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a book sharing event of ruth mulan chu chao's biography calm amidst the storm was held at harvard club of new york city on saturday, amazing the audience with the courage, resilience and philanthropic spirit of a legendary chinese-american woman.
released in last october in chinese, calm amidst the storm chronicles the life and legacy of the prominent and greatly-respected philanthropist ruth mulan chu chao, wife of new york-based shipping enterprise foremost group founder james s.c. chao.
chao shared with the audience many stories of his beloved late wife chu, a woman with great personality, who was not only dedicated to the family but always ready to help others.
he said he hoped the book could offer inspiration and encouragement to other chinese americans who are striving to build their lives.
parenting six accomplished daughters, including u.s. secretary of transportation elaine chao, the first chinese-american woman to serve in the u.s. cabinet, the couple also have been dedicated to philanthropic activities for decades.
they established a foundation as early as 1984 to provide scholarships to help students in the united states and china access higher education and to promote u.s.-china cultural exchanges. so far, the foundation has provided scholarships to more than 6,000 students.
in 2016, harvard business school dedicated the ruth mulan chu chao center in her honor, making it the first building at the business school named for a woman and an asian american.
born in east china's anhui in 1930, ruth mulan chu was named for the chinese folklore heroine, hua mulan, the legendary warrior representing qualities of character, courage and resolve.
chu was married to james s.c. chao in 1951. in the early 1960s, the family moved to the united states.
ruth mulan chu chao died on aug. 2, 2007 in new york after a seven-year battle with lymphoma.
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