David Chipp's memoirs to be published in October

The title, Mao’s Toe, comes from an incident in Peking half a century ago when Chipp was Reuters’ first resident correspondent in China since the 1949 Communist takeover. He trod on Chairman Mao Zedong’s toe and, far from taking offence, the Communist leader later gave Chipp his very own Chinese name, Qi Dewei - Lacquered Defender of Morals.

Chipp died in his sleep on 9 September 2008 aged 81. His memoirs will be launched at a reception at his old college, King’s, Cambridge, preceded by a memorial evensong in the chapel on Saturday 24 October at 5:15 pm for 5:30 pm. Those who wish to attend or obtain a copy of the book should contact development.office@kings.cam.ac.uk to register their interest. ■