{{Short description|Chinese artist (1889–1978)}}{{Infobox person | name = Yang Ling-fu | image = YangLingfu1936.png | alt = Yang Ling-fu wearing a cloche hat low over her eyes | caption = Yang Ling-fu from a 1936 directory | native_name = 楊令茀 | other_names = Edith Ling-fu Yang, Edith Young | birth_name = | birth_date = December 16, 1889 | birth_place = Wuxi, Jiangsu, China | death_date = September 4, 1978 | death_place = Carmel, California, US | occupation = Artist, poet, curator, educator | years_active = | known_for = | notable_works = | spouse(s) = | relatives = }}
'''Yang Ling-fu''' ({{zh|c=楊令茀}}, December 16, 1889 – September 4, 1978) was a Chinese artist.
== Early life and education == Yang was born in Wuxi, Jiangsu, the daughter of Yang Zhongji,<ref>{{Cite news|date=4 July 1937|title=13 Water Colorists Hold Exhibition at Oakland Gallery|pages=36|work=Oakland Tribune|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/89153763/13-water-colorists-hold-exhibition-at/|access-date=18 November 2021|via=Newspapers.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250708071324/https://www.newspapers.com/article/oakland-tribune-13-water-colorists-hold/89153763/|archive-date=8 July 2025|url-status=live|url-access=limited}}</ref> a government official and diplomat. Her older brother, {{Interlanguage link|Yang Shounan|lt=Yang Shounan|zh|楊壽枏}}, was a poet, editor, government official, and industrialist.
Yang won a scholarship to study art in Philadelphia in 1924;<ref name=":1">{{Cite news|date=3 February 1945|title=Renowned Artist to Show Her Chinese Paintings at Junior College Art Gallery|pages=3|work=The Californian|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/89153303/renowned-artist-to-show-her-chinese/|access-date=18 November 2021|via=Newspapers.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211118180155/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/89153303/renowned-artist-to-show-her-chinese/|archive-date=18 November 2021|url-status=live|url-access=limited}}</ref> she returned to Philadelphia in 1926,<ref>{{Cite news|date=27 October 1926|title=Chinese Artist Here from East: Miss Yang Ling Fu to Attend Philadelphia's Exposition; Will Display Work|pages=8|work=Times Colonist|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/89156241/chinese-artist-here-from-east/|access-date=18 November 2021|via=Newspapers.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211118180142/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/89156241/chinese-artist-here-from-east/|archive-date=18 November 2021|url-status=live|url-access=limited}}</ref> in connection with the Philadelphia Exposition of 1926.<ref name=":2">{{Cite news|date=30 June 1937|title=Lecturer to Tell Story of China with Doll Exhibit|pages=7|work=Oakland Tribune|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/89154283/lecturer-to-tell-story-of-china-with/|access-date=18 November 2021|via=Newspapers.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211118180142/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/89154283/lecturer-to-tell-story-of-china-with/|archive-date=18 November 2021|url-status=live|url-access=limited}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|date=30 October 1926|title=Chinese Poet Visits City on Way to Sesqui|pages=26|work=Star Tribune|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/89155101/chinese-poet-visits-city-on-way-to/|access-date=18 November 2021|via=Newspapers.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211118180150/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/89155101/chinese-poet-visits-city-on-way-to/|archive-date=18 November 2021|url-status=live|url-access=limited}}</ref> She also studied and taught in Peking. As a young artist she won medals from presidents Yuan Shikai and Xu Shichang.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/5edwhoswhoinchina00shanuoft|title=Who's who in China; biographies of Chinese leaders|date=|publisher=Shanghai China Weekly Review|pages=[https://archive.org/details/5edwhoswhoinchina00shanuoft/page/272/mode/2up?q=yang+ling-fu 272]|via=Internet Archive|year=1936|edition=5th|language=en}}</ref>
