NEW HAVEN, CT – To kick-off the 150th anniversary of Yale’s first Asian graduate Yung Wing, dean of Yale Law School, Harold Koh, related the history of the local legend.

Yung Wing studied in China at the first Protestant missionary school in China. Later, in 1847, the school’s founder Reverend Samuel Brown brought back to the United States three of his best students. One was Yung Wing.

Once in America, Yung went to Yale, becoming the first Asian to enroll in an American college. Yung’s class had 98 people, few people of color, and no women. There were virtually no non-Christians. Yung was probably at best a curiosity to others, and at worst “a freak,” according to Koh.

Yung didn’t help matters, considering that during his freshman year, he wore his Chinese tunic and wore his hair in a top knot, said Koh. He was a loner, studying late into the night, getting little exercise. He had no social life, and worked as a waiter and a librarian to help pay for his tuition.

Yung graduated in 1854, two years after attaining American citizenship - probably the first Asian to do so. After graduating, Yung sailed to Hong Kong, a 151-day trip. When he arrived, the Hong Kong captain greeted him and Yung realized he had a hard time responding. So much time away from home had taken a toll on his Chinese language skills and he found himself having a hard time communicating with other Chinese.

According to Koh, Yung was now stuck between two cultures - not at home in either. He was still a naturalized citizen in the United States, so he returned. He even volunteered to fight in the Civil War for the Union army, but was denied because he was “not really American.”

Yung later went into the silk and tea business, traveling back and forth between China and the United States.

He then entered into the service of the Qing dynasty because of his English skills. While serving, he promoted sending Chinese youth to America to learn about the culture and technology of the West. In 1870, after the Tientsin massacre - where a Chinese mob murdered Roman Catholic missionaries - Yung suggested sending 100 Chinese youths abroad to promote cultural understanding.

In the late 1870s Yung Wing became the commissioner of the Chinese Educational Mission. Hundreds of Chinese children studied in America, mostly in colleges in the Northeast because of him.

Yung later became a diplomat, traveling around the world. When his wife became ill, he moved to Hartford to care for her. She died in 1886. Before he died, Yung donated his collection of Chinese books to Yale, forming the nucleus of Yale University’s Sterling East Asian book collection, considered to be one of the finest book collections in the West.

Yung’s portrait hangs in Yale University’s Visitor Center, next to such famous people as Wilbur Cross, former governor of Connecticut and graduate of Yale.

Koh said Yung Wing’s story is one of accomplishment, of one person making a difference. Yung formed the Yale China Association and the China Law Center. Koh said, “People can change institutions. Institutions can build legacies. Legacies can build history.”