Who's Who in China (3rd edition)/Wang Cheng-t'ing

Dr. C. T. Wang

王正廷学儒堂

(Wang Cheng-t'ing)

Dr. C. T. Wang was born at Ningpo, Chekiang province, in 1882. After having acquired the rudiments of education in his native province, he went to North China. He studied in the Pei-yang University, Tientsin, from 1895 to 1900. He taught at the Tientsin Anglo-Chinese College, Tientsin, and the Hunan Provincial High School, Changsha, during 1900-1903. Then he went to Japan to study. During his four years stay in that country he was also Secretary of the Y. M. C. A. in Tokyo. In July 1907 he went to America with private support. He studied Liberal Arts at the University of Michigan, 1907-8, at Yale University, 1908-11. He obtained the degree of B. A. in 1911; elected to Phi Beta Kappa, June 1910. Dr. Wang returned to China in June 1911 and was at once appointed Secretary of the Chinese Y. M. C. A. at Shanghai. Upon the outbreak of the First Revolution in October 1911, he actively identified himself with the revolutionary leaders. He worked for a time under General Li Yuan-hang, who was then the revolutionary commander. Dr. Wang attended, in the capacity of representing Hupei Province, the Conference of Representatives of Provincial Military governments which adopted the Provisional Government Organization Law at Hankow on December 3, 1911. He was one of the signatories of that paper. In the beginning of 1912, Dr. Wang assisted in the organization of the Provisional government. In February 1913, Yuan Shih-kai succeeded Dr. Sun Yat-sen as the Provisional President and assumed the presidency at Peking. The first Republican Cabinet was then formed with Tang Shao-i as Prime Minister. In April Dr. Wang was appointed Vice-Minister of Industry and Commerce. In May he was ordered to act as Minister of Industry and Commerce. In July he resigned from the Ministry. Dr. Wang was a member of the First Parliament which was convoked at Peking on April 8, 1912. He was elected vice-president of the Senate on. April 26. The Parliament was then practically in the control of the Kuomingtang of which Dr. Wang was a prominent member. In November 1913 Yuan Shih-kai proscribed the Kuomingtang to be a seditious organization, dissolved it and unseated all the members of the Parliament belonging to that party. In January 1914 the Parliament was dissolved. Dr. Wang then retired into private life and was afterwards invited by the Shanghai Y. M. C. A. to rejoin its service. He was appointed Secretary of the National Committee of the Y. M. C. A. After the death of Yuan Shih-kai in June 1916, the First Parliament was reconvoked and Dr. Wang resumed his office as Vice-President of the Senate. He remained in this position until the Parliament was again dissolved in June 1917. Dr. Wang, then went to Canton with other parliamentarians. In August 1917 the Extraordinary Parliament was inaugurated at Canton supporting the Opposition government. Dr. Wang was also connected with this movement. In the autumn of 1918 the Southern government despatched him to Washington to represent its case before President Wilson and secure American recognition of its belligerency. During his mission, he was appointed by the Peking government in January 1919 as one of China's Chief Delegates to the Paris Conference. The appointment was made with the object of presenting. China as a united country before the World and accepted for national interest. In February 1920 Dr. Wang returned to China. Then he took an interest in busine He organized an import and export company at Shanghai with himself as Vice-President. He also founded the Hua Feng Cotton Mill Company at Woosung, of which he was managing director. In September 1920 the 'Peking government appointed him President of the Commission for the Study of Peace Treaties. In March 1922 he became Director General of the Rehabilitation of Shantung interests. In April 1922 he was awarded the First Class Tashou Chiaho. In June 1922 he was appointed China's Chief Commissioner to the Sino-Japanese joint Commission to settle the Shantung Question. In July 1922 he was awarded the First Class Taskou Paokuang Chiaho. In October 1922 Dr. Wang was appointed Acting Minister for Foreign Affairs and in December he was ordered to hold concurrently the post of Chief of the Bureau for the preparation of the Special Tariff Revision Commission. On December 11, he was appointed to act as Prime Minister. In January 1923, when the Cabinet underwent a change, he was appointed Acting Minister of Justice. But this post he held only for a week. In the same month he was appointed a member of the Educational Sinking Funds Commission. In February 1923 he was awarded the First Class Wenfu. In March 1923 he was ordered to make preparation for the Sino-Russian Negotiation. In November 1923 Dr. Wang was commissioned to visit Japan making investigations of the conditions of Chinese students and merchants after the earthquake. After his return from Japan, he commenced the Sino-Russian Negotiation with Mr. Kharahan, the Soviet Envoy at Peking. In March 1924 Dr. Wang signed with Mr. Karahan, the preliminary of the Sino-Russian Treaty. But question was then raised as to his authority of signing the preliminary, agreement without referring to the Cabinet. He was attacked by his opponents as a result of which the Sino-Russian Negotiation was subsequently taken over by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Shortly after this, he accepted the post of managing director of the Liu Ho Kou Coal Mining Company. Following the defeat of the Chihli party by the Anfu-Fengtien combination caused by the coup d'etat by the Christian General Feng Yu-hsiang, Dr. C. T. Wang served for a time as acting Premier and Minister of Foreign Affairs in the temporary government established by General Feng, prior to the organization of the Provisional government headed by Marshal Tuan Chi-jui. In February 1925, Dr. Wang was again appointed by the Peking government to conduct the Sino-Russian negotiations.