George Norbert Kates (November 27, 1895 – March 23, 1990) is a leading American exponent of classical Chinese culture and decorative arts. His memoir of life in 1930s Beijing—The Years That Were Fat, Peking 1933-1940 is one of the most widely read books about pre-revolution China. He also authored the first and one of the leading texts on Chinese classical furniture—Chinese Household Furniture and put together one of the most significant private collections of Ming style hardwood furniture. An accomplished scholar and a brilliant linguist, Kates graduated summa cum laude from Harvard in 1922 and was awarded a D.Phil. from Oxford University in 1930. An officer in the U.S. Army during World War I, he also served with the State Department in China during World War II. From 1947 to 1949 he was