Biography in English

T'an Yen-k'ai (1879-22 September 1930), Hanlin scholar and president of the Hunan provincial assembly who served several times as governor of Hunan in the 1912-20 period. Beginning in 1924 he held high government and Kuomintang posts at Canton, and he directed National Government affairs during the first stage of the Northern Expedition. From October 1928 until his death, he was president of the Executive Yuan at Nanking.

Although his native place was Chaling, Hunan, T'an Yen-k'ai was born at Hangchow. At the time of his birth, his father, T'an Chung-lin (d. 1905; T. Yun-ch'in), was civil governor of Chekiang. The young T'an's mother was a concubine, and he was the third child in the family. A younger brother, T'an Tse-k'ai, in due course would win fame as a calligrapher. T'an Chung-lin later became Liangkwang (Kwangtung and Kwangsi) governor general, and his children received the thorough training in the Chinese classics that was called for by his exalted status and by Confucian tradition. After passing the chü-jen degree examinations in 1902 and the chin-shih examinations in 1904, T'an Yen-k'ai became one of the last Chinese scholars to receive the coveted appointment of compiler in the Hanlin Academy. From 1904 to 1910 he served variously as an educational supervisor, director of the Central Hunan Normal School, and director of the Hunan Ming-te School (see Hu Yuan-t'an). The last of these was a focal point for anti- Manchu agitation.

When the Ch'ing court, moving slowly and painfully in the direction of constitutionalism, inaugurated provincial assemblies in October 1909, T'an Yen-k'ai became president of the Hunan assembly. The following year, he also became a Hunan delegate to the newly inaugurated National Assembly in Peking. When it convened in October, he joined with T'ang Hua-lung (q.v.) and others in petitioning the imperial court to establish promptly a parliament with a responsible cabinet. The imperial decree of November 1910, which shortened the period before the introduction of constitutional monarchy and which provided for the convocation of the new parliament in 1913, left such petitioners as T'an and T'ang dissatisfied. And these two men were among the provincial leaders who established the Hsien-yu-hui [association of friends of the constitution]. The Ch'ing court's railway policies, which included nationalization and using the railways as security for foreign loans, evoked violent opposition from Szechwan and other concerned provinces, including Hunan. T'ung-meng-hui leaders in Japan seized upon the revolutionary opportunity thus offered and sent agents to the central Yangtze provinces to exploit the situation. About this time, T'an returned to Hunan from Peking, apparently to assume additional responsibilities as director of the provincial law codification bureau. He called upon Yu Ch'eng-ko, the provincial governor, who confronted him with a list of suspected revolutionaries. T'an, who had no connection with the T'ung-meng-hui, dismissed charges against those listed, saying they were not worthy of concern. He thus played an unconscious role in easing the way for the republican revolution. The Hunanese revolutionary Chiao Ta-feng by this time had established contact with Chü Cheng (q.v.) in Hupeh; and with the spreading of the railway riots, it had been agreed that Hupeh and Hunan should stage a coordinated uprising. After the Wuchang revolt broke out prematurely and imperial troops were moved from Hunan to the Wuchang area, Chiao and his associate Ch'en Tso-hsin seized Changsha and organized a military government, with Chiao Ta-feng as tutuh [military governor] and Ch'en Tso-hsin as his deputy. In an effort to quell continuing public anxiety and unrest, Chiao appointed T'an Yen-k'ai director of military affairs. A few days later, leaders of the Ch'ün-hsien-tang [constitutional monarchy party] took advantage of the dispatching of revolutionary forces to Wuchang and assassinated both Chiao Ta-feng and Ch'en Tso-hsin. The party leaders then nominated T'an Yenk'ai as Hunan tutuh, with members of their own party to occupy other important provincial posts. A delegation was sent to T'an's residence to inform him of his election. He refused three times to accept the post (as was the convention), whereupon he was forced into a sedan chair, escorted to his new office, and acclaimed tutuh. It was decided that the deaths of Chiao Tafeng and Ch'en Tso-hsin should be attributed to "unruly troops." T'an ordered a proper burial for the two revolutionaries and decreed that statues would be erected in their honor. When Yuan Shih-k'ai succeeded Sun Yat-sen as provisional president ofthe republican government, he confirmed T'an Yen-k'ai's appointment as Hunan tutuh and gave him the concurrent post of civil governor. At the time of the so-called second revolution (see Li Liehchun), however, T'an was among the governors who declared their independence of Yuan Shih-k'ai's rule. After suppressing the movement, Yuan replaced these governors. On 21 October 1913 T'an Yen-k'ai was succeeded by T'ang Hsiang-ming. T'an went to Peking, where he stayed for about three months. In March 1914 he moved his family to Tsingtao; in August, when the Japanese declared war on Germany and attacked Tsingtao, he moved to Shanghai.

