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 […]

Sun Ch'uan-fang (1884-13 November 1935), Peiyang warlord who won control of Kiangsu, Chekiang, Kiangsi, Anhwei, and Fukien in the mid-1920's. It was only with the collapse of his power in 1927 that the success of the Northern Expedition became a certainty. Sun was assassinated in 1935. A native of Linch'eng hsien, Shantung, Sun Ch'uan-fang grew […]

Sun Pao-ch'i (26 April 1867-3 February 1931), diplomat who represented the Ch'ing government in France and Germany and who served the Peking government as minister of foreign affairs and premier. The eldest son of Sun Yi-ching, an assistant imperial tutor, Sun Pao-ch'i was born in Hangchow. He received a traditional education in the Chinese classics. […]

Sung Che-yuan T. Ming-hsüan 5fc tf 7C Sung Che-yuan (30 October 1885-4 April 1940), subordinate of Feng Yü-hsiang. In 1930 he received command of the Twenty-ninth Army. As chairman of the Hopei-Chahar Political Council, he was deeply involved before 1937 in Sino-Japanese confrontations in north China. Loling, Shantung, was the birthplace of Sung Che-yuan. Although […]

Sheng Shih-ts'ai (1895-), military adventurer from Manchuria who seized power in Sinkiang in 1933 and ruled that province for nine years with Soviet aid. In 1943 he switched allegiance to the Chinese Nationalists, who, however, dislodged him from his seat of power in 1944. The Kaiyuan district of Liaoning in southern Manchuria was the birthplace […]

Shao P'iao-p'ing (1889-26 April 1926), journalist and editor of the Peking newspaper Ching Pao [Peking report]. He was executed for allegedly treasonous activities in 1926. The Chinhua district of Chekiang was the birthplace of Shao P'iao-p'ing. Little is known about his background or early years except that he entered the Chekiang Higher School at Hangchow […]

Ch'in Pang-hsien (1907-8 April 1946), one of the Russian-trained intellectuals known as the 28 Bolsheviks, was the general secretary of the Chinese Communist party (1932-34). From 1936 to 1946 he served as a liaison officer in negotiations with the National Government. He also headed the New China News Agency (1941-45) and edited the official Communist […]

Ch'i Hsieh-yuan (1897-1946) served under Li Ch'un (q.v.) and succeeded him as military governor of Kiangsu in 1922. A member of the Chihli faction, he was inspector general of Kiangsu, Anhwei, and Kiangsi (1922-24). In 1937 he became a prominent official in the Japanese-sponsored regime at Peiping. He was arrested in 1945 and was tried, […]

P'u-yi (1906-17 October 1967), the last Manchu emperor. Born in Peking, P'u-yi was the son of Tsaifeng, the second Prince Ch'un and the nephew of the Kuang-hsü emperor. As the emperor neared death in 1908, some members of the Manchu hierarchy pressed the claims of P'u-lun and P'u-wei, older great-grandsons of the Taokuang Emperor in […]

Mo Te-hui (1881-17 April 1968), Manchurian official who served as China's chief representative in the 1930-31 Sino-Soviet negotiations concerning the Chinese Eastern Railway. From 1954 to 1966 he served as president of the Examination Yuan in Taiwan. Born in Sinkiang, Mo Te-hui was the son of a general in the imperial forces who came from […]