Zhang Tingyan (; born February 1936) is 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 va ...

diplomat and the first Chinese Ambassador to South Korea.

Life and career

Zhang was born in

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 ...

, in February 1936, during the

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 ...

. In 1954 he was accepted to

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 graduated in 1958. After graduation, he was assigned to the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China () is the first-ranked executive department of the State Council of the Chinese government, responsible for the foreign relations of the People's Republic of China. It is led ...

. In 1963 he became a staff member in the Chinese Embassy in

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...

, he worked there until 1969. From 1969 to 1976, he was a section member in the Asian Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China, and he was promoted to become its deputy director in 1989. In 1976, he was transferred to

Pyongyang Pyongyang (, , ) is the capital and largest city of North Korea, where it is known as the "Capital of the Revolution". Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River about upstream from its mouth on the Yellow Sea. According to the 2008 populatio ...

and appointed a secretary. He was Chinese Counsellor to North Korea in 1986, and held that office until 1989. In 1992, he was appointed the Chinese Ambassador to South Korea, and served until 1998.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zhang, Tingyan 1936 births Peking University alumni Living people Ambassadors of China to South Korea