Ieoh Ming Pei Essay -- People Pei Biography Papers

Ieoh Ming Pei Ieoh Ming Pei is a brilliant, Chinese-American architect. He combines learned skill with his gift of knowing what works both functionally and aesthetically. Early Life He was born in Canton, China, on April 26, 1917. Art and commerce were both ingrained in Pei's upbringing. His family had lived for more than 600 years in Suzhou (formerly Soochow), a city in the Yangtze basin northwest of Shanghai. The history of Suzhou goes back some 2,500 years,, but it became prominent during the Sui Dynasty (A.D. 581-618) with the completion of the Grand Canal, which linked several major trading cities. Suzhou was an important city in the rice and silk trades. It was also known for its many craftsmen, scholars, and artists. People considered the city so wonderful that there was a saying about it and its neighboring city: "In heaven there is paradise; on earth, Suzhou." Around the time of his birth, fighting among local warlords made life dangerous in Canton. The political turbulence that Pei witnessed seems parallel to Einstein’s experience with political turbulence in Germany, and Ghandi’s experience with India under British rule and the loss of Hindu identity that came with the ruling of a different culture. In 1918, the bank told Tsuyee (I. M.’s father) to move with his family to the safety of Hong Kong, which was then governed by Great Britain. Sometimes on that long journey Ieoh Ming’s nurse, or "amah," carried him on her back. The Pei family lived in Hong Kong for nine years. During that time, three more children were born: I.M.'s sister, Wei, and his two brothers, Kwun and Chung. In 1927, I.M.'s father was made manager of the bank's main office in Shanghai, and the family returned to C... ... Science Center, at Boston, Massachusetts References: Dell, Pamela. I.M. Pei Designer of Dreams. Chicago: Childrens Press Inc, 1993. "I. M. Pei" Grolier’s Multimedia Encyclopedia, 1996. Wiseman, Carter. I. M. Pei: A Profile in American Architecture. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc, 1990. http://www.greatbuildings.com/gbc/architects/I._M._Pei.html http://washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/longterm/books/chap1/im_pei.htm http://www.mit.edu/people/bei/www/page4.html http://www.mit.edu/people/bei/www/Pei/Masa2.gif http://www.mit.edu/people/bei/www/Pei/Johnson2.jpg http://www.mit.edu/people/bei/www/Pei/NGArt2.jpg http://www.mit.edu/people/bei/www/Pei/Dallas1.jpg http://www.mit.edu/people/bei/www/Pei/BankChina4.jpg http://www.mit.edu/people/bei/www/Pei/Louvre1.jpg http://www.mit.edu/people/bei/www/Pei/Rockhall2.jpg