Yuan Shih-k'ai died in June 1916, and on 3 August T'an Yen-k'ai was returned to power as Hunan tuchün [military governor] and civil governor. He also received the gratuitous support of a powerful figure in south China, Lu Jung-t'ing (q.v.) of Kwangtung. During a visit to Peking in March 1917 Lu made agreements which established Hunan as a buffer zone by stipulating that it would not be invaded by Liangkwang troops and that it would be governed by a Hunanese. Lu Jung-t'ing was appointed inspector general of Liangkwang before his departure from Peking.

At the time of the so-called constitution protection movement in 1917 and the formation of a military government at Canton {see Sun Yat-sen), Tuan Ch'i-jui (q.v.) replaced T'an Yen-k'ai with one of his Peiyang subordinates, Fu Liang-tso, and sent military units into Hunan as part of his plan to unify China by force. Tuan resigned from office in November under pressure from supporters of Feng Kuochang (q.v.), and T'an Yen-k'ai was reappointed governor of Hunan on 7 December. T'an, who had left the province, did not accept the appointment. In the spring of 1918, however, he returned to Hunan by way of Canton at the behest of Sun Yat-sen. By the time T'an arrived in Hunan, however, Tuan Ch'i-jui had been restored to power in Peking as premier; Chang Ching-yao had been appointed military governor of Hunan; and Wu P'ei-fu (q.v.) had occupied Changsha. T'an and a small force were driven into the mountains of southwestern Hunan. In March 1920 Wu P'ei-fu began to evacuate his troops from Hunan, as did Feng Yuhsiang (q.v.). T'an Yen-k'ai's force marched at the heel of Wu P'ei-fu's retreating army and took Changsha and Yochow in turn by defeating Chang Ching-yao. T'an became governor again in June, and he spearheaded the federalist (lien-sheng tzu-chih) movement in China by declaring Hunan autonomous on 22 July. Four months later, after a power struggle, he announced the separation of military and civil authority. Chao Heng-t'i (q.v.) succeeded him as commander in chief of the Hunan forces and acting military governor. The provincial assembly elected Lin Chih-yu civil governor. T'an Yen-k'ai left Changsha and went to Shanghai, where he remained until February 1923.

When Sun Yat-sen organized a new military government at Canton in February 1923, T'an Yen-k'ai became minister of the interior. On 7 May, T'an was transferred to the post of minister of reconstruction. He relinquished that post in the summer of 1923 to lead an expedition against Chao Heng-t'i. T'an achieved some success, taking Changsha and other cities, but Wu P'ei-fu came to Chao's aid that autumn and drove T'an's forces back to the Hunan- Kwangtung border. T'an reached the Canton area just in time to help beat back an attack by Ch'en Chiung-ming (q.v.).

With the reorganization of the Kuomintang and the holding of the party's First National Congress in January 1924, T'an Yen-k'ai became a member of the Central Executive Committee and the Central Political Council. In July, he was appointed to the nine-man Military Affairs Commission. He accompanied Sun Yat-sen to Shaokuan in September for Sun's proposed northern expedition, and he was appointed to command the National Construction Army on 6 October. This campaign was abandoned after Feng Yuhsiang staged his coup at Peking, and Sun Yatsen accepted an invitation to go to Peking for discussions with Chang Tso-lin (q.v.) and Tuan Ch'i-jui. After Sun's death at Peking in March 1925, T'an joined with Chiang Kai-shek and Hsu Ch'ung-chih (q.v.) in suppressing the threat of open revolt by the Yunnan and Kwangsi mercenary armies of Yang Hsi-min and Liu Chen-huan.

