Page 221 - C.T. Loo A paper about his impact and activities in the Chinese art Market

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Roosevelt, Jr., in the opening remark stated, “Applied to China, every affirmation

becomes a nail in the coffin of Japanese aggression, and every dollar given helps Chinese

secure its Bill of Rights.” (Mrs. Theodore Roosevelt, Jr.1939, 7) An understanding of the

China-U.S. relations in the 1930s sheds light on the cultural diplomacy behind the

exhibition. From 1931 onwards, China was facing Japan’s escalating encroachment.

Given America’s primary interest in its relations with Europe and Japan, assisting China

was not a priority in the American foreign policy. The United States, though sympathetic

to China, was for the most part “the passive observer of China’s sorrow” (Cohen 2000,

125). China’s disappointment with America’s response was voiced by Zhang Jiluan in

1938 in Dagongbao, “We, of course, are expecting from America moral and substantial

help… But we must pay attention to the fact that, in fact, America has really given much

help to Japan, at least for its economic and material convenience.” (Luo 1990, 271) In

this context, the jade exhibition sponsored by Mrs. Roosevelt and Mme. Chiang Kai-shek

may have served as a statement of the U.S.’s moral and financial support for China. This

political message was enhanced by the inclusion of the emblem of the traditional

friendship between China and U.S., a jade teapot with cover and cup on oval tray which

was presented to Mrs. Theodore Roosevelt, Sr. as a gift from the Empress Dowager of

China (Arden Gallery 1939, Cat. nos. 267, 268).

C. T. Loo was evidently part of the cultural diplomatic programs between China and

the U.S. in the 1930s and the 1940s, given his connection to top-level officials in the

Guomindang government. In May 1943 Loo launched a fund-raising exhibition for

Chinese war orphans in his galleries, featuring Chinese-style landscapes, portraits, and