Ministers › Diplomat / Envoy
Tang Shaoyi
Former student in America who negotiated the Tibet treaty with Britain, led the northern side in the 1911 peace talks and was the Republic's first premier
On a road beside a desert gateway, a camel train carries a lidded chest and rolled bundles while travellers walk along the path; a large sailing ship lies in the harbour at the right, a stone waymark stands by the road, and dunes and mountains fill the distance.
Also known as Zi Shaochuan
Tang Shaoyi, courtesy name Shaochuan, came from Xiangshan in Guangdong and went to the United States in 1874 with the third group of the Chinese Educational Mission, entering Columbia University before the students were recalled in 1881. He then served in Korea for more than a decade, and during the Gapsin coup of 1884 he stood by Yuan Shikai, beginning a long association. In 1904 he went to India as plenipotentiary to negotiate with Britain over Tibet, and in 1906 he signed the resulting Anglo-Chinese convention in Beijing; in 1907 he became the first governor of Fengtian. At the end of 1911 he led the northern delegation in peace talks with the revolutionaries, and in March 1912 he became the Republic's first premier, resigning that June. In September 1938 he was assassinated at his home in the French Concession of Shanghai.
Life and times
Dates 1862 CE–1938 CE