When the Kuomintang-controlled National Government was established at Canton on 1 July 1925, T'an Yen-k'ai became a member of the Government Council and of the council's five-man standing committee, which also included Hsu Ch'ung-chih, Hu Han-min, Liao Chung-k'ai, and Wang Ching-wei. He also became chairman of the Central Political Council and a member of the new Military Council. With the establishment of the National Revolutionary Army in August, his Hunanese forces were reorganized as the Second Army. T'an was reelected to the Central Executive Committee at the Second National Congress of the Kuomintang in January 1926, and he was elected to that body's standing committee. His importance was such that when the Northern Expedition was launched in July 1926, he and Chang Jen-chieh remained in Canton to direct government and party affairs, respectively. After the Kuomintang split into factions, he served the National Government at Wuhan and chaired the controversial third plenary session of the Kuomintang's Central Executive Committee, held at Wuhan in March, which acted to diminish Chiang Kai-shek's authority. After Wang Ching-wei returned to China and took control of the Wuhan regime and Chiang Kai-shek established an opposition government at Nanking, T'an accompanied Wang to Chengchow in June for negotiations with Feng Yü-hsiang, who then held the balance of power in China. The Wuhan negotiators lost to Chiang Kai-shek in the competitive bargaining with Feng, and they then followed Chiang's lead in taking strong action against Communists in areas under their control. In August, Chiang Kai-shek, pressed by the Kwangsi generals and the need for party unity, announced his retirement. T'an Yen-k'ai was a member of the Wuhan group, headed by Wang Ching-wei, that went to Kiukiang on 20 August to meet with Li Tsung-jen (q.v.) and other Nanking leaders to discuss reconciliation. It was agreed that the fourth plenary session of the Kuomintang Central Executive Committee should be held at Nanking and that T'an Yen-k'ai and Sun Fo (q.v.) should go to Nanking before returning to Wuhan. Upon arrival at Nanking, the Wuhan delegates wired Wang Ching-wei recommending the immediate removal of the Central Executive Committee to Nanking. When Wang and other committee members reached Nanking on 5 September, they discovered that T'an and Sun had gone to Shanghai to negotiate with Hsu Ch'ung-chih and other members of the conservative Western Hills faction. T'an and Sun explained upon their return to Nanking that they had undertaken the mission on behalf of Li Tsung-jen and Pai Ch'ung-hsi, and they convinced Wang Chingwei that he should go to Shanghai for an exchange of views. The delegation that went to Shanghai on 9 September included Li Tsung-jen, Li Lieh-chun (q.v.), Wang Ching-wei, Sun Fo, and T'an Yen-k'ai. At a meeting in Shanghai on 12 September, Sun Fo presented a draft proposal calling for the formation of a committee composed of members of all three Kuomintang factions which would function as an interim government. Although most of the delegates supported this plan, Wang Ching-wei was angered by it, for he believed that his own lieutenants had undermined his hopes for power. He left the conference and Shanghai to return to Kiukiang. On 15 September at Nanking T'an Yen-k'ai chaired the meeting at which the Central Special Committee was established. Chiang Kai-shek returned to power at Nanking in 1928, and T'an Yen-k'ai became Chairman of the National Government and acting chairman of the Central Political Council. With the victorious end of the Northern Expedition and the establishment of the new National Government at Nanking on 10 October 1928, Chiang Kai-shek assumed the government chairmanship. T'an Yen-k'ai then became the president of the newly created Executive Yuan, a position equivalent to that of premier. At the Third National Congress of the Kuomintang, T'an was reelected to the Central Executive Committee and its standing committee. While attending a military review at Nanking on 21 September 1930 he suffered a stroke, and he died the following day. The National Government proclaimed national mourning for the departed revolutionary veteran. After an elaborate state funeral, as befitted a deceased chief of state, T'an Yen-k'ai was buried at Lingkussu, near the mausoleum of Sun Yatsen. T'an Yen-k'ai was survived by two sons and two daughters. Their mother, ne'e Fang, had died on 24 June 1918. The elder son, T'an Pei-yu (1900-), known as Beue Tann, became executive director of the International Monetary Fund. A daughter, T'an Hsiang, married Ch'en Ch'eng (q.v.) on 1 January 1932.

