Weng Fan

Weng Fan, born July 1976 in Chaozhou, Guangdong Province. Her father is Weng Yunguang and her mother is Shi Yudian; she has two older sisters and is the youngest in the family. She attended Jinshan Middle School in Chaozhou for junior high and high school. In 1994 she entered Shantou University to study English Language and Culture, where she performed well academically. In August 1995, Shantou University hosted the Overseas Chinese Physics Society Conference; Weng Fan, then a freshman in the English department, served as a reception guide for Yang Zhenning and Du Zili, and the two subsequently kept in contact. After graduation, she worked at a company in Shantou, then moved to Shenzhen to work at a golf club. During this period she registered a marriage in Hong Kong with a staff member of a Hong Kong company, but the marriage dissolved within less than two years due to long-distance separation. From 2002 to 2004, Weng Fan pursued a master’s degree in Linguistics and Applied Linguistics at Guangdong University of Foreign Studies.

Her relationship with Yang Zhenning gradually developed. In 2004, Weng Fan was invited to Hong Kong to meet Yang Zhenning; in November of that year she became engaged in Beijing, and in December registered a foreign-related marriage in Shantou; in January 2005 they held a wedding in Beijing. After marriage, the couple frequently attended academic and cultural events together; in April 2005 they jointly toured Huangshan, and in December they honeymooned in Sanya, Hainan. In March 2006 they moved to the United States to reside in Stony Brook, New York, and in June returned to Hong Kong. In 2008 she accompanied Yang on a visit to Shantou University, and from around 2019 onward she has accompanied him on numerous public appearances.

In 2011, Weng Fan pursued a PhD in Architecture at Tsinghua University; in September 2012 she attended a science popularization lecture at the Chinese University of Hong Kong for Yang Zhenning’s 90th birthday. In terms of publications, Weng Fan and Yang Zhenning co-authored The Dawn Collection (2008, 2018 edition, 2021 revised edition) and have co-translated works; she also translated Sebastiano Serlio’s Serlio on Architecture. In 2015, she participated in an interview on a Beijing TV program with Yang Zhenning and related figures. In 2016, she and Yang Zhenning conducted philanthropic activities together, including donations of works to the National Art Museum of China and contributions to Tsinghua University, among others.