Background

Since the 1970s, international student mobility in Britain has increased significantly. During 2022 and 2023, non-UK students made up 49.8% of UCL’s total student population, and Chinese students were the majority of these. However, Chinese overseas students in the past and their contributions have rarely gained sufficient notice. Whilst they are gradually receiving attention, this provokes the imagination about what the scenario was like before the 1970s.

My dissertation explored this under researched area. The period 1939-1975 was chosen both due to the availability of the archives and also because rare Chinese students studied abroad during the Second World War, making it more valuable to explore their university experiences during this turbulent period.

There were three main research questions:

1) How did the number of Chinese students at UCL change during 1939-1975 and how was this pattern influenced by historical events?

2) How was university experience for international Chinese students during and after the Second World War?

3) What impact did UCL and other Chinese student organisations have on Chinese students’ university experience and social identity?

Methods and Sources

My dissertation drew on primary sources in UCL’s records, including Pi magazines, Irene Ho-Tung Student Record, Foreign and International files, Chinese Society files (G.O.328, UCL Special Collections), UCL Annual Reports between 1910 and 1975 (UCL CA/UCL Annual Report, UCL Special Collections), and other scattered materials. Specifically, the data collected from UCL Annual Reports as part of my EPSURF project last year was used to show the change in number of Chinese students at UCL during this period. In addition, the student newspaper, Pi, illustrated multiple facets of daily life at the college. Moreover, several individual Chinese student profiles were found to reveal how personal experiences varied according to the wider environment. Eventually, Chinese Society files and materials about the Central Union of Chinese Students in Britain could offer a broader context of where UCL Chinese students were situated at that time. Although the sovereignty of Hong Kong was returned to the People’s Republic of China (PRC) from the UK in 1997, the perception of national identity is personal and pluralistic. Therefore, Hong Kong and mainland Chinese student groups were analysed together for the purpose of this dissertation.

Findings

This graph shows the change in number of Chinese students between 1910 and 1975. Some data is missing because of the war. In general, it shows an increasing pattern with several fluctuations that could be related to the relevant historical events. More detailed information can be found in my EPSURF report blog.

Individual experiences: The cases of Irene Ho-Tung and Tsewang Pemba

Information was uncovered about two individual Chinese students. The first is a student at IOE, Irene Hu-Tong, also profiled in the current Octagon exhibition. Irene’s university life was affected by the Second World War. She became one of the core committee members and the corresponding secretary for the Chinese Committee during the war.

She was active in war affairs, and in one letter she mentioned that ‘I myself am rather busy with over 300 of China’s Refugee children, and for the moment am laid up in hospital.’

Other materials also show that she was in frequent contact with professors and staff at UCL, even when she left London due to the war.

Another student, Tsewang Pemba, studied medicine at University College Hospital after the war. Pi reported in 1951 that “He enjoys life in England and finds no difficulty in mixing with English students.” Also, he frequently assisted backstage with preparations for the plays and helped at a Rag.

Notably, both Irene’s and Tsewang’s experiences were representative of a group of international students at that time, particularly those from privileged background.

The relationships between British and non-British students

A Pi article written by a UCL student discussed disintegration between British and non-British students on campus. He claimed that cultural differences and language barriers were important factors and that needed to be taken actions for international students.

Then, another student published another article named, ‘U.C. Colour Bar’, as responses. This article argued that this disintegration was caused by racial discrimination, unfriendly ‘natives’, and other factors. It was unreasonable to place all the blame on international students.

A survey conducted by an individual UCL student in 1961, found three main factors caused disintegration among students, including not being interested in societies and students, embarrassment caused by strong accents and language barriers, and individual differences.

This student further wrote an open letter to new international students and expressed that although there were voices of criticism regarding some phenomena, international students should be proactive, confident, and brave to make friends with home students.

The different perspectives provided by these three students at UCL helped me to better understand the hardships of international students, including Chinese students, in British universities in the 1950s.

The role of Chinese students in cultural dissemination

The last finding is the role of Chinese students in cultural dissemination that UCL Chinese Society involved. The UCL Chinese Society was founded in 1966. Its objective was “To further the interests of Students in Chinese Culture”. Students organised several culture-related activities, such as screening films about China, Chinese chess sessions, planning a Photographic Exhibition of China. There were also other Chinese student organisations held similar activities – for example, the Central Union of Chinese Students in Britain.

Interestingly, Tsewang and Irene also expressed ideas related to the culture exchange. Tsewang mentioned his wishes that more people could be aware of his home culture. In a piece about Irene, it was reported that Irene was always wearing Chinese dress, because “She believes that the wearing of national costume is important for internationalism.”

Different ways of actively contributing to the communication of culture could be discovered in Chinese students.

Conclusion

To conclude, Chinese students’ university experience between 1939 and 1975 were largely influenced by the historical context. Chinese students at UCL experienced challenges, including the war, racism, personal background, associational activity, and so on. The role of Chinese students in cultural dissemination at UCL and in Britain at that time was significant and needs to be valued. While exploration in this domain is inadequate, this dissertation tried to structure available archival materials to offer inspiring and novel insights into the past experiences of Chinese students both at UCL and in the wider community.