Ruth Weiss
Encyclopedia
Ruth F. Weiss, also known as Wèi Lùshī 魏璐诗, (December 11, 1908 - March 6, 2006) was a Jewish-born Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

n-Chinese
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

 educator, journalist, and lecturer. She was the last surviving European eyewitness of the Chinese Communist Revolution and the beginnings of the People’s Republic of China.

Biography

Weiss was born in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...

, and graduated in German and English Studies from the University of Vienna
University of Vienna
The University of Vienna is a public university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world...

. In 1933 she travelled to Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...

, a city that before World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 attracted many European émigrés including revolutionaries from the Spanish Civil War
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...

, Jews and other refugees escaping the Nazis. She decided to stay, as did many others, and became fascinated by the social and political goals of the unfolding Chinese Revolution.

Initially Weiss worked as a freelance journalist in Shanghai. Later she became a teacher at the Jewish School in Shanghai, at the School of the Chinese Committee of Intellectual Cooperation, and at the West China Union University. After working briefly as a secretary at the Canadian embassy in 1944, she became a correspondent at the United Nations Picture News Office
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...

 (联合国影闻宣传处) in 1945 and joined the China Welfare Fund (中国福利会). One year later she took up a post at the Radio Division of the United Nations Organization in New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

. After she returned to China she became a lecturer for the Verlag für fremdsprachige Literatur (Publishing House for Foreign Literature) in Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...

 from 1952 to 1965. In 1965 she worked as a journalist for "China im Bild" (人民画报).

Ruth Weiss was one of about one hundred foreign-born residents to receive Chinese citizenship in 1955. In 1983 she was named one of eleven foreign experts by the Communist Party of China
Communist Party of China
The Communist Party of China , also known as the Chinese Communist Party , is the founding and ruling political party of the People's Republic of China...

 that were part of membership of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference
Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference
The Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference [], shortened as 人民政协, Rénmín Zhèngxié, i.e. "People's PCC"; or just 政协, Zhèngxié, i.e. "The PCC"), abbreviated CPPCC, is a political advisory body in the People's Republic of China...

. She died in Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...

, aged 97.

Work

  • "Die Peking-Oper" by Eva Siao, German by Ruth Weiss, Publisher Neue Welt, Beijing, 1958
  • "Das kleine China-Handbuch", Verlag für fremdsprachige Literatur (Publishing House for Foreign Literature), Beijing, 1958
  • "Die Briefmarken der Volksrepublik China", Verlag für fremdsprachige Literatur, Beijing, 1958
  • "Am Rande der Geschichte - Mein Leben in China", Zeller-Verlag Osnabrück 1999; Neuauflage 2005 wagener-edition, ISBN 3-937283-06-4

External links

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