The Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA) cordially invites you to join us for a virtual discussion with scholars Sam Wong and Evelyn Wong, who will delve into the life and legacy of Kuang Qizhao. Kuang was the first Chinese person to write a Chinese-English dictionary and served as the official translator for the Chinese Educational Mission (CEM) in Hartford, Connecticut, from 1874 to 1882. The CEM marked the first instance of the Qing government sending students abroad to learn from the United States. During his time in Hartford, Kuang interacted with a diverse array of Americans, including Mark Twain and Ulysses S. Grant, forming close friendships with many intellectuals in Connecticut. These relationships influenced his reform ideas, particularly the importance of Western education for China's modernization. Kuang was an early and vocal defender of Chinese immigrants in the U.S., particularly outraged by the racism and false claims of Chinese inferiority propagated by demagogues and the American press. He wrote numerous letters to major newspapers and lobbied congressmen to oppose the Chinese Exclusion Act. In 1881, Kuang published "A Dictionary of English Phrases," surprising many Americans that a Chinese immigrant compiled a dictionary to teach them their own language. Kuang's and the CEM’s interactions with Americans also indirectly impacted American literature, especially Mark Twain. Recent scholarship suggests that Twain's willingness to confront hypocrisy and racism was influenced by his interactions with Kuang and other CEM students. The discussion will highlight specific examples of Kuang's influence on Twain's work, including the overlooked play Ah Sin and the most famous novels The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court.