T'an Chen (1885-18 April 1947), founding member of the conservative Western Hills faction of the Kuomintang. He served the National Government as vice president of the Judicial Yuan (1932-42) and as a member of the Government Council (1943-46). Born into a farming family in T'aoyuan, Hunan, T'an Chen showed such intellectual promise as a boy […]
T'ang Erh-ho (1871-8 November 1940), Japanese-trained physician and anti-Manchu revolutionary who founded and served as chancellor of Peking Medical College. In the 1920's he held cabinet posts in the Peking government. He became an official in the Japanese-sponsored government at Peiping in 1937. Born into a Muslim family in Hangchow, T'ang Erh-ho was the son […]
T'ang Shao-yi (1860-30 September 1938), long-time associate of Yuan Shih-k'ai who became the Chinese republic's first premier in 1912. He broke with Yuan in June 1912 and later allied himself with Sun Yat-sen. After Sun's death, T'ang lent support to various movements within the Kuomintang which opposed the growing authority of Chiang Kaishek. T'ang was […]
Wang Ch'ung-hui 王寵惠 T. Liang-ch'ou 亮疇 Wang Ch'ung-hui (1881-15 March 1958), foreign minister in the provisional republican government in 1912. He subsequently held various ministerial posts and served briefly as acting premier at Peking in 1922. He later was president of the Judicial Yuan (1928-30; 1948-57), foreign minister (1937-40), and secretary general of the Supreme […]
Sung Chiao-jen (5 April 1882-22 March 1913), founder of the Kuomintang. He was assassinated by supporters of Yuan Shih-k'ai. T'aoyuan, Hunan, was the birthplace of Sung Chiao-jen. Little is known about his family background or early education. Sung's father died when the boy was only 12 sui, and thereafter an elder brother supported the family. […]
Charles Jones Soong (1866-3 May 1918), American-trained missionary who became a successful businessman and industrialist in Shanghai as well as the patriarch of the influential Soong family. The Wench'ang district of the island of Hainan, off the coast of Kwangtung province, was the native place of Charles Jones Soong. He was the youngest of three […]
Soong Mei-ling (c. 1897-), was the wife of Chiang Kai-shek and a leader of Chinese women. A native of the Wench'ang district of Hainan Island, Kwangtung, Soong Mei-ling was born in Shanghai. She was the fourth of six children and the youngest of the girls in her family. Because her father, Charles Jones Soong (q.v.), […]
Soong Ch'ing-ling (1892-), was the wife of Sun Yat-sen. She was active in social welfare work, and after 1949 she held a variety of posts in the People's Republic of China. The second daughter of Charles Jones Soong (q.v.), Soong Ch'ing-ling was born in Shanghai. Like her elder sister, Soong Ai-ling, she received her early […]
Sung Hsi-lien (b. 1906), Whampoa-trained Nationalist general who commanded the Eleventh Group Army in the early 1940's. After serving as Sinkiang garrison commander in 1946-47, he was transferred to central China. He was captured by the Chinese Communists in 1949. A native of Hsianghsiang, Hunan, Sung Hsi-lien was born into a family known for its […]
Soong, T. V. Orig. Sung Tzu-wen 宋子文 T. V. Soong (4 December 1894-), Harvard-trained financier who was the prime mover in the establishment of a modern financial system in China. He served the National Government in such capacities as minister of finance, vice president and president of the Executive Yuan, governor of the Central Bank […]
