It is with the support of many people and various institutions that the dream of holding the Young Scholars Symposium can be realized.
Even during this still stringent financial situation across campus, various units of the University of Washington heartily support our venture with funding: the Office of the Divisional Dean of Humanities, College of Arts and Sciences ($2000), the Graduate School ($2000), the Walter Chapin Simpson Center for the Humanities ($500), the China Studies Program of the Jackson School of International Studies ($750), the East Asia Center of the Jackson School of International Studies ($200) and the Department of Linguistics ($100). The much needed administrative assistance is provided by the Department of Asian Languages and Literature. We are particularly grateful to Ms. Youngie Yoon, administrator of the AL&L Department, for her patient guidance.
The elder daughter, Lindy Li Mark (Professor Emerita, California State University, Hayward) and the son, Peter Li (Professor Emeritus, Rutgers University), of the late Professor Li Fang-Kuei graciously offered generous donations of $5000 each for this event. All along they have been giving us enthusiastic encouragement that lifts our spirit.
We would like to express our gratitude to the several student helpers, Ms. Man Zhang, Ms. Yin Yin Tan and Mr. Colum Yip who is the captain of the group. They even secured a $50 coupon with their 'three-inch indefatigable tongue' from the University Book Store for us.
Special thanks are due to Professor Min Zhang, who came all the way from Hong Kong a week before the Symposium in order to help us with work at the final stage of preparation, including the compilation of the book of program assisted by Hongzhi Wang.
We appreciate the offer from the Institute of Linguistics, Academia Sinica, where the Late Professor Li worked as Researcher for Life at the Institute of History and Philology for many years, to co-sponsor this event with financial support of $10,137.
Last but not least, we are much indebted to the Chiang Ching-Kuo Foundation for International Scholarly Exchange for a generous grant of $25,000, which provides us with about 40% of the projected expenses. In the past the Foundation has provided equally generous help instrumental in the formation of the LFK Society. It was during the International Symposium on the Historical Aspects of the Chinese Language Commemorating the Centennial Birthday of the Late Professor Li Fang-Kuei (1902-1987) held in August, 2002 with the CCK Foundation as our chief supporter, that the plans and donations for establishing the LFK Society were made by a number of his students, old friends and immediate family. Although the current LFK Society is a small non-profit organization supported mainly by these founders and other scholars in the field of Chinese and Sino-Tibetan linguistics, it has a lofty goal of stimulating young scholars to carry on the torch of dedication to progress in the field of Chinese and Sino-Tibetan linguistics. This LFK Young Scholars Symposium, we believe, will open up new horizons for the fostering of young scholars throughout the world.