There is a tortuous story about the establishment of the Greater East Asia Department. According to textual research, the hero of the story is an China laborer "Ding Long" who came to the United States in his early years. At that time, he was regarded as a "pig" and donated most of his life savings to Columbia University, demanding the establishment of sinology education, which led to the famous East Asian Department today.

The East Asia Department of Columbia University was founded in 1902. In the field of sinology in the United States, the signboard of the Greater East Asia Department is very loud. Wang Hailong has made many years of investigation and research on the establishment of the Ministry of Labor and East Asia, and published special articles. Another pair of American scholars, PaulAnderer and MiaAnderer, have also made unremitting efforts in this regard, and they have also done a lot of investigation and research. However, even so, there are still many unsolved mysteries about the story of Ding Long.