== Career == Yang was commissioned to make life-sized portraits of Manchu emperors and empresses for the Palace Museum of Mukden in the 1920s. She worked as a curator<ref>{{Cite news|last=Billheimer|first=Ruth|date=21 March 1937|title=Noted Chinese Artist Found in Kitchen Making Pancakes|pages=17|work=The Pasadena Post|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/89154933/noted-chinese-artist-found-n-kitchen/|access-date=18 November 2021|via=Newspapers.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211118180148/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/89154933/noted-chinese-artist-found-n-kitchen/|archive-date=18 November 2021|url-status=live|url-access=limited}}</ref> and was president of the Chinese Academy of Fine Arts.<ref name=":2"/> She also wrote novels, poetry, and a book on Chinese cookery.<ref name=":0"/><ref>{{Cite book|last=Yang|first=Ling-Fu|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RL1QAQAAIAAJ|title=Mei Shu Shih Pʻu|date=|publisher=Yang Ling-Fu|language=en|year=1939|via=Google Books|oclc=1141443484}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Yang|first=Ling-Fu|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cvfmHAAACAAJ&q=Yang+Ling-fu|title=Painting and poetry of Yang Ling Fo|date=|language=zh|year=1989|oclc=1298151731}}</ref>
Yang moved to the United States before World War II. In 1936,<ref>{{Cite news|date=22 July 1936|title=Carnival Chinese|pages=2|work=Vancouver Sun|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/89162672/carnival-chinese/|access-date=18 November 2021|via=Newspapers.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211118200017/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/89162672/carnival-chinese/|archive-date=18 November 2021|url-status=live|url-access=limited}}</ref> she presented an exhibit of Chinese art at the Canadian Jubilee Exposition in Vancouver.<ref name=":2"/><ref>{{Cite news|date=23 April 1939|title=Chinese Art Authority Coming Here|pages=49|work=Oakland Tribune|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/89156448/chinese-art-authority-coming-here/|access-date=18 November 2021|via=Newspapers.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211118180145/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/89156448/chinese-art-authority-coming-here/|archive-date=18 November 2021|url-status=live|url-access=limited}}</ref> She lectured and exhibited her watercolor paintings in California.<ref name=":1"/><ref>{{Cite news|date=9 February 1945|title=Ling-fu Yang Ends Talk on China with Finger Painting of Local Plum Blossoms|pages=9|work=The Californian|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/89154777/ling-fu-yang-ends-talk-on-china-with/|access-date=18 November 2021|via=Newspapers.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211118180147/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/89154777/ling-fu-yang-ends-talk-on-china-with/|archive-date=18 November 2021|url-status=live|url-access=limited}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|date=29 May 1952|title=Gima Shows Work of Two Visitors|pages=17|work=Honolulu Star-Bulletin|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/89155367/gima-shows-work-of-two-visitors/|access-date=18 November 2021|via=Newspapers.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211118180148/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/89155367/gima-shows-work-of-two-visitors/|archive-date=18 November 2021|url-status=live|url-access=limited}}</ref> She taught language, art, and cooking classes in various settings, including at the University of California, Stanford University<ref>{{Cite news|date=23 September 1943|title=Stanford Teaches Art of Chinese Cooking|pages=21|work=The Sacramento Bee|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/89154669/stanford-teaches-art-of-chinese-cooking/|access-date=18 November 2021|via=Newspapers.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211118180144/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/89154669/stanford-teaches-art-of-chinese-cooking/|archive-date=18 November 2021|url-status=live|url-access=limited}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|date=12 October 1943|title=Cooking Class to Continue|page=6|work=The Stanford Daily|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/other-articles-clipping-oct-12-1943-2824900/|access-date=18 November 2021|via=NewspaperArchive|archive-date=18 November 2021|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211118200017/https://newspaperarchive.com/other-articles-clipping-oct-12-1943-2824900/}}</ref> and the Defense Language Institute at the Presidio in Monterey.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web|title=Ling-Fu Yang - Biography|url=https://www.askart.com/artist/Ling_Fu_Yang/11008135/Ling_Fu_Yang.aspx|access-date=18 November 2021|website=askART|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211118180142/https://www.askart.com/artist/Ling_Fu_Yang/11008135/Ling_Fu_Yang.aspx|archive-date=18 November 2021|url-status=live}}</ref> She created a set of handmade dolls to illustrate her lectures on Chinese art,<ref name=":2"/> and sometimes demonstrated finger painting<ref>{{Cite news|date=8 September 1949|title=Chinese Artist Gives Demonstration of Finger Painting|pages=6|work=The Modesto Bee|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/89155855/chinese-artist-gives-demonstration-of/|access-date=18 November 2021|via=Newspapers.