Fang Zong'ao (; 1884 – 19 February 1950) was a late

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

scholar; a well known economist and jurist in the early

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...

era, and a professor in economics and law. Fang was born in Puning,

Guangdong Province Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...

, China, in 1884. In 1903, Fang went to () for study. In 1905, Fang returned to his home town Puning after he graduated from the college and established a teachers' college in Puning. In 1908, Fang was granted a scholarship from Qing dynasty government and went to

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

again for his studies. After graduating from Yamaguchi Business School in

Yamaguchi Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. Yamaguchi Prefecture has a population of 1,377,631 (1 February 2018) and has a geographic area of 6,112 Square kilometre, km2 (2,359 Square mile, sq mi). Y ...

Fang was admitted to

Meiji University , abbreviated as Meiji (明治) or Meidai (明大'')'', is a private research university located in Chiyoda City, the heart of Tokyo, Japan. Established in 1881 as Meiji Law School (明治法律学校, ''Meiji Hōritsu Gakkō'') by three Meiji-er ...

. Fang graduated from Meiji University in 1914 and married a Japanese noble's descendant, Koga Yasuhisa's () daughter Koga Masako (), a student at

Tsuda College is a private women's university based at Kodaira, Tokyo. It is one of the oldest and most prestigious higher educational institutions for women in Japan, contributing to the advancement of women in society for more than a century. History The u ...

. Fang returned to China after the wedding. About a year after his return, Fang left his hometown Puning for

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

to pursue his career. During the time he stayed in Japan, Fang was appointed as a Political Affairs Director of the Tokyo Branch of the Progressive Party of the

. Shortly after settling in Beijing, Fang was introduced by the Chinese High Commissioner to Tokyo (Wang Da-xie (), who later became the Foreign Affairs Minister) to work at the Reserve Bank of China as a principal auditor. Fang spent his spare time teaching economics courses at several universities as a part-time professor. Soon, he became a full-time professor at (),

Peking University Peking University (PKU; ) is a public research university in Beijing, China. The university is funded by the Ministry of Education. Peking University was established as the Imperial University of Peking in 1898 when it received its royal charter ...

and . He served as the provost and dean of business studies of the . until 1937. In 1937, the Republic of China Provisional Government was established in Beijing. Fang was appointed as the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Education and Secretary General of the Legislation Council of the Provisional Government. When Minister Tang Er-he (汤尔和) was in the hospital in 1939, Fang served as the Acting Minister until Tang's death in 1940. Later, in 1940, when the Republic of China Nanjing National Government was established in

Nanjing Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and the second largest city in the East China region. T ...

, Fang was appointed as the Vice Minister of Education of the North China Political Affairs Commission. During that period, Fang re-established the universities in Northern China to provide opportunities for students to continue their studies in Japanese-occupied regions. Fang also established the Law School of Peking University, and he was appointed as the first Head of the school. Fang was also selected as a board member of the China Federal Reserve Bank. Fang died on 19 February 1950 in

at the age of 66.

Family

Fang's father was Fang Mei-feng (). Fang had five sons: Fang Jisheng (方纪生), Fang Shiao Tzu (方孝慈), (Japanese: Hideo - 秀夫), Fang (Victor) Tse Tzu (方则慈), Fang Hong Tzu (), and Fang Shao Tzu (方绍慈), and three daughters: Fang Xiu Ching (方秀卿 (Hedi Pinheiro), Fang Wen Ching () and Fang Li Ching (方丽卿).

References

External links

方眉峰公永思录中国近現代人物名號大辭典
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fang, Zong-ao 1884 births 1950 deaths Republic of China economists Educators from Guangdong Academic staff of Peking University Politicians from Jieyang Republic of China politicians from Guangdong Economists from Guangdong Chinese university and college faculty deans Business school deans