Chinese author and mega celebrity Yue-Sai Kan, while on tour at Boston University’s Tsai Performance Center on Sept. 16, discussed her cross-cultural influence in promoting China abroad, and introduced her aptly titled new book, “The Most Famous Woman in China.”
Kan’s journey from a modest start to becoming a global media icon and influential philanthropist coincided with China’s dynamic transformation over the years. Both topics were her focus at the meet-and-greet book event.
“I’m both a witness and a participant,” Kan said of China’s growth over the past several decades.
While her appearance made little news locally, Kan proved influential to the crowd at Tsia: Before she began speaking, scholars in attendance whispered their admiration for Kan, young students said they traveled hundreds of miles just to see her, and middle-aged business people said they came specifically to meet their childhood idol.
The event was hosted by the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies of Boston University.
Kan holds many titles: She is an Emmy-winning television host and producer, an entrepreneur, a fashion icon, a bestselling author, and a humanitarian. People magazine once called her “the most famous woman in China,” which also serves as the title of her new book.
“You know, it’s a little bit impossible to say, ‘The most famous woman in China,’” Kan joked at the event. “But I was.”
Unlike the Chinese version of her autobiography, this new book starts with the night her television show was set to premiere.
“That night literally established my relationship with millions of Chinese people,” Kan said. “And it changed the trajectory of my life. And I’m very sure that it changed millions of Chinese lives as well.”
In the early 1970s, Kan headed the weekly television series “Looking East,” the first of its kind to introduce Asian cultures and customs to a growing American audience. Later, her television series “One World,” aired on China’s national television network, CCTV, reaching 300 million viewers weekly. Kan has since dedicated herself to fostering a more inclusive world, she said, using her platform to impact millions of lives in China and beyond.
Over the past 40 years, Kan witnessed Asia’s transformation from a place “nobody cared about,” as she was told, to an economic powerhouse.
“The wealthiest person I met at that time was making $40 a month,” Kan recalled. “That was during my first trip in 1984, when China was just opening up. Now, I can easily tell you that at my dinner table, I’ve sat with several Chinese billionaires.”
In her discussion, she described Chinese society as “money hungry” and “adaptive.”
“It is a lot of sacrifices the Chinese made to become what they are today,” she said. In her opinion, China’s rapid development is inseparable from the hard work and diligence of its citizens.
When she returned to her home in Shanghai after the pandemic, Kan found the changes fascinating. She shared an example about department stores.
“Because e-commerce is so successful, they need to change the whole purpose of the department store. So now when you go, they do everything—food, movies, games, shopping, and so on.”
Despite all these changes, Kan addressed the issue of misinformation about China.
“I haven’t read a single positive article about China in the past 10 years,” she said.
Kan is the chairwoman of the China Institute, a 96-year-old organization dedicated to advancing a deeper understanding of China through programs in Chinese language, culture, art, culinary arts, and business. Through that group, Kan has been actively promoting Chinese culture.
“If we don’t start promoting Chinese culture, I’m afraid it will all disappear.”
During the book-signing session, a young man brought a “Yue-Sai Doll” designed by Kan in 2000, which she said touched her deeply. It symbolized that the dialogue between U.S. and Chinese cultures will never end, and, in her words, “We will do better.”
