Appreciation of Shanghai history propels her
Print Edition
When Dr Silvia Kettelhut co-founded the monthly forum “Explore Shanghai Heritage” in 2003, it was intended to raise awareness on “Shanghai heritage, especially architecture, that should be protected and particularly be appreciated by the young Chinese generation.”
The monthly lecture started as a primarily expatriate event but over the years has gradually attracted more Chinese, both in the audience and as lecturers. On some occasions, they have also helped preserve some intriguing architectural features in the city, with help from the local government.
It is one among many projects and events by Kettelhut, who works for the Consulate General of Germany in Shanghai.
She has translated and published books about China and is married to former German Consul General, Dr Wolfgang Roehr, who is now a senior research fellow in the German Studies Center at Shanghai Tongji University.
Working for the consulate office, Kettelhut has helped organize many German-Chinese exchange projects in the science field, including educational programs between universities, lectures and research projects.
As a published writer, Kettelhut has introduced both the old and
new aspects of China to foreign readers, from the history of the consular missions from Germany in Shanghai starting in 1852 to successful Chinese women in contemporary China. She has also translated some of her favorite Chinese books for German readers.
Kettelhut is also an honorary member of the Consular Spouses Shanghai and is deeply involved in charity projects, mainly to support women and children.
“Shanghai has something very special,” she says, explaining her fascination about the city’s history and architecture to Shanghai Daily. “Starting from the mid-19th century, many foreigners lived and worked here and left their footprints. Developments in faraway countries were often reflected here in Shanghai. If you look at the Shanghai history in the 19th century and early 20th century, you can see the city was a mirror of world history.”
In 2002, Kettelhut moved to Shanghai when her husband became the consul general here, and she got interested in the history behind the consulate, which turned into a well-researched book starting from the office of the consul of Hamburg city in 1852.
She has raised more than 200,000 yuan (US$32,000) by selling the book and has donated proceeds to help pay the medical bills of seriously ill children in Shanghai.
The book contains many rare old pictures that were dug out from archives and libraries, including one woodblock print in 1956 featuring Soong Ching Ling, famous writer Lu Xun, as well as educator Cai Yuanpei, who protested to the deputy German consul general in Shanghai against violations of human rights in Germany in 1933, when Nazis started taking power.
Inspired by this picture, Kettelhut is now working on a new project to find out more about Lu Xun in terms of his influence in the China League for Civil Rights, of which he was an important active member, an aspect of his life relatively unknown by the public.
Kettelhut’s interest in China and Shanghai started in the 1980s, when she chose East Asian studies as her university major. In 1986, she studied Chinese for a year in Nanjing, capital city of East China’s Jiangsu Province, and around that time paid her first visit to Shanghai.
She worked in Beijing briefly before returning home to finish her thesis. It was also in Beijing where she met Roehr, then working for the embassy.
“China was starting to open up to the world. Somehow the curtains came up, and I was very curious about what would happen in this huge country. I was fascinated by how different it was,” she says, recalling her adventurous times as a young foreign student.
“I wasn’t only interested in the modern development, but also appreciated the old Chinese art, and that interest has only been growing since my stay here.”
The tombs and archeological sites across China are among her favorite spots for family trips, because “they are in impressive harmony with the landscape.”
Now, “Explore Shanghai Heritage” sometimes has more Chinese participants than expatriates, as Kettelhut and co-founders had hoped more than 10 years ago. More Chinese students have been going to Germany to study, and she encourages young Germans to learn Chinese language and come to China to achieve a balanced exchange between the two sides.
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