Yuan Shikai’s oldest friend, who rose from Secretary of State to become the Beiyang government’s only civilian president
Born in Weihui, Henan, he was Yuan Shikai’s closest friend. Under the Qing he was viceroy of the Three Northeastern Provinces and associate grand minister in Prince Qing’s cabinet, and at the end of the dynasty he headed the General Staff despite being a civilian. He became Secretary of State in May 1914 when Yuan switched to a presidential system, resigned in protest at Yuan’s monarchy in 1915, and briefly returned after Yuan abandoned it in March 1916. Elected president in 1918 by Duan Qirui’s Anfu parliament, he had no army of his own and survived by playing Duan, Cao Kun and Zhang Zuolin against one another. In 1919 he met the May Fourth student protests with mass arrests. Forced out by the Zhili clique in 1922, he retired to the British concession in Tianjin, where he died in 1939.
Also known as: Hsü Shih-ch'ang · Hsu Shih-chang
Activities and affiliations
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1907–1909
Qing dynasty state institutionsViceroy of the Three Northeastern Provinces
Government and administration -
1914–1916
Beiyang government and warlordsSecretary of StateHeads of state, government and party of China
Political and party leadership -
1918–1922
Beiyang government and warlordsPresidentHeads of state, government and party of ChinaMain
Political and party leadership
Career Timeline
- 1907Viceroy of the Three Northeastern Provinces
- 1911Associate Grand Minister in Prince Qing’s cabinet
- 1914.05.01–1915.12.21Secretary of State
- 1916.03.22–04.22Secretary of State
- 1918.10.10–1922.06.02President