Communications Clique official who founded Tsinghua and backed Yuan Shikai's monarchy, acting premier in 1922
Born in Guangdong in 1869 to a family from Shandong, he studied at the Tongwen colleges, served at the legation in Washington and studied in the United States. Back in China he ran the programme sending students to America, founded Tsinghua and was its president in 1911–1912. Under the Republic he was military governor of Shandong and minister of communications, war, finance and agriculture and commerce; backing Yuan Shikai's monarchy, he went to Japan as special envoy in 1915. Wanted afterwards as one of the eight leading monarchists, he took refuge in Japan until pardoned in 1918. He was finance minister from 1920, and in 1922, as acting premier, led the cabinet when it briefly exercised the presidency after Xu Shichang resigned. He then studied film-making in America, founded a film studio and died in Beijing in 1923.
Also known as: Chow Tzu-ch'i
Activities and affiliations
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1911–1912
Qing dynasty state institutionsPresident of Tsinghua College
Education -
1912–1913
Beiyang government and warlordsMilitary governor of Shandong
Government and administration -
1913–1916
Beiyang government and warlordsMinister of Communications, Finance, and Agriculture and Commerce
Government and administration -
1920–1921
Beiyang government and warlordsMinister of Finance
Government and administration -
1922
Beiyang government and warlordsActing PremierHeads of state, government and party of ChinaMain
Political and party leadership
Career Timeline
- 1897.04Attaché at the legation in the United States
- 1909–1912.04Head of the Office for Study in America; founded Tsinghua College
- 1911.04–1912.04President of Tsinghua College
- 1912.03–1913.08Military governor of Shandong
- 1913.09–1914.05Minister of Communications, concurrently Minister of War
- 1914.05–1915.04Minister of Finance
- 1915.04–1916Minister of Agriculture and Commerce
- 1915Special envoy to Japan for the monarchy
- 1916.07–1918.02Wanted as a monarchist; in exile in Japan
- 1920.08–1921Minister of Finance
- 1922.04.08–06.11Acting Premier
- 1922.06.02–11Exercised the presidency as head of the regency cabinet