Mei Yiqi or Mei Yi-chi (; 29 December 1889 – 19 May 1962),
courtesy name
A courtesy name (), also known as a style name, is a name bestowed upon one at adulthood in addition to one's given name. This practice is a tradition in the East Asian cultural sphere, including China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam.Ulrich Theobald ...
Yuehan (), was a
Chinese
Chinese can refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...
politician, physicist and educator, who served two separate terms as
Ministry of Education of the Republic of China
The Ministry of Education (MOE) (; Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: ''Kau-yuk Phu'') is the ministry of the Republic of China (Taiwan) responsible for incorporating educational policies and managing public schools.
Organizational structure Political departmen ...
, from 1948 to 1949 and from 1958 to 1961. He was
President of National Tsinghua University between 1931 and 1948, making him the university's longest serving president.
Biography
Mei was born in
Tianjin
Tianjin (; ; Mandarin: ), alternately romanized as Tientsin (), is a municipality and a coastal metropolis in Northern China on the shore of the Bohai Sea. It is one of the nine national central cities in Mainland China, with a total popul ...
on 29 December 1889, to a merchant family. His father Mei Bochen () was a small merchant. His
ancestral home
An ancestral home is the place of origin of one's extended family, particularly the home owned and preserved by the same family for several generations. The term can refer to an individual house or estate, or to a broader geographic area such as a ...
in
Wujin District
Wujin District (; postal: ''Wutsin'') is a district under the jurisdiction of Changzhou in Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. In 2005 Wujin was ranked as 8th in the top 100 best cities and counties in mainland China.
History
In ...
,
Changzhou
Changzhou ( Changzhounese: ''Zaon Tsei'', ) is a prefecture-level city in southern Jiangsu province, China. It was previously known as Yanling, Lanling and Jinling. Located on the southern bank of the Yangtze River, Changzhou borders the provin ...
,
Jiangsu
Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, Postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an Eastern China, eastern coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China. It is o ...
Province. In 1904, at the age of 15, he attended Nankai School, becoming a student of
Zhang Boling
Chang Po-ling (; April 5, 1876 – February 23, 1951) was a Chinese educator who, with Yan Xiu, founded Nankai University and the Nankai system of schools.
Biography
Chang Po-ling was born in Tianjin in 1876 during the last years of the Qi ...
. He secondary studied at Baoding Higher School. In August 1909, he was sent to the U.S. as one of the first group of
Boxer Indemnity Scholarship Program
The Boxer Indemnity Scholarship Program () was a scholarship program for Chinese students to be educated in the United States, funded by the . In 1908, the U.S. Congress passed a bill to return to China the excess of Boxer Indemnity, amounting to ...
students. He received his bachelor's degree from the
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
''
, mottoeng = "Theory and Practice"
, established =
, former_name = Worcester County Free Institute of Industrial Science (1865-1886)
, type = Private research university
, endowme ...
.
He returned to China after graduation in 1914 and worked in Tianjin Youth Association. In Autumn of that same year, he moved to
National Tsinghua University, where he was elected
President of National Tsinghua University in 1931. In December 1948, he was appointed
Ministry of Education of the Republic of China
The Ministry of Education (MOE) (; Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: ''Kau-yuk Phu'') is the ministry of the Republic of China (Taiwan) responsible for incorporating educational policies and managing public schools.
Organizational structure Political departmen ...
, but having held the position for only one year. After the defeat of the Nationalists by the Communists in
Chinese Civil War
The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led government of the Republic of China and forces of the Chinese Communist Party, continuing intermittently since 1 August 1927 until 7 December 1949 with a Communist victory on m ...
in 1949, Mei relocated to
Taiwan
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 nort ...
. In July 1958, he was appointed Ministry of Education again, and concurrently served as
President of National Tsing Hua University in
Hsinchu City
Hsinchu (, Chinese: 新竹, Pinyin: ''Xīnzhú'', Wade–Giles: ''Hsin¹-chu²'') is a city located in northwestern Taiwan. It is the most populous city in Taiwan Province not among the special municipalities, with estimated 450,655 inhabi ...
. In February 1962, he was elected an academician of the
Academia Sinica
Academia Sinica (AS, la, 1=Academia Sinica, 3=Chinese Academy; ), headquartered in Nangang, Taipei, is the national academy of Taiwan. Founded in Nanking, the academy supports research activities in a wide variety of disciplines, ranging from ...
.
On 19 May 1962, he died of cancer at National Taiwan University Hospital, in
Taipei
Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the n ...
,
Taiwan
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 nort ...
.
Personal life
Mei married Han Yonghua () in 1919 in
Tianjin
Tianjin (; ; Mandarin: ), alternately romanized as Tientsin (), is a municipality and a coastal metropolis in Northern China on the shore of the Bohai Sea. It is one of the nine national central cities in Mainland China, with a total popul ...
. The couple had one son and four daughters: Mei Zutong (), Mei Zufen (), Mei Zuyan (), Mei Zubin () and Mei Zushan ().
Works
*
*
*
Memorials
Mei was highly praised by teachers and students of
Tsinghua University
Tsinghua University (; abbreviation, abbr. THU) is a National university, national Public university, public research university in Beijing, China. The university is funded by the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China, Minis ...
, "Mei Yiqi is the
President of Tsinghua University forever." ()
Mei was buried in
National Tsing Hua University
National Tsing Hua University (NTHU; ) is a public research university in Hsinchu City, Taiwan.
National Tsing Hua University was first founded in Beijing. After the Chinese Civil War, the then-president of the university, Mei Yiqi, and other ...
campus, his tomb was named "Garden of Mei" ().
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Mei, Yiqi
1889 births
1962 deaths
Tianjin Nankai High School alumni
Worcester Polytechnic Institute alumni
Educators from Tianjin
Presidents of Tsinghua University
Republic of China politicians from Tianjin
Physicists from Tianjin
Deaths from cancer in Taiwan
Chinese Civil War refugees
Taiwanese Ministers of Education
Education Ministers of the Republic of China
Members of Academia Sinica