Tsiang Tingfu

Tsiang Tingfu (; 17 February 1895 – 9 October 1965), was a historian and diplomat of the Republic of China who published in English under the name T.F. Tsiang.

Early life and education Tsiang was born in Shaoyang, Hunan. Tsiang's education from his teenage years had been Western and largely Christian, and he converted to Christianity at 11. Having been urged to study in the US by his teacher from a missionary school, he was sent in 1911 to study in the United States, where he attended the Park Academy, Oberlin College and Columbia University. His dissertation, "Labor and Empire: A Study of the Reaction of British Labor, Mainly as Represented in Parliament, to British Imperialism Since 1880," led him into issues in the relation of foreign relations and domestic politics, which would structure his scholarship after he returned to China. After obtaining a Ph.D., he returned to China in 1923, where he took up a position at Nankai University and then at Tsinghua University.

Academic career

At Tsinghua, Tsiang became the head of the History Department, where he edited and published a number of works on Chinese history and edited the English-language journal Chinese Social and Political Science Review. Using newly opened Qing dynasty archives and diplomatic publications, Tsiang argued that China should adopt Western approaches if it wanted to score diplomatic victories. Tsiang blamed China's unequal treatment by Western powers after the First Opium War (1839–42) on Chinese unequal treatment of Western powers before the war. During his tenure at Tsinghua, he mentored a number of historians in the study of Qing history, including John K. Fairbank.

Diplomatic career Following mounting tensions in China's relations with imperial Japan, Tsiang left academia in 1935 and joined the Chinese Nationalist government, which he served in many different capacities throughout the Sino-Japanese War. Between 1947 and 1962, Tsiang served as the Permanent Representative of China to the United Nations. Following the establishment of the People's Republic of China on the Chinese mainland, Tsiang defended the exclusive right of the Taipei-based Republic of China to represent China in the United Nations and in the UN Security Council. In 1955 Tsingfu made use of China's veto power in the security council and placed the sole vote against the People's Republic of Mongolia joining the UN, following which Mongolia did not become a member of the UN.

Political theories

In 1938, Tsiang advocated for centralized authority which should override popular will when necessary. He argued that China had to modernize quickly given the multiple threats it faced. Tsiang viewed such a commitment as a necessity of the historical era, not solely one required by the current war.

After spending time in the United States under President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's New Deal, Tingfu's views on political freedom and modernization changed.

Selected writings Tingfu F. Tsiang, "Labor and Empire; a Study of the Reaction of British Labor, Mainly as Represented in Parliament to British Imperialism since 1880," Issued also as thesis (PH D) Columbia university Columbia university, 1923). "New Light on Chinese Diplomacy, 1836-49," The Journal of Modern History 3.4 (1931): 578–591. "The Extension of Equal Commercial Privileges to Other Nations Than the British after the Treaty of Nanking," The Chinese Social and Political Science Review 15.3 (1931): 422–44. "The Present Situation in China: A Critical Analysis," International Affairs (Royal Institute of International Affairs 1931–1939) 14.4 (1935): 496–513. "Chinese and European Expansion," Politica 2.5 (March 1936): 1–18. Zhongguo jindaishi dagang (Outline of Modern Chinese History) (Chongqing: Qingnian shudian, 1939; rpr. Beijing: Dongfang chubanshe, 1996). Jiang Tingfu Xuanji 蔣廷黻選集 (Selected works of Jiang Tingfu) (Taipei: Wenxing, 1965 4 vols. Reprinted)