Biography in Chinese

谭延闿
字:组庵 号:无畏
谭廷闿(1879—1830.9.22),清朝翰林,湖南省咨议局议长,1912—20年间多次任湖南省长。1924年后,在广州担任国民党党政要职,北伐战争第一阶段,主持国民政府事务,1928年10月起至去世时,在南京任行政院长。
谭延闿祖籍湖南茶陵,他本人生在杭州。出生时,他父亲谭锺麟在浙江做官,母亲是谭锺麟的一个妾,谭延闿在子女中排行第三。他弟弟谭泽闿擅长书法,境况合宜的话,可能博得书法家的名声。谭锺麟后来任湖广总督,他身为高官,因此其子女都按书香门弟的要求熟读中国古书。谭延闿于902年中举人,1904年成为进士,授翰林院编修,他是得到这个令人羡慕的职务的最后一批中国人之一。1904—1910年间历任学监、湖南中路学堂监督、明德学堂总办。明德学堂是当时反满活动的一个中心。
清廷被迫缓慢地实行宪政,1909年10月设立省咨议局时,谭延闿出任湖南咨议局议长。第二年他作为湖南代表去北京参加新成立的资政院会议。10月开会时,他和汤化龙等人呈文清廷请求召开国会成立责任内阁。1910年11月,清廷下诏准予提前实行君主立宪,并定于1913年召开国会,这使谭、汤等人感到失望,他们遂与别省的咨议局领导人共同成立宪友会。
清政府实行的铁路国有化并以铁路作抵押向外国借款的政策,引起四川及有关各省其中包括湖南的强烈反对。同盟会在日本的领导人抓住这个革命机会,派代表到长江中游各省进行活动。当时,谭延闿为了负有省法制局长的额外职责,从北京回到湖南。他拜访湖南巡抚余诚格时,余交给他一份革命党嫌疑分子名单。谭延闿与同盟会并无联系,不认为这些人有什么问題,声称对他们不用担心。这样,他在无意中为民国革命的顺利发展起了作用。湖南革命党人焦达峰此时和湖北的居正已有联系,铁路风潮兴起后,双方约定两湖共同起义。武昌起义提前发生后,清军从湖南调到武昌,焦达峰和他的同党陈作新攻克长沙,组织了军政府,以焦达峰为都督、陈为副都督。为了平息公众的不安,任命谭延闿为法制院长。几天后,君宪党首领趁革命军调往武昌之际,暗杀了焦、陈,提名谭为都督,君宪党成员占据了省内其他重要职位。他们派出代表团去谭宅请其就任,谭三次表示拒绝(这是惯例),于是被人逼着上轿到了他的新衙门宣布就任。当时决定宣布焦、陈之死系“乱军”所为。谭下令厚葬这两位革命党人并立像以资纪念。
袁世凯继孙逸仙为民国政府临时大总统后,确认了以谭延闿为湖南都督的任命并委他兼任省长。二次革命时,谭延闿是宣布独立的省长之一。二次革命失败后,袁世凯撤除了这些省长,1913年10月21日,汤芗铭继任湖南都督兼省长。谭去北京,居住了大约三个月,1914年3月他全家迁往青岛,8月,日本对德宣战,进攻青岛,谭迁往上海。
1916年6月,袁世凯死去。8月3日,谭延闿回任湖南督军兼省长。他还得到南方实力人物广东陆荣廷的慷慨支持。1917年3月,陆荣廷去北京,同意湖南为缓冲地带,两广军队不再进入,但必须由湖南人当政。陆荣廷被任为两广巡阅使后离开北京。
1917年护法运动,广州成立军政府时,段祺瑞撤换谭廷闿并派其北洋旧部傅良佐率军去湖南,以实现其武力统一中国的计划,11月,段祺瑞因冯国璋部下之逼辞职,谭延闿于12月7日又被委任为湖南省长,谭当时已离开湖南,未接受这个任命。1918年春,他奉孙逸仙之命由广州回湖南。当谭到湖南时,段祺瑞再次执政当了内阁总理,任张敬尧为湖南都督,吴佩孚的部队占领了长沙。谭延闿和一支小部队被赶往湖南西南部山区。
