Li Jingfang GCVO (李經方; 1854 – 28 September 1934), also known as Li Ching-fong, was a Chinese statesman during 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-speak ...

dynasty. Being the nephew and adopted son of the late statesman

Li Hongzhang Li Hongzhang, Marquess Suyi ( zh, t=李鴻章; also Li Hung-chang; 15 February 1823 – 7 November 1901) was a Chinese politician, general and diplomat of the late Qing dynasty. He quelled several major rebellions and served in important ...

, he served in his adoptive father's secretariat in his youth. In 1882, Li Jingfang obtained the second highest degree in the

imperial examinations The imperial examination (; lit. "subject recommendation") refers to a civil-service examination system in Imperial China, administered for the purpose of selecting candidates for the state bureaucracy. The concept of choosing bureaucrats by ...

and subsequently obtained appointment in the Qing foreign service because of his knowledge of English. In 1886–89, he worked as a secretary to the Qing legation in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

and in 1890-92 he served as the Qing minister to

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 ...

. He is mostly known for having signed the Sino-Japanese

Treaty of Shimonoseki The , also known as the Treaty of Maguan () in China and in the period before and during World War II in Japan, was a treaty signed at the , Shimonoseki, Japan on April 17, 1895, between the Empire of Japan and Qing China, ending the Firs ...

in Li Hongzhang's stead in 1895. He was appointed as an Honorary Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order by Queen Victoria in 1896 and was promoted to a Honorary Knight Grand Cross a few years later in 1909. He also served as the Chinese Minister to London in 1909–1910.

References

1854 births 1934 deaths Qing dynasty politicians from Anhui Politicians from Hefei Ambassadors of China to Japan Qing dynasty diplomats Businesspeople from Anhui Ambassadors of China to the United Kingdom Honorary Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order {{China-diplomat-stub