Sir Shouson Chow (; 1861–1959), KBE,

LLD Legum Doctor (Latin: “teacher of the laws”) (LL.D.) or, in English, Doctor of Laws, is a doctorate-level academic degree in law or an honorary degree, depending on the jurisdiction. The double “L” in the abbreviation#Plural forms, abbrev ...

, JP, also known as Chow Cheong-Ling (), was a Hong Kong businessman. He had been a

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 ...

official and prominent in the

Government of Hong Kong The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, commonly known as the Hong Kong Government or HKSAR Government, refers to the executive authorities of Hong Kong SAR. It was formed on 1 July 1997 in accordance with the Sino-Br ...

Family

Chow is said to have been born in

Wong Chuk Hang San Wai Wong Chuk Hang San Wai () is a village in the Wong Chuk Hang area of Southern District, Hong Kong. It is located at the bottom of Shouson Hill. Administration For electoral purposes, Wong Chuk Hang San Wai is part of the Bays Area constituency ...

, a village at the foot of present-day

Shouson Hill Shouson Hill () is a hill (148 m high) on the coast of Deep Water Bay east of Wong Chuk Hang, in Southern District, on Hong Kong Island in Hong Kong. North of the hill is an affluent residential area, which consists primarily of Shouson Hill ...

. Wong Chuk Hang San Wai was a village of a Chow lineage. His father was

compradore A comprador or compradore () is a "person who acts as an agent for foreign organizations engaged in investment, trade, or economic or political exploitation". A comprador is a native manager for a European business house in East and South East Asia ...

of the Canton-based

Canton and Hong Kong Steamship Company Canton may refer to: Administrative division terminology * Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries, notably Switzerland * Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French Arts and ent ...

. His grandfather was the head of "Little Hong Kong", who helped

Charles Elliot Admiral Sir Charles Elliot (15 August 1801 – 9 September 1875) was a British Royal Navy officer, diplomat, and colonial administrator. He became the first Administrator of Hong Kong in 1841 while serving as both Plenipotentiary and Chief S ...

post the first official proclamation of

Hong Kong Island Hong Kong Island is an Islands and peninsulas of Hong Kong, island in the southern part of Hong Kong. Known colloquially and on road signs simply as Hong Kong, the island has a population of 1,289,500 and its population density is 16,390/km ...

in 1841. He had a son, named

Chow Yat-Kwong Chow may refer to: * Selected set of nutrients fed to animals subjected to laboratory testing * Chow Chow, a dog breed * A slang term for food in general (such as in the terms "chow down" or "chow hall") * Chow test, a statistical test for det ...

Career

Among the third group of Chinese students sponsored by the

Qing 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-speaki ...

government to the United States in the 1870s,''Chinese Educational Mission Connections 1872–1881 – Chow Chang Ling''
/ref> Chow left China in 1874 and studied at

Phillips Academy, Andover ("Not for Self") la, Finis Origine Pendet ("The End Depends Upon the Beginning") Youth From Every Quarter Knowledge and Goodness , address = 180 Main Street , city = Andover , state = Ma ...

(class of 1880) and

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

. After his graduation he worked for the Qing government. In 1881 he joined the Korean Customs Service under

Yuan Shikai Yuan Shikai (; 16 September 1859 – 6 June 1916) was a Chinese military and government official who rose to power during the late Qing dynasty and eventually ended the Qing dynasty rule of China in 1912, later becoming the Emperor of China. H ...

. Later he was the president of the China Merchant Steam Navigation Company of

Tientsin 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 ...

from 1897 to 1903, and the managing director of the Peking-Mukden Railway between 1903 and 1907. He was the Customs and Trade Superintendent and Counselor for Foreign Affairs in

Newchwang Yingkou () is a coastal prefecture-level city of central southern Liaoning province, People's Republic of China, on the northeastern shore of Liaodong Bay. It is the third-smallest city in Liaoning with a total area of , and the ninth most populo ...

between 1907 and 1910. During this period he was promoted to Mandarin of the Second Rank. He left government service after the

1911 Revolution The 1911 Revolution, also known as the Xinhai Revolution or Hsinhai Revolution, ended China's last imperial dynasty, the Manchu-led Qing dynasty, and led to the establishment of the Republic of China. The revolution was the culmination of a d ...

and became director of various companies and charities.

Public Service

Shouson Chow, Justice John Wood and Chief Justice Henry Gollan

Chow was appointed a

Justice of the Peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

in Hong Kong in 1907. He was subsequently elected to membership of the

North British Academy of Arts The North British Academy of Arts (1908–1924) was an art institution of Newcastle upon Tyne in northern England. Overview The Academy, later known as the North British Academy of Arts, Science, Literature, and Music, was located in the Clar ...

.''Document III.1: Mr. Chou Show Son'' p118-9 in ''A Documentary History of Hong Kong Society'', ed David Faure, Hong Kong University Press, Hong Kong 1997
/ref> In 1918, he founded the

Bank of East Asia The Bank of East Asia Limited, often abbreviated to BEA, is a Hong Kong banking and financial services company, headquartered in Central, Hong Kong. It is currently the largest independent local Hong Kong bank, and one of two remaining family ...

with three Chinese partners where he was the chairman of the board from 1925 to 1929. In 1922 he was appointed a member of the

Sanitary Board The Urban Council (UrbCo) was a municipal council in Hong Kong responsible for municipal services on Hong Kong Island and in Kowloon (including New Kowloon). These services were provided by the council's executive arm, the Urban Services ...

, the precursor of the

Urban Council The Urban Council (UrbCo) was a municipal council in Hong Kong responsible for municipal services on Hong Kong Island and in Kowloon (including New Kowloon). These services were provided by the council's executive arm, the Urban Services ...

, and the Legislative Council, where he served until 1931. In 1926, he became the first Chinese member of the Executive Council, and was knighted. In 1933, he was awarded an honorary

Doctorate of Laws A Doctor of Law is a degree in law. The application of the term varies from country to country and includes degrees such as the Doctor of Juridical Science (J.S.D. or S.J.D), Juris Doctor (J.D.), Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), and Legum Doctor (LL. ...

. During the

Japanese Occupation of Hong Kong The Imperial Japanese occupation of Hong Kong began when the Governor of Hong Kong, Mark Aitchison Young, Sir Mark Young, surrendered the British Crown colony of British Hong Kong, Hong Kong to the Empire of Japan on 25 December 1941. The surr ...

, Chow and other leading Chinese figures joined the

Chinese Cooperative Council The Chinese Cooperative Council was a civilian council consisting of leading local Chinese and Eurasians leaders during the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong. History After the British surrender, the Japanese tried to consolidate their power by ...

founded by the

Japanese military The Japan Self-Defense Forces ( ja, 自衛隊, Jieitai; abbreviated JSDF), also informally known as the Japanese Armed Forces, are the unified ''de facto''Since Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution outlaws the formation of armed forces, th ...

which he was the chairman to maintain public order amongst the Chinese population. They did not suffer from punishment after the return of British rule.

Memory

, in the south of

, is named after him.

External links

Chow Cheong-ling (Zhou Changling) 周長齡
from ''Biographies of Prominent Chinese'' c.1925.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chow, Shouson 1861 births 1959 deaths Members of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong Members of the Executive Council of Hong Kong Members of the Sanitary Board of Hong Kong Hong Kong businesspeople Hong Kong collaborators with Imperial Japan People from Bao'an County Bank of East Asia Hong Kong expatriates in China Hong Kong expatriates in Korea Hong Kong Anglicans