Yuán Kèdìng ( Chinese: 袁克定; 1878–1958),

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 Theobald ...

Yuntai (云台), was the eldest son of

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 ...

. His mother was Yuan's first wife, Yu (于氏), and Yuan Kewen was his younger brother. In his childhood, Yuan followed his father to many places when he served in various positions 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-speak ...

. He studied in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

and spoke fluent

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

and

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

. At the end of the Qing dynasty, he served as a low-ranking official in the government. After 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 a d ...

, under the instruction of his father, Yuan became a close friend of

Wang Jingwei Wang Jingwei (4 May 1883 – 10 November 1944), born as Wang Zhaoming and widely known by his pen name Jingwei, was a Chinese politician. He was initially a member of the left wing of the Kuomintang, leading a government in Wuhan in oppositi ...

. According to the ''History of Xinhai Revolution'', Yuan and Wang swore to be "brothers of different surnames" in front of Yuan Shikai. In 1915 when his father Yuan Shikai proclaimed himself Hóngxiàn Emperor of the

Empire of China The earliest known written records of the history of China date from as early as 1250 BC, from the Shang dynasty (c. 1600–1046 BC), during the reign of king Wu Ding. Ancient historical texts such as the '' Book of Documents'' (early chapte ...

, Yuan became crown prince as the Prince Yuntai. After the death of his father, Yuan lived reclusively in the German concession in Tianjin. In 1935, he moved to Baochao Lane (宝钞胡同) in Beijing. In 1937, he again relocated to Qinghuaxuan Villa in the

Summer Palace The Summer Palace () is a vast ensemble of lakes, gardens and palaces in Beijing. It was an imperial garden in the Qing dynasty. Inside includes Longevity Hill () Kunming Lake and Seventeen Hole Bridge. It covers an expanse of , three-quarter ...

. During the Sino-Japanese War, after the fall of Northern China, the Japanese army officer Kenji Doihara asked Yuan to join the Japanese puppet regimes, hoping to use his identity to exert some influence on the old Beiyang Ministry. Yuan refused to cooperate with the

Imperial Japanese Army The was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945. It was controlled by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office and the Ministry of the Army, both of which were nominally subordinate to the Emperor o ...

, as he did not wish to be seen as a traitor and his life became impoverished. In 1948, due to poverty, Yuan turned to his cousin, Zhang Boju (张伯驹), and moved into Tsinghua Garden at

Tsinghua University Tsinghua University (; abbreviation, abbr. THU) is a National university, national Public university, public research university in Beijing, China. The university is funded by the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China, Minis ...

. Thanks to the help of

Zhang Shizhao Zhang Shizhao (; March 20, 1881 – July 1, 1973), courtesy name Xingyan, pen name Huangzhonghuang, Qingtong or Qiutong, was a Chinese journalist, educator, politician of the early 20th century known for his advocacy first of revolutionary cultur ...

, after 1949, Yuan became a fellow of the Central Research Institute of Culture and History, and thus had a steady income.

Personal life

Yuan had three children. His son, Yuan Jiarong (袁家融 1904—1996), studied in the United States and majored in geology at

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 ...

. In 1958, Yuan died of illness in Beijing, China.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yuan Keding 1878 births 1958 deaths 19th-century Chinese people 20th-century Chinese people Chinese people of Korean descent Chinese princes Crown princes Central Research Institute of Culture and History Empire of China (1915–1916) Heirs apparent who never acceded Children of national leaders of China