Who's Who in China (3rd edition)/Chiang Tseng-i

Mr. Tsiang Tseng-yi

蒋尊釋字信

(Chiang Tseng-i)

Mr. Tsiang Tseng-yi was born at Haining Hsien, Chekiang Province, in 1877. In his youth he acquired high education in Chinese and became a Hsiu-t'sai or Licentiate in his teers and obtained the literary degree of Chu-jen or Provincial Graduate when he was little over twenty. In 1904 he attended the Metropolitan Competitive Examination and obtained the degree of Chin Shih, Metropolitan graduate, which is equivalent Ph.D. Having become a Chin-shih, Mr. Tsiang was awarded the rank of secretary of the Grand Secretariat of State. In the following seven years before the establishment of the Republic, Mr. Tsiang was at different times junior secretary of the Board of the Interior, junior secretary of the Board of Finance, assistant senior secretary of the Board of Communications and finally director in charge of the Department of Telegraphs of the Board of Communications. By that time the telegraphy service was partly in the hands of a commercial company. Upon becoming a director of the Telegrraphs, Mr. Tsiang proposed the plan of nationalizing all the telegraph establishments. His proposal received the approval of the government and was carried out accordingly. He was also responsible for the establishment of two radio stations at Peking and Nanking respectively in 1911. Mr. Tsiang left the Board of Communications for sometime after the establishment of the Republic in 1912. However, he joined the Board (then changed into Ministry of Communications) in 1913. From that time until 1916 he was Chief of the Financial Bureau of the Department of Telegraphs, Posts and Navigation.

During 1917 and 1918 Mr. Tsiang was Councillor of the Ministry of Communications, first acting then substantiated. In January 1919 Mr. Tsiang was appointed acting director in charge of the Department of Telegraphs and concurrently director-general of the Government Telegraphs and Telephone establishments. In June he was substantiated to this acting post. In January 1920 Mr. Tsiang was awarded the Second Order of Wenfu. In September 1920 he was a member of the Famine Relief Committee of the Ministry. In December 1920 he was ordered to assist in the organization of the Communications University. In February 1921 Mr. Tsiang was conferred the Second Order of Chiaho. In March 1922 Mr. Tsiang received two concurrent posts, namely, executive member of the Commission in Communications Questions in connection with the Retrocession of Shantung and chairman of the Telegraphy Accounts Commission. In May 1922 Mr. Tsiang was removed from all his posts in the Ministry of Communications.