Chinese Politician, Prime Minister of Japanese Puppet State Manchukuo from 1932 to 1935
Zheng Xiaoxu
(
Cheng Hsiao-hsu
;
simplified Chinese
:
?孝胥
;
traditional Chinese
:
鄭孝胥
;
pinyin
:
Zheng Xiaox?
;
Wade?Giles
:
Cheng
4
Hsiao
4
-hsu
1
;
Hepburn
:
Tei K?sho
) (2 April 1860 – 28 March 1938) was a Chinese statesman,
diplomat
and
calligrapher
. He served as the first
Prime Minister of Manchukuo
.
Early life and diplomatic career
[
edit
]
Although Zheng traced his ancestral roots to
Minhou
, a small town near
Fuzhou
, Fujian, he was born in
Suzhou
,
Jiangsu
. In 1882, he obtained the intermediate degree in the
imperial examinations
, and three years later he joined the secretariat of the prominent statesman
Li Hongzhang
. In 1891, he was appointed secretary to the Chinese
legation
in
Tokyo
, and in the following years he performed
consular duties
at the Chinese consulates in
Tsukiji
,
Osaka
and
Kobe
respectively. During his tenure in Kobe, he worked closely with the Chinese community and played an instrumental part in establishing the
Chinese guild
(
Zh?nghua huigu?n
中華會館) there. In Japan, Zheng also interacted with a number of influential politicians and scholars, such as
It? Hirobumi
,
Mutsu Munemitsu
and
Nait? Torajir?
.
Government service
[
edit
]
Following the outbreak of the
First Sino-Japanese war
in 1894, Zheng was forced to leave Japan. Having returned to China, Zheng joined the secretariat of the reformist statesman
Zhang Zhidong
in
Nanjing
and followed him to
Beijing
, where Zheng obtained a position in the Qing foreign office, the
Zongli Yamen
. Following the abortive
Hundred Days' Reform
in 1898, Zheng left his post in Beijing and took up a number of important government positions in central and southern China. After the
collapse of the imperial system
in 1911, Zheng remained loyal to the
Qing dynasty
and refused to serve under China's
Republican government
. Instead, he withdrew from public life entirely and retired comfortably in
Shanghai
, where he devoted his time to calligraphy,
poetry
and art, while also writing extensive articles critical of the
Kuomintang
leadership, whom he characterized as “thieves”.
[
citation needed
]
Qing loyalist and collaboration with the Japanese
[
edit
]
In 1923, the former Qing emperor
Puyi
summoned Zheng to Beijing in order to reorganize the imperial household.
[
citation needed
]
Zheng became a close adviser of Puyi and helped arrange for his flight to the
foreign concession at Tianjin
after his expulsion from the
Forbidden City
by general
Feng Yuxiang
. Zheng remained loyal to the throne and secretly met with Japanese officials and groups such as the
Black Dragon Society
to discuss a restoration of the Qing dynasty in
Manchuria
. Following the
Mukden Incident
and the
invasion of Manchuria
by the
Imperial Japanese Army
in 1931, Zheng played an important role in the establishment of
Manchukuo
, becoming its first
prime minister
the following year. Zheng also composed the lyrics of the
National Anthem of Manchukuo
. Zheng had hoped that Manchukuo would become a springboard for the restoration of Qing rule in the whole of China, but he soon found out that the real rulers of Manchukuo, the Japanese
Kwantung Army
, did not share his ambitions.
As Prime Minister of Manchukuo, Zheng frequently disagreed with the Japanese Army leadership. In May 1935, he was pressured to resign from his office. Three years later, he died suddenly under unclear circumstances, which led to speculation that he may have been poisoned by the Japanese. He was accorded a
state funeral
in April 1938.
Legacy
[
edit
]
Although Zheng Xiaoxu is mostly remembered today for his collaboration with the Japanese, he is still recognized as an accomplished poet and
calligrapher
. Zheng was one of the most respected and influential calligraphers of the 20th century. His calligraphy brought high prices during his lifetime and he supported himself in later life with the proceeds from its sale. His calligraphy continues to be influential in China and his style has been incorporated into the logos of current Chinese corporations.
Zheng kept an extensive diary, which is still valued by historians as important source material.
Further reading
[
edit
]
- Aisin-Gioro Puyi (with assistance from
Lao She
).
From Emperor to Citizen: The Autobiography of Aisin-Gioro Pu Yi.
Translated by
W.J.F. Jenner
. Peking: Foreign Languages Press, 2002.
ISBN
7-119-00772-6
.
- Boorman, Howard L., Richard C. Howard, and Joseph K. H. Cheng, eds.
Biographical Dictionary of Republican China.
New York: Columbia University Press, 1967.
- Kowallis, Jon Eugene von.
The Subtle Revolution: Poets of the 'Old Schools' during late Qing and early Republican China.
Berkeley: University of California, Institute of East Asian Studies, China Research Monographs #60, 2006.
ISBN
1-55729-083-0
.
- Mitter, Rana (2000).
The Manchurian Myth: Nationalism, Resistance, and Collaboration in Modern China
. University of California Press.
ISBN
0-520-22111-7
.
- Yamamuro, Shinichi (2005).
Manchuria Under Japanese Dominion
. University of Pennsylvania Press.
ISBN
0-8122-3912-1
.
External links
[
edit
]
Chinese
Wikisource
has original text related to this article:
Government offices
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Prime Minister of
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1932-1935
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