Zeng Zhaoyu

Zeng was born in Heye Town of Shuangfeng County, Hunan, on January 27, 1909. Her great-grandfather Zeng Guohuang was the second younger brother of Zeng Guofan and a general in the Qing Empire. Her father Zeng Guangzuo (Chinese: 曾广祚) was an official in the Qing Empire. Her mother Chen Jiying (Chinese: 陈季瑛) was the daughter of Hunan Provincial Governor Chen Baozhen and the aunt of Chen Yinke. She had seven brothers and sisters. Her eldest brother Zeng Zhaocheng (Chinese: 曾昭承) graduated from Harvard University. Her second elder brother Zeng Zhaolun graduated from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and was an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). Her third elder brother Zeng Zhaojie (Chinese: 曾昭杰) graduated from the Great China University.[2][1][3][4]

In 1923 she attended the Yifang Girls' School in Changsha, which was established by her third elder female cousin Zeng Baosun (Chinese: 曾宝荪). In 1929 she was accepted to the National Central University, where she studied archaeology under Hu Xiaoshi (Chinese: 胡小石). In 1935, when she was a graduate student at the University of Nanking, she went to the University of London to study archaeology at her own expense. After graduation, she interned at the National Museum of Germany. After returning China she was assigned to the Central Museum.[1] After the defeat of the Nationalists by the Communists in Chinese Civil War in 1949, she chose to stay in mainland China.[3][4]

In 1950 she was appointed vice-president of the Nanjing Museum, and five years later promoted to President. In 1951, during the Korean War, she donated all her savings to the Chinese government. In 1951, at the request of her superiors, she wrote an autobiography to proclaim her innocence. In December 1951, she was forced to work in the fields instead of working in the museum. She joined the Jiusan Society in 1956. On December 22, 1964, she jumped from the pagoda of Linggu Temple and died.[1][5]

• List of Presidents of Nanjing Museum (in Chinese)