Fong (Mary H.) Papers, 1976-1994

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Summary

Title:
Mary H. Fong Papers
Dates:
1976-1994
Creators:
Fong, Mary H.
Abstract:
The Mary H. Fong Papers document Fong's activities as Professor of Art and Art History at the University of California, Davis. Fong researched and published on T'ang Tomb murals outside China.
Extent:
2.4 linear feet
Language:
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Mary H. Fong Papers, D-377, Archives and Special Collections, UC Davis Library, University of California, Davis.

Background

Scope and content:

The collection contains materials from 1976-1994 that include notes for Professor Fong's dissertation "Secular Figure Painting of the T'ang Dynasty" as well as research materials relating to Chinese art.

Biographical / historical:

Mary Helena Fong was born in Helena, Montana in 1924 to her parents, Yick-Yuen and Soo Hoo Shee Fong. She was eight years old when she began learning Chinese in elementary school through T’ang classical Chinese poetry after her family moved to Hong Kong. Her childhood was spent living in North Dakota, Hong Kong, and mainland China. Fong attributed this East-West cultural experience to her becoming a historian of Chinese art. Fong’s family left Hong Kong for her father’s home village at the beginning of World War II but returned when the war ended. She taught English in Indonesia for several years before attending university in the United States. She attended St. John's University and graduated with a BA in fine arts. Fong continued on to postgraduate education at the Hunter Graduate School in New York and graduated with an MA in Western art history, then obtained a PhD in Chinese art history from New York University's Institute of Fine Arts, all by the time she was nineteen. Fong was teaching at Occidental College when she saw a job ad for a UC Davis art history instructor and applied for the position. She joined the Department of Art and Art History at UC Davis in 1976 to teach Chinese art history. She made considerable contributions to the Art Department curriculum and expanded the Department’s Asian art collections. Fong developed the required curriculum and new courses for the Art Department, which included topics such as Oriental painting, Buddhist sculpture, Chinese and Indian architecture, Chinese ceramics, and Japanese prints. The courses provided history of Asian art from Neolithic to contemporary times. Fong’s main research focus was the art found in the murals of T’ang dynasty (618-906) tombs and how the human figure was represented, with a secondary research focus in Chinese popular art and folk art. Her efforts fundamentally shaped the way UC Davis taught non-European art history. Fong published a number of works on Chinese art history, including articles about pre-T’ang human figure paintings found in archaeological digs, T’ang tomb texts, Ch’in and Han representational art, and the use of the chiaroscuro technique in Chinese painting from Han through T’ang dynasties. Mary H. Fong passed away on November 24, 2015.

Processing information:

The biography was written by Sacramento State Public History graduate student Rowan Graening. Michelle Trujillo updated this finding aid in 2026.

About this collection guide

Collection Guide Author:
Finding aid created by UC Davis, Special Collections staff.
Date Prepared:
July 14, 2025, 2:55 p.m.
Date Encoded:
This finding aid was produced using Record Express for OAC5 on July 14, 2025, 2:55 p.m.

Access and use

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Terms of access:

All applicable copyrights for the collection are protected under chapter 17 of the U.S. Copyright Code. Requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Head of Special Collections. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Regents of the University of California as the owner of the physical items. It is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the researcher.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Mary H. Fong Papers, D-377, Archives and Special Collections, UC Davis Library, University of California, Davis.

Location of this collection:
University of California, Davis, Special Collections, UC Davis Library
100 NW Quad
Davis, CA 95616-5292, US
Contact:
(530) 752-1621
speccoll@ucdavis.edu
Website