Snowpine Liu portrait

This is a portrait of Springfield College alumnus Snowpine Liu. Liu earned his BPE from Scochow University and his MPE from Springfield College (class of 1932). After graduating, he entered the University of Southern California (Los Angeles) and earned his master’s degree in 1934. While studying in the United States, Liu had several articles about athletics in China published in the American Physical Education Review. During the 1932 Olympic Games and 1936 Asian Games, he served as an attaché for China. After Liu’s return from the United States, he worked as physical director at Hangchow Christian College and the University of Shanghai. Just before World War II, he began serving as dean of the Canton Provincial Physical Training College. In 1949, he moved to the New Territories (one of the three main regions of Hong Kong) as a Nationalist refugee from the mainland and continued to teach physical education. The New Territories were leased from Qing China to the United Kingdom in 1898 for ninety-nine years in the Second Convention of Peking (The Convention for the Extension of Hong Kong Territory). Upon the expiration of the lease, sovereignty was transferred to China. While in the New Territories, Liu took over the fundraising and operations of the Nixon Library, which was dedicated in 1954. During this time, he asked Nixon for help in obtaining a visa to the United States. While there is no known response to that request, Nixon’s office corresponded with Liu over the next decade.