Alfred Sao-ke Sze (; 1877–1958) was a prominent Chinese politician and diplomat during the most turbulent period in modern Chinese history.

Early life

Sze was born on April 10, 1877. In 1892, Sze moved to Washington, D.C. with his father, who was an attaché of the Chinese legation to the U.S. Sze graduated from Central High School in 1897. He became the first Chinese student to graduate from

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to tea ...

in 1901. He returned to China in October 1902 to work for the Peking Government.

Career

Sze served successively in the

Ministry of Posts and Communications The Ministry of Posts and Communications or YouchuanbuChen Zhongping. Modern China's Network Revolution: Chambers of Commerce and Sociopolitical Change in the Early Twentieth Century', p. 152. Stanford University Press, 2011. . () was a late Qing ...

, the

Jilin Jilin (; Postal romanization, alternately romanized as Kirin or Chilin) is one of the three Provinces of China, provinces of Northeast China. Its capital and largest city is Changchun. Jilin borders North Korea (Rasŏn, North Hamgyong, R ...

provincial government and the Foreign Ministry. In 1905, Sze was part of the Chinese delegation which visited a number of countries to study constitutionalism. In 1908-1910, Sze worked in

, during which time he dealt with the repercussions of the attempted assassination of

Itō Hirobumi was a Japanese politician and statesman who served as the first Prime Minister of Japan. He was also a leading member of the '' genrō'', a group of senior statesmen that dictated Japanese policy during the Meiji era. A London-educated sa ...

. In 1911 he was appointed Minister to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

, and

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...

, but the eruption of the

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 ...

and overthrow of the Qing government intervened and prevented his travel. Under 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 northeas ...

, Sze served briefly as Transport and Communications Minister and Finance Minister. From 1914-1920 he was China's minister to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

, and in 1919 he was part of the Chinese delegation to the Paris Peace Conference. Sze, along with Foreign Minister W. W. Yen, C. T. Wang and Wellington Koo, was part of a Chinese delegation which traveled to the

in the fall of 1921 to negotiate with the U.S. to impose a limitation of armaments on

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 n ...

and to de-escalate tensions over Japan's aggressive, expansionist activities in

Shandong Shandong ( , ; ; Chinese postal romanization, alternately romanized as Shantung) is a coastal Provinces of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China and is part of the East China region. Shandong has played a major role in His ...

. From 1921-1929, Sze was head of the Chinese legation to the U.S., representing the Peking Government and securing U.S. support to contain Japanese aggression in northern China. In January 1923, President

Li Yuanhong Li Yuanhong (; courtesy name Songqing 宋卿) (October 19, 1864 – June 3, 1928) was a Chinese politician during the Qing dynasty and the Republic of China. He was the president of the Republic of China between 1916 and 1917, and between 1922 ...

nominated Sze for the office of foreign minister, but of all the Cabinet nominations, Sze's alone was rejected by the legislature. However, Sze served briefly as acting foreign minister until the new appointee was agreed. In November 1928, Sze was again appointed minister to Britain and delegate to the

League of Nations The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference th ...

. He was replaced in the legation to the U.S. by C.C. Wu. In 1931, he was tapped as foreign minister again, but declined. At the time, he was actively representing the

at the

, denouncing Japanese military aggression in

Manchuria Manchuria is an exonym (derived from the endo demonym " Manchu") for a historical and geographic region in Northeast Asia encompassing the entirety of present-day Northeast China (Inner Manchuria) and parts of the Russian Far East (Outer M ...

and demanding the League's intervention. He warned the League that if it failed to act,

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

would have no choice but to re-arm. The League failed to act, so in December 1931, he offered his resignation. His offer was declined, and he remained at his post. In January 1933, he was designated minister to the United States once again. He presented his credentials in February 1933. In July 1935, after the United States and the Republic of China agreed to raise their diplomatic missions from legations to embassies, Sze became the first Chinese ambassador to the United States. He was succeeded by C.T. Wang in 1937. Sze was a founding member of the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Inte ...

and was a member of the Advisory Council of the World Bank from 1947 to 1950.

Personal life

Sze married Yu-hua "Alice" Tang. Tang's mother had been a

lady in waiting A lady-in-waiting or court lady is a female personal assistant at a court, attending on a royal woman or a high-ranking noblewoman. Historically, in Europe, a lady-in-waiting was often a noblewoman but of lower rank than the woman to whom sh ...

to the

Empress Dowager Cixi Empress Dowager Cixi ( ; mnc, Tsysi taiheo; formerly romanised as Empress Dowager T'zu-hsi; 29 November 1835 – 15 November 1908), of the Manchu Yehe Nara clan, was a Chinese noblewoman, concubine and later regent who effectively controlled ...

, her uncle was Prime Minister

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 ...

, and her cousin Tang Pao-yu was married to Wellington Koo. Sze's elder brother, Shi Sao (aka Chao) Tseng (施肇曾

pinyin Hanyu Pinyin (), often shortened to just pinyin, is the official romanization system for Standard Mandarin Chinese in China, and to some extent, in Singapore and Malaysia. It is often used to teach Mandarin, normally written in Chinese fo ...

: Shī Zhàozēng), born 1868, was also a prominent official and served as a diplomat in the U.S. from 1893 to 1897. Upon returning to China, Shi Sao held several senior railway posts, including Director-General of Lunghai Railways from 1913 to 1922. Sze's younger brother, S.C. Thomas Sze, also attended Cornell and was later a director of the Chinese railroads. The chair of the Sibley School of Engineering at Cornell is named after S.C. Thomas Sze. Alfred Sze had two sons and four daughters. Szeming Sze was the medical director of the United Nations from 1955–1968. Deson C. Sze was a banker and also served as a private secretary to

T.V. Soong Soong Tse-vung, more commonly romanized as Soong Tse-ven or Soong Tzu-wen (; 4 December 1894 – 25 April 1971), was a prominent businessman and politician in the early 20th-century Republic of China, who served as Premier. His father was Charl ...

. Mai-mai Sze was an accomplished painter, author, and model. Julia Sze-Bailey and Alice Wang lived in Manhattan and Boston, respectively. Sze died on January 3, 1958, at the age of 80.

References

External links

Sao Ke Alfred Sze (Shi Zhaoji) 施肇基
from ''Biographies of Prominent Chinese'' c.1925. {{DEFAULTSORT:Sze, Alfred Sao-Ke Cornell University alumni Foreign Ministers of the Republic of China 1958 deaths Politicians from Suzhou 1877 births Republic of China politicians from Jiangsu Ambassadors of the Republic of China to the United States Permanent Representatives of the Republic of China to the League of Nations