1920年3月,吴佩孚、冯玉祥从湖南撤军,谭延闿所部紧随其后打败张敬尧,收复长沙、岳州。6月,谭再任省长,于7月22日宣布“湖南自治”,首创联省自治运动。四个月后,经过一番权力之争,谭廷闿宣布军、政分治,他的湘军总司令兼湖南代督军之职由赵恒惕继任,省参议会选举林支宇为省长。谭延闿离长沙去上海直至1923年2月。
1923年2月,孙逸仙在广州成立新的军政府,以谭延闿为内政部长。5月7日,调任建设部长。1923年夏离职率部征讨赵恒惕稍有成就,攻占了长沙等地。但到秋季,吴佩孚前来支援赵恒惕,把谭延闿所部赶到湘粵边境。谭到广州时,刚好赶上参加驱逐陈炯明的战斗。
随着国民党的改组以及1924年1月第一次全国代表大会的召开,谭延闿成为中央执行委员和中央政治会议成员。7月,任军事委员会九人委员之一。9月,随孙逸仙去韶关准备北伐,10月6日任建国军司令。这次北伐之役因发生冯玉祥北京兵变而放弃,孙逸仙也应邀去北京和张作霖、段祺瑞谈判。1925年3月孙逸仙逝世后,谭随同蒋介石、许崇智征讨杨希闵、刘震寰的滇桂军的叛乱。
1925年7月1日国民党控制的国民政府在广州成立,谭延闿任国府委员和五人常务委员之一,其他四人是许崇智、胡汉民、廖仲恺、汪精卫。他还是中央政治会议主席和新的军事委员会委员。8月,成立国民革命军时,他所辖的湘军改编为第二军。1926年1月,国民党第二次全国代表大会上,谭再次当选为中央执行委员,兼常务委员。1926年7月北伐誓师后,他和张人杰留在广州,分别负责政、党事务,由此可见其地位之重要。国民党内部分裂后,他在武汉国民政府任职,3月在武汉主持了颇有争议的国民党二届三中全会,这次会议的目的是要削弱蒋介石的权势。汪精卫回国控制武汉政府,蒋介石在南京成立对立政府,谭延闿随汪精卫于6月间去郑州与冯玉祥谈判,冯当时处于举足轻重的地位。武汉的谈判代表在争夺冯玉祥的交易中输给了蒋介石,他们就追随蒋介石在自己所辖地区坚决反共。8月,蒋介石被桂系军阀所迫以及出于维持国民党统一的需要,宣布退职。谭延闿是以汪精卫为首的武汉集团的成员,8月20日他们去九江和李宗仁及南京方面其他首领商谈党内的和解问题。双方同意在南京召开四中全会,谭延闿、孙科在回武汉前需先行去南京。他们到南京后,武汉代表致电汪精卫,提出将中央执行委员会立即迁往南京。9月5日,汪精卫和其他委员到达南京时,发现谭延闿、孙科已去上海和许崇智及保守的西山会议派其他成员进行谈判。他们回南京后说明此行系李宗仁、白崇禧之请,并且说服汪精卫去上海交换意见。9月9日去上海的代表团包括李宗仁、李烈钧、汪精卫、孙科、谭延闿。9月12日举行的会议上,孙科提议成立有国民党三派代表组成的委员会,代行政府职权,大多数代表同意这一提议,汪精卫却对之感到愤怒,认为他的老部下破坏了他掌权的希望。他中途退会,离开上海去九江。9月15日,谭延闿在南京主持开会,在这个会上成立了中央特别委员会。
1928年蒋介石在南京重新上台,谭延闿成了国民政府主席、中央政治会议代主席。北伐胜利结束,1928年10月10日新的国民政府在南京成立时,蒋介石出任政府主席,谭延闿任新成立的行政院院长,这是相当于总理的职务。在国民党第三次全国代表大会上,谭再次当选为中央执行委员兼常务委员。1930年9月21日,他在南京参加军事检阅时,忽得中风,第二天死去。国民政府宣告为这个革命元老举行国葬,谭延闿的遗体葬在中山陵附近的灵谷寺。
谭延闿之妻方氏死于1918年6月24日,遗有子女各二人,长子谭伯羽以后成为国际贷款货币基金组织的执行主任,女谭祥,1932年1月1日嫁给陈诚。

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