Who's Who in China (3rd edition)/Yen Chih-i

Mr. Yen Chih-i

嚴智怡字慈約

Mr. Yen Chih-i was born at Tientsin, Chihii province, in 1882, in a noted family. His father, Yen Hsiu, was a Hanlin and Cabinet Minister under the Ching regime. He received his early education from Putung Middle School and the Nankai College. Then he went to Japan was graduated from the High Technical College, Tokyo. After the establishment of the republic, he was made a secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture and Industry, and was sent on several special Industrial Missions to the Yangtze and southern provinces; among other being special delegate for the Ministry to the Southern Exposition in Nanking—the first of its kind in China—which was inspired by Dr. Sun Yat-sen in 1912. Being convinced that products of the ancient Chinese civilization would make a most favorable impression at the Panama-Pacific Exposition in San Francisco in 1914-15, Mr. Yen was one of the chief instigators in inducing his government to participate in the great fair in a worthy manner. His Ministry recognized his efforts by placing him in charge of an Industrial Commission which visited the chief cities and industrial centers of America just previous to the Exposition, ending its itinerary at San Francisco in time for the grand opening of the fair. Attending the Exposition he was also in the capacity of Special Commissioner from Chihli, China. Mr. Yen came back from the exposition fired with the possibilities of public exhibits in promoting mutual understanding of men, markets and conditions and encouraging constructive rivalry and progress in the industrial world. He brought back with him an expert American soap-maker, organized the Tientsin Soap Factory of which he is the chief stock-holder and director on a modern basis, and made it one of the largest of representatives of this new manufacture in China. Other industries in which Mr. Yen is privately interested and which he has fostered include forestation, cotton-spinning mills, potteries, iron moulding and tanning factories. During 1915-17 Mr. Yen was a Departmental Chief in the Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce. In October 1917 he was appointed Industrial Commissioner of Chihli. In that ion he founded the Agriculture Experiment Station, the Agricultural School, the Industrial Experiment Station and the Industrial Exhibit Museum, all located in or about Tientsin. It was also under his direction that a Provincial Industrial Exposition was held at Tientsin during Oct-Nov. 1919 which was regarded by both Chinese and foreigners as an unqualified success. It was planned to make the exposition a yearly event. Mr. Yen stated the object of the exposition to be to advertise the manufactures, hand-industries and art work of every district, and create a competition in excellence of output and progressiveness of methods of manufacture. In December Mr. Yen was appointed to be concurrently associate director of the Grand Canal Improvement Board. In January 1919 he was awarded the Second Class Tashou Chiaho. In January 1920 he received two decorations: the Second Class Chiaho and the Second Class Paokuang Chiaho. In February 1921 he received the Second Class Tashou Paokuang Chiaho. In September 1922 he was relieved of the post of Industrial Comm ner Chihli Since that tim he has been devoting his time and energy to the fostering of private industrial enterprises in Chihli.