Admiral who joined the revolution in 1911, acting premier of the 1926 regency cabinet
Born to a poor family in Fuzhou in 1874, he graduated from the Jiangnan Naval Academy in 1902. In 1911 he captained a warship sent against the Wuchang Uprising, but, appalled by the Qing troops, he and his colleagues went over to the revolution and helped push the naval commander Sa Zhenbing to step down. For cutting the Fengtian clique's supply lines in the First Zhili–Fengtian War of 1922 he was made commander-in-chief of the navy, and he became navy minister in 1925. When Yan Huiqing's cabinet fell in June 1926 he became acting premier and led a regency cabinet exercising the presidency until he resigned under Fengtian pressure in October. He opened the way for the navy to join the Nationalists in the Northern Expedition but lacked Chiang Kai-shek's trust; in 1933 he refused to back the Fujian Rebellion, moved to Shanghai and died there that year.
Also known as: Tu Hsi-kuei
Activities and affiliations
-
1911
Qing dynasty state institutionsCaptain of the warship Jiangzhen
Military command -
1922–1927
Beiyang government and warlordsCommander-in-chief of the navy; Minister of the NavyMain
Military command -
1926
Beiyang government and warlordsActing PremierHeads of state, government and party of China
Political and party leadership
Career Timeline
- 1902Graduated from the Jiangnan Naval Academy
- 1911.07Captain of the Jiangzhen
- 1911.11Joined the revolution; captain of the cruiser Hairong
- 1917.07Commander of the Second Fleet
- 1922.06–1924.09Commander-in-chief of the navy
- 1925.12–1927.06Minister of the Navy
- 1926.06.22–10.01Acting Premier; exercised the presidency as head of the regency cabinet
- 1929.11Inspected Western and Japanese navies for the Nationalist government