[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 137 (Saturday, September 28, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1783-E1784]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       HONORING SAMMY YUKUAN LEE

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. DAVID FUNDERBURK

                           of north carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, September 27, 1996

  Mr. FUNDERBURK. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Sammy Yukuan Lee, 
a world renowned scholar of Chinese antiquities, who has been a United 
States citizen since June 28, 1984. Even in his youth Sammy Lee was 
strongly principled and highly disciplined. Gifted with extraordinary 
foresight, he was able to take advantage of the many opportunities he 
encountered. His accomplishments demonstrate that hard work and 
discipline can be a formula for success.
  A native of Da Lao Wa village in Zhaoyuan county of Shandong 
province, China, Sammy Lee is the youngest of five sons in a rural 
farming family. Village life offered little chance of obtaining a 
higher education and few prospects for earning a good livelihood. Armed 
with a sixth-grade education, Sammy Lee who was then in his teens, was 
sent by his father, Lee Quande, to Beijing to learn a trade from Mr. 
Teng, the owner of Ji Zhen Xiang, an antique shop. There, Sammy Lee met 
a fellow apprentice, David Techun Wang, with whom he developed a life-
long partnership and close friendship.
  In China in the 1920's, most of the workers were illiterate. Sammy 
Lee and David Wang, fortunate enough to have a basic education, looked 
beyond their immediate environment. In Beijing, they saw the need for 
communicating with the many foreign residents to expand their business. 
Therefore, besides their daily work activities, they also taught 
themselves English, German, and Japanese from whatever books or methods 
they could obtain.
  In the early 1930's, through his skill and knowledge in Chinese 
antiques, Sammy Lee met Dr. Hans Bidder, the First Secretary of the 
German Embassy; Dr. Grand, Chief of Staff of Peking Union Medical 
College Hospital; and Drs. Ecket and Huwer, who were on the staff of 
the German Hospital. They were all very much interested in Chinese 
antiques including carpets, bronzes, ceramics and furniture. Despite 
his limited command of foreign languages, Sammy Lee was able to 
interact well with his customers. He established an enduring friendship 
with each of them built upon mutual trust. His relationships with 
Europeans and Americans exposed him to Western culture and opened his 
mind to new opportunities.
  Sammy Lee's quest for knowledge and his desire to satisfy his 
customers prompted him to travel throughout China in search of sources 
of antique carpets. In those days, any place outside of Beijing proper 
was beyond the reach of most Chinese merchants, who maintained a 
traditionally centric view of China. Sammy Lee endured considerable 
hardship during these days, but found his travels into adjacent 
provinces to be rewarding.
  The most difficult time for Mr. Lee was probably the years between 
1935 and 1938, when he was diagnosed with tuberculosis, a prevalent 
disease at that time. Before the development of the miracle drug for 
this infectious disease, most of its victims had little hope of 
recovery. Sammy Lee, true to his character, was determined to overcome 
this dreadful obstacle. Under the personal care of Dr. and Mrs. Grand 
in their home, he followed Dr. Grand's professional advice to the 
letter--total rest and inactivity. For an energetic and ambitious young 
man, the treatment was drastic. Fortunately, he completely recovered 
and was able to return to work in the antique shop.
  After World War II, Sammy Lee and David Wang decided to expand the 
business to Nanjing and Shanghai; and, of course, Mr. Lee was always 
ready to take on new challenges. However, because of the political 
turmoil in China, Mr. Tenberg, a close friend, strongly advised him to 
leave China. in 1947, the Lee's and the Wang's moved from Shanghai to 
Hong Kong along with several friends and a few of their employees.
  Relying upon their own resilience and determination, Sammy Lee and 
David Wang capitalized on their knowledge of Chinese art and became 
partners in a new enterprise, the Sammy Y. Lee and Wang's Company 
Limited, specializing in Chinese antiques and the manufacture of 
furniture.
  Foreseeing an opportunity for expansion, Sammy Lee ventured to Tokyo, 
Japan, and established the Oriental House Limited, providing Chinese 
carpets, furniture, tablecloths, and artifacts to American Armed Forces 
stationed in Japan. Mr. Lee moved his family to Tokyo, while Mr. Wang 
and his family remained in Hong Kong to manage Sammy Y. Lee and Wang's 
Co.
  During the mid-1950's, leaving his eldest son, King Tsi, in control 
of his interests in Tokyo, Sammy Lee eagerly explored new markets in 
Germany and America. Having a loving wife to take care of their home 
and four younger sons in Tokyo, Sammy Lee was free to travel throughout 
the world expanding his business contacts and searching for art 
objects. In 1957, he organized an exhibition and sale in Lempetz 
Gallery in Koln. In 1964, Mr. Lee held his first lacquer collection 
exhibition at the Royal Scottish Museum.
  By this time, the Japanese economy was well on its way to recovery, 
enabling many Japanese to rekindle their love of collecting Chinese 
works of art. Oriental House was able to thrive by meeting the demands 
of the Japanese for art objects.
  Sammy Lee devotes his spare time to researching and writing about 
Chinese antiquities. His knowledge of and experience with Chinese 
lacquer, blue and white porcelain, and carpets have been incorporated 
into one catalog, four books, and three articles and monographs, some 
of which are listed below.
  Sammy Lee has always emphasized the importance of education because 
he felt the inadequacy of his own formal training. A forward thinker, 
he insisted that his children attend American schools. In the late 
1980's, to honor their father, his five sons established and endowed 
the Sammy Yukuan Lee Foundation for the purposes of promoting the study 
of Chinese culture and providing financial assistance to qualified 
students of Chinese descent.
  Sammy Lee lives in southern California with his youngest son, King 
Yang (John), near his second son King Hao (Howard), and third son King 
Sum (Sam). One of Sammy Yukuan Lee's sons, Dr. Sam K. Lee, taught 
International Relations and Government at Campbell University in North 
Carolina's Second District, and today works in my office as a foreign 
policy adviser.
  At least twice a year, he travels to Tokyo to see his oldest son, 
King Tsi, and to Hong

[[Page E1784]]

Kong to visit his fourth son, King Kong. He enjoys the excitement 
provided by his five sons and daughters-in-law, nine grandchildren, and 
six great grandchildren, but still looks forward to new challenges. He 
currently divides his time between his latest research into Chinese 
archaic jades and his pursuit of the art of golfing.


              publications in english by sammy yukuan lee

  ``Catalogue of the Collection of Chinese Lacquer,'' Edinburgh, 
Scotland 1964.
  ``Preliminary Study of Chinese Ceramics in Blue and White (Ching 
Hau).'' Tokyo, 1971.
  ``Oriental Lacquer Art,'' Tokyo, 1972.
  ``Art Rugs from Silk Route and Great Wall Area,'' Tokyo, 1980.
  ``A Study of Sung Underglaze Blue and Red Porcelains,'' Tokyo, 1982.
  ``Some Problems of Yutu Yao, Shuidong Yao, Bohai Yao, Tingchou Yao, 
and Hengfeng Yao,'' Scientific and Technological Insights on Ancient 
Chinese Pottery and Procelain, Beijing, 1986.

                          ____________________