Princeton University

Princeton University enters the narrative as a prospective center for artificial-intelligence research and as the place Jan Liseiwicz believes could provide Rong Jinzhen with the facilities his work requires. It represents a concrete alternative to the limits Liseiwicz fears Rong Jinzhen may face in China, though the account does not establish that Rong Jinzhen ever went there.

Institutional Role

In a letter written on Christmas Eve and received shortly before Chinese New Year, Jan Liseiwicz reported that Princeton University had brought several independent research units together to create an institute devoted to artificial intelligence. He said that the work would be directed by the mathematician Paul Samuelson. Liseiwicz understood the development as evidence that the field’s importance was gaining recognition beyond his own advocacy: as far as he knew, this was the first group anywhere working on the subject.

A Proposed Home for Research

Liseiwicz connected the institute’s creation to Rong Jinzhen’s future. By the time of the letter, Rong Jinzhen had almost completely recovered from his illness, and Liseiwicz hoped he would be able to begin research in artificial intelligence. If suitable research could not be carried out in China, Liseiwicz urged Young Lillie not to let immediate difficulties or advantages keep Rong Jinzhen from seeking a better place to work. Princeton University, he argued, could offer the facilities to support that work and make it easier for Rong Jinzhen to pursue it.

The Meaning of the Invitation

Liseiwicz’s appeal is an expression of confidence in both Rong Jinzhen’s ability and the importance of the research he might undertake. He described Princeton University as capable of providing the right circumstances and the space Rong Jinzhen needed to continue. His comparison to a wedding dress sewn for another bride casts the institute’s work as preparation that might ultimately serve a Chinese researcher: even research begun by Samuelson’s group, Liseiwicz suggested, could clear the way for Rong Jinzhen’s contribution.

Limits of the Account

The university appears here through Liseiwicz’s report and hopes, not through a direct account of its research or daily life. The letter presents Princeton University as a promising institutional destination, but it does not say that Rong Jinzhen accepted the proposal, traveled there, or worked at the institute. Its narrative significance is therefore prospective: it makes visible a possible future for his research while leaving that future unresolved.