Prescott to Phoenix to receive the award. The Arizona Historical Journal is the journal (quarterly) of the Arizona Historical Society, which is affiliated to the Arizona state government. It mainly publishes articles related to Arizona history. The best paper is selected each year, and the selected candidate is awarded a certificate named after historian C. L. Sonnichsen. The winning article chronicled the story of Lai Ngan, an early Chinese immigrant woman, and her family as they moved between the United States and Mexico in search of their homeland. Lai Ngan's husband, Li Guanglun, is from South Yorkshire, Songxi Township, Nanhai County, Guangdong. He participated in the American Civil War and opened a cigar factory in San Francisco after the Civil War. In the 1880s, a wave of "Chinese exclusion" was launched in California. He went south to Mexico alone and made a living in La Colorada and Guaymas. Lai Ngan soon took a boat with her two young daughters to Mexico to "find a husband" and the family lived together. Ten years later, due to anti-China sentiment in Mexico, Lai Ngan's family moved back to the United States, first living in Nogalas and finally settling in Tucson. Lai Ngan and Li Guanglun raised three boys, six girls, and nine children. The eldest daughter, Carmen Lee Ban, was a well-known female photographer in the early history of Arizona. The eldest son, Li Junrang, was a manager of an American import and export company in the Philippines. The fourth daughter, Concepcion, was a Catholic nun. The youngest daughter, Teresa, enlisted in the army during World War II and served as a nurse in the army. The remaining five children opened grocery stores in Tucson and were successful businessmen. Lai Ngan's family, except for Li Guanglun and Lai Ngan's second husband Tom Wun and Concepcion, were all buried in Evergreen Cemetery on the outskirts of Tucson. Yang Li graduated from the East Asian Department of the University of Arizona. While studying in Tucson, he became interested in the history of Chinese immigration in Tucson and Arizona as a whole, and began to engage in research work. So far, he has published more than ten Chinese and English articles in magazines such as "Biography Literature" and "History Monthly" in Taiwan, "Guangdong Archives" in mainland China, and the American Journal of Arizona History.

The picture shows Dr. Yang Li, winner of the C. L. Sonnichsen Award, and Bruce Dinges, editor-in-chief of the Arizona Historical Journal.

(Photo: Craig Salomonson)