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250708085240/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-modesto-bee-chinese-artist-gives-dem/89155855/|archive-date=8 July 2025|url-status=live|url-access=limited}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|date=28 November 1937|title=Chinese Art Lecture at City Club; Yang Ling-Fu will Show Paintings at Relief Program|pages=26|work=Oakland Tribune|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/89156091/chinese-art-lecture-at-city-club-yang/|access-date=18 November 2021|via=Newspapers.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211118180145/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/89156091/chinese-art-lecture-at-city-club-yang/|archive-date=18 November 2021|url-status=live|url-access=limited}}</ref> played a flute,<ref>{{Cite news|date=26 April 1937|title=Chinese Princess Praises Children|pages=7|work=The Pasadena Post|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/89162382/chinese-princess-praises-children/|access-date=18 November 2021|via=Newspapers.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211118200017/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/89162382/chinese-princess-praises-children/|archive-date=18 November 2021|url-status=live|url-access=limited}}</ref> or wore Chinese gowns at her lecture appearances.<ref>{{Cite news|date=22 March 1944|title=Chinese Artist Speaks to Soroptimist Club|pages=9|work=The Modesto Bee|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/89155661/chinese-artist-speaks-to-soroptimist/|access-date=18 November 2021|via=Newspapers.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211118180144/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/89155661/chinese-artist-speaks-to-soroptimist/|archive-date=18 November 2021|url-status=live|url-access=limited}}</ref> She also made fundraising appeals for Chinese war relief and refugees.<ref>{{Cite news|date=21 May 1941|title=Demonstrations of Paintings Will Mark Art Display Here|pages=4|work=The Modesto Bee|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/89162791/demonstrations-of-paintings-will-mark/|access-date=18 November 2021|via=Newspapers.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211118200019/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/89162791/demonstrations-of-paintings-will-mark/|archive-date=18 November 2021|url-status=live|url-access=limited}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|date=13 October 1937|title=Chinese Art Exhibit to Benefit Refugees|pages=4|work=Oakland Tribune|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/89162743/chinese-art-exhibit-to-benefit-refugees/|access-date=18 November 2021|via=Newspapers.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211118200017/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/89162743/chinese-art-exhibit-to-benefit-refugees/|archive-date=18 November 2021|url-status=live|url-access=limited}}</ref> As a poet, she was associated with Poets of the Pacific, a multi-ethnic, multi-national group with an anti-modernist literary emphasis.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Filreis|first=Alan|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QvWZ56DGddUC&dq=%22Lingfu+Yang%22&pg=PA202|title=Counter-revolution of the Word: The Conservative Attack on Modern Poetry, 1945-1960|date=|publisher=University of North Carolina Press|isbn=978-1-4696-0663-7|pages=202|language=en|year=2012|oclc=823382526|access-date=12 May 2026|author-link=Al Filreis|via=Google Books}}</ref>
== Personal life == Yang wrote a memoir, ''Sketch of Players,'' in the 1970s, including her oft-told anecdote about sending a pacifist poem to Adolf Hitler.<ref>{{Cite news|date=16 May 1974|title=Carmel Closeup: Ling-fu Yang; An Inside Glimpse of Old China|page=17|work=Carmel Pine Cone|url=https://archive.org/details/ccarm_004100/page/n15/mode/2up?q=Yang+%22Ling-fu%22|access-date=18 November 2021|via=Internet Archive|last=Gorman|first=Tricia}}</ref> She died in Carmel, California, in 1978.<ref name=":3"/>
== References == {{reflist}}
== External links ==
* [http://www.fdrlibrary.marist.edu/_resources/images/ergen/ergen1062.pdf A letter from Ling-fu Yang to Eleanor Roosevelt], seeking help with immigration matters; in the FDR Library collection at Marist College.
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yang, Ling-fu}} Category:1889 births Category:1978 deaths Category:20th-century Chinese women artists Category:Chinese women poets Category:20th-century Chinese women educators Category:20th-century Chinese educators Category:People from Wuxi