Jiang Hongjie (; Hepburn: ''Kō Kōketsu''; born 1876) was a politician, diplomat and industrialist in the late

Empire of China The earliest known written records of the history of China date from as early as 1250 BC, from the Shang dynasty (c. 1600–1046 BC), during the reign of king Wu Ding. Ancient historical texts such as the '' Book of Documents'' (early chapte ...

and early Republic of China. He was also an important politician in the

Reformed Government of the Republic of China The Reformed Government of the Republic of China was a Chinese puppet state created by Japan that existed from 1938 to 1940 during the Second Sino-Japanese War. The regime had little authority or popular support, nor did it receive international ...

. His

courtesy name A courtesy name (), also known as a style name, is a name bestowed upon one at adulthood in addition to one's given name. This practice is a tradition in the East Asian cultural sphere, including China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam.Ulrich Theob ...

was Ziyin ().

Biography

Jiang Hongjie was born in Jingde,

Anhui Anhui , (; formerly romanized as Anhwei) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the East China region. Its provincial capital and largest city is Hefei. The province is located across the basins of the Yangtze River ...

. He studied law at Meiji University in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

, Japan, from which he graduated with a Bachelor of Law degree. In 1897 he became the professor of Law in the Provincial College of Law in Shandong. In 1899 he was appointed as a district magistrate in the same province. In 1907 Jiang Hongjie entered the Chinese Imperial diplomatic service as Vice-Counsul at

Yokohama is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of T ...

. After the

Xinhai Revolution The 1911 Revolution, also known as the Xinhai Revolution or Hsinhai Revolution, ended China's last imperial dynasty, the Manchu-led Qing dynasty, and led to the establishment of the Republic of China. The revolution was the culmination of a ...

and the establishment of the Republic of China, in 1912 he was appointed private secretary to the Minister for Foreign Affairs. In 1915 he became First Secretary of the Chinese Legation in Tokyo. In 1921, 1922, 1925, 1930 and 1931 he served Charge d'Affairs. In 1931 he promoted be Councillor of the Legation to Japan. Later he promoted be Acting Ambassador to Japan. In March 1938

Liang Hongzhi Liang Hongzhi; (; Wade-Giles: ''Liang Hung-chih''; Hepburn: ''Ryō Koushi'', 1882 - November 6, 1946) was a leading official in the Anhui clique of the Beiyang Government, later noted for his role as in the collaborationist Reformed Governmen ...

established the

, and Jiang Hongjie was an early participant. In July, Jiang was appointed Minister for Communications, remaining in that post until March 1940, when the

Reorganized National Government of China The Wang Jingwei regime or the Wang Ching-wei regime is the common name of the Reorganized National Government of the Republic of China ( zh , t = 中華民國國民政府 , p = Zhōnghuá Mínguó Guómín Zhèngfǔ ), the government of the pup ...

was established. He returned to private life, becoming president of the Chinese Transport Company ()."The Review of the Company for National Policy (6) ( (6))", ''Chugai Shogyo Shinpo''(now, '' Nihon Keizai Shimbun''), September 1940. After October 1940, the whereabouts of Jiang Hongjie are unknown.

Biography

References

Further reading