Wen Tsung-yao
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Wen Tsung-yao () (1876 – November 30, 1947),
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 Theob ...
Qinfu (欽甫), was a politician and diplomat in the
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-spea ...
and the Republic of China. In the late Qing era, he belonged to the pro-reform group. In the era of the Republic, he participated in the Sun Yat-sen's Canton Militarist Government. However, during the invasion of Japanese, he was a leading politician in the Reformed Government of the Republic of China and the
Wang Jingwei regime The Wang Jingwei regime or the Wang Ching-wei regime is the common name of the Reorganized National Government of the Republic of China ( zh , t = 中華民國國民政府 , p = Zhōnghuá Mínguó Guómín Zhèngfǔ ), the government of the pu ...
, which were puppets state installed by the Japanese. He was born in Sunning (, now Taishan),
Kwangtung 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) ...
.


Biography


In late Qing Dynasty

He entered the Government Central School, Hong Kong (), and Sun Yat-sen was his schoolmate.Shao Guihua, ''Wen Tsung-yao''. Who's Who in China 3rd ed's description had some different points (year, order of event, etc) with Shao. He was a member of the
Furen Literary Society The Furen Literary Society, also known as the Chinese Patriotic Mutual Improvement Association, or the 'Furen Cultural Society Restoration Association (Foo Yan Man Ser Kwong Fook Hui)', was founded in Colonial Hong Kong in 1892. It was founded b ...
which advocated revolution against the Qing Dynasty. In 1895 Wen joined the
Revive China Society The Hsing Chung Hui (Hanyu Pinyin romanization: Xīngzhōnghuì), translated as the Revive China Society (興中會), the Society for Regenerating China, or the Proper China Society was founded by Sun Yat-sen on 24 November 1894 to forward th ...
founded by Sun. In 1897 he studied at the Imperial Tientsin University (), after graduating, he became an English teacher of the Queen's College(, reformed from the Government Central School). Later he became a secretary for Feng Keyi () who engaged in the work for negotiating to United Kingdom. In July 1900 Wen Tsung-yao participated in the Independence Army uprising () which was organized by pr-reform leader
Tang Caichang Tang Caichang (; 1867 – 22 August 1900) was a late Qing dynasty revolutionary and political activist. He and fellow reformer Tan Sitong were from Liuyang. Tang was chosen by Kang Youwei to lead an uprising in Hankou, however he and thirty othe ...
(), and Wen was appointed a representative for foreign affairs to
Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...
. In next month, Tang failed to rise in rebellion against Qing Dynasty and was executed. Wen escaped to Southern China and got positions under the
Viceroy of Liangguang The Viceroy of Liangguang or Viceroy of the Two Guangs, was one of eight regional Viceroys during the Ming and Qing dynasties. The two ''Guang'' referred to Guangdong and Guangxi provinces. The areas under the Viceroy's jurisdiction included pre ...
(). From 1903 to 1908, he successively held the positions of Chief of Foreign Affairs Bureau of Liangguang (), Director to the Telephone Administration of Guangdong, Director to the Military Cadets' Academy of Guangdong (廣東將辦學堂), etc. In 1904 he was sent to
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
as Deputy Envoy to negotiate with the British Government over the question of British trade in Tibet () and a member of the
Tang Shaoyi Tang Shaoyi (; 2 January 1862 – 30 September 1938), also spelled Tong Shao Yi, courtesy name Shaochuan (), was a Chinese statesman who briefly served as the first Premier of the Republic of China in 1912. In 1938, he was assassinated by the ...
's party. In same August Wen returned to China, and became a secretary for foreign affairs to the Viceroy of Liangguang
Cen Chunxuan Cen Chunxuan (1861 – 27 April 1933), courtesy name Yunjie, was a Zhuang Chinese politician who lived in the late Qing dynasty and Republic of China. Early career Cen was born in 1861 during the late Qing dynasty in Xilin, Guangxi. Hi ...
. In 1908 Wen Tsung-yao was appointed Deputy President reside in Tibet () as the representative of Qing Dynasty. On that time, United Kingdom's influence to Dalai Lama XIII was strengthened. So Wen wanted to recover Qing's influence, and insisted that Qing's troops station at Tibet to Dalai Lama XIII. But Dalai Lama XIII had protested against Qing's troops entered to Tibet, he fled to India, and Qing declared dethroning him. Later Wen returned to Peking, he was appointed a Councillor of the Foreign Office.


In the early years of the Republic of China

In October 1911
Xinhai 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 ...
broke out, Wen Tsung-yao,
Wu Tingfang Wu Ting-fang (; 30 July 184223 June 1922) was a diplomat and politician who served as Minister of Foreign Affairs and briefly as Acting Premier during the early years of the Republic of China. He was also known as Ng Choy or Ng Achoy (). Ed ...
and Zhang Jian declared their support for republicanism. After the Republic of China was established in 1912, Wen participated in the movement for political parties. In August 1912 he participated in the
Song Jiaoren Song Jiaoren (, ; Given name at birth: Liàn 鍊; Courtesy name: Dùnchū 鈍初) (5 April 1882 – 22 March 1913) was a Chinese republican revolutionary, political leader and a founder of the Kuomintang (KMT). Song Jiaoren led the KMT to elec ...
's
Kuomintang The Kuomintang (KMT), also referred to as the Guomindang (GMD), the Nationalist Party of China (NPC) or the Chinese Nationalist Party (CNP), is a major political party in the Republic of China, initially on the Chinese mainland and in Tai ...
where he was appointed a councilor. In December 1915 the
National Protection War The National Protection War (), also known as the Anti-Monarchy War, was a civil war that took place in China between 1915 and 1916. Only three years earlier, the last Chinese dynasty, the Qing dynasty, had been overthrown and the Republic of ...
broke out, Wen joined the National Protection Army against
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 ...
. In May 1916 the Military Bureau() was established, Wen was appointed Deputy Diplomatic Envoy. In September 1917 Sun Yat-sen started the Constitutional Protection Movement, and established the Canton Militarist Government. Wen also participated in it, but he supported Cen Chunxuan who was in opposition to Sun. In May 1918 Sun lost the leadership in the Government, when the governmental System was transformed to 7-President System. As Cen got the position of Chief of the Presidents, the disappointed Sun resigned as the President. In April 1920 Wen was appointed Minister for Foreign Affairs by Cen, and in May, also got the position of President. But in November, Cen was defeated by Sun and Chen Jiongming's troops, Wen also retired and hid in Shanghai for over 10 years.


In the Reformed Government and the Wang Jingwei regime

In February 1938 Wen Tsung-yao was contacted by the Japanese who were invading China, and started to organize the Puppet Government for Japan with
Liang Hongzhi Liang Hongzhi; (; Wade-Giles: ''Liang Hung-chih''; Hepburn: ''Ryō Koushi'', 1882 - November 6, 1946) was a leading official in the Anhui clique of the Beiyang Government, later noted for his role as in the collaborationist Reformed Governmen ...
. In the next month, they established the Reformed Government of the Republic of China in
Nanking 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 ...
, Wen was appointed Chief of the Legislative Yuan (). In March 1940 the
Wang Jingwei regime The Wang Jingwei regime or the Wang Ching-wei regime is the common name of the Reorganized National Government of the Republic of China ( zh , t = 中華民國國民政府 , p = Zhōnghuá Mínguó Guómín Zhèngfǔ ), the government of the pu ...
was established, Wen was appointed Chief of the Judicial Yuan (), and successively held many important positions. After Japan unconditionally surrendered and the Wang Jingwei regime collapsed, Wen Tsung-yao was arrested by the Nationalist Government in Shanghai on September 27, 1945. On July 8, he was sentenced to life imprisonment on the charge of treason ('' Hanjian''). Wen Tsung-yao died in prison in Nanking on November 30, 1947.


Alma mater

Queen's College, Hong Kong Queen's College () is a sixth form college for boys with a secondary school and the first public secondary school founded in Hong Kong by the British colonial government. It was initially named The Government Central School () in 1862 and l ...

Tianjin University Tianjin University (TJU, ), formerly Peiyang University (), is a national public research university in Tianjin, China. The university was established in 1895 by Guangxu Emperor's royal charter to be the first university of China. It is now fu ...


References


Footnotes

* Shao Guihua (), ''Wen Zongyao''. * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wen, Zongyao Republic of China politicians from Guangdong Foreign Ministers of the Republic of China Chinese collaborators with Imperial Japan Kuomintang collaborators with Imperial Japan 1876 births 1947 deaths People from Taishan, Guangdong Politicians from Jiangmen