Alfred Sao-ke Sze (; 1877–1958) was a prominent Chinese politician and diplomat during the most turbulent period in modern Chinese history.

Early life

Sze was born on April 10, 1877 in

Jiangsu Jiangsu is a coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province in East China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with its capital in Nanjing. Jiangsu is the List of Chinese administra ...

. In 1892, Sze moved to

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, with his father, who was an attaché of the Chinese legation to the U.S. Sze graduated from Central High School in 1897. He became the first Chinese student to graduate from

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

in 1901. He returned to China in October 1902 to work for the Peking Government.

Career

Sze served successively in the

Ministry of Posts and Communications The Ministry of Posts and Communications or YouchuanbuChen Zhongping. Modern China's Network Revolution: Chambers of Commerce and Sociopolitical Change in the Early Twentieth Century', p. 152. Stanford University Press, 2011. . () was a late Qing ...

, the

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provincial government and the Foreign Ministry. In 1905, Sze was part of the Chinese delegation which visited a number of countries to study constitutionalism. In 1908–1910, Sze worked in

, during which time he dealt with the repercussions of the attempted assassination of

Itō Hirobumi Kazoku, Prince , born , was a Japanese statesman who served as the first prime minister of Japan from 1885 to 1888, and later from 1892 to 1896, in 1898, and from 1900 to 1901. He was a leading member of the ''genrō'', a group of senior state ...

. In 1911 he was appointed Minister to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

, and

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

, but the eruption of the

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

and overthrow of the Qing government intervened and prevented his travel. Under the

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

, Sze served briefly as Transport and Communications Minister and Finance Minister. From 1914 to 1920 he was China's minister to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, and in 1919 he was part of the Chinese delegation to the Paris Peace Conference. Sze, along with Foreign Minister W. W. Yen, C. T. Wang and

Wellington Koo Koo Vi Kyuin (; January 29, 1888 – November 14, 1985), better known as V. K. Wellington Koo, was a Chinese diplomat, politician, and statesman of the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China. Born in Shanghai, Koo studied at Colum ...

, was part of a Chinese delegation which traveled to the

in the fall of 1921 to negotiate with the U.S. to impose a limitation of armaments on

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

and to de-escalate tensions over Japan's aggressive, expansionist activities in

Shandong Shandong is a coastal Provinces of China, province in East China. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower reaches of the Yellow River. It has served as a pivotal cultural ...

. From 1921 to 1929, Sze was head of the Chinese legation to the U.S., representing the Peking Government and securing U.S. support to contain Japanese aggression in northern China. In January 1923, President

Li Yuanhong Li Yuanhong (; courtesy name ; October 19, 1864 – June 3, 1928) was a prominent Chinese military and political leader during the Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China. He was the Provisional Vice President of the Republic of China from 191 ...

nominated Sze for the office of foreign minister, but of all the Cabinet nominations, Sze's alone was rejected by the legislature. However, Sze served briefly as acting foreign minister until the new appointee was agreed. In November 1928, Sze was again appointed minister to Britain and delegate to the

League of Nations The League of Nations (LN or LoN; , SdN) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace ...

. He was replaced in the legation to the U.S. by C.C. Wu. In 1931, he was tapped as foreign minister again, but declined. At the time, he was actively representing the

at the

, denouncing Japanese military aggression in

Manchuria Manchuria is a historical region in northeast Asia encompassing the entirety of present-day northeast China and parts of the modern-day Russian Far East south of the Uda (Khabarovsk Krai), Uda River and the Tukuringra-Dzhagdy Ranges. The exact ...

and demanding the League's intervention. He warned the League that if it failed to act,

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

would have no choice but to re-arm. The League failed to act, so in December 1931, he offered his resignation. His offer was declined, and he remained at his post. In January 1933, he was designated minister to the United States once again. He presented his credentials in February 1933. In July 1935, after the United States and the Republic of China agreed to raise their diplomatic missions from legations to embassies, Sze became the first Chinese ambassador to the United States. He was succeeded by C.T. Wang in 1937. After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Sze worked on obtaining arms from the United States in his role as vice-chair of the China Defense Supplies Commission. Sze was a founding member of the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and Grant (money), grants to the governments of Least developed countries, low- and Developing country, middle-income countries for the purposes of economic development ...

and was a member of the Advisory Council of the World Bank from 1947 to 1950.

Personal life

Sze married Yu-hua "Alice" Tang. Tang's mother had been a

lady in waiting A lady-in-waiting (alternatively written lady in waiting) or court lady is a female personal assistant at a court, attending on a royal woman or a high-ranking noblewoman. Historically, in Europe, a lady-in-waiting was often a noblewoman but ...

to the

Empress Dowager Cixi Empress Dowager Cixi ( ; 29 November 1835 – 15 November 1908) was a Manchu noblewoman of the Yehe Nara clan who effectively but periodically controlled the Chinese government in the late Qing dynasty as empress dowager and regent for almost 50 ...

, her uncle was Prime Minister

Tang Shaoyi Tang Shaoyi (; 2 January 1862 – 30 September 1938), also spelled Tong Shao Yi, courtesy name Shaochuan (), was a Chinese statesman who briefly served as the first Premier of the Republic of China in 1912. In 1938, he was assassinated by the ...

, and her cousin Tang Pao-yu was married to

. With her marriage she became better known in the American and British press as 'Madame Sze'. Sze's elder brother, Shi Sao (aka Chao) Tseng (施肇曾

pinyin Hanyu Pinyin, or simply pinyin, officially the Chinese Phonetic Alphabet, is the most common romanization system for Standard Chinese. ''Hanyu'' () literally means 'Han Chinese, Han language'—that is, the Chinese language—while ''pinyin' ...

: Shī Zhàozēng), born 1868, was also a prominent official and served as a diplomat in the U.S. from 1893 to 1897. Upon returning to China, Shi Sao held several senior railway posts, including Director-General of Lunghai Railways from 1913 to 1922. Sze's younger brother, S.C. Thomas Sze, also attended Cornell and was later a director of the Chinese railroads. The chair of the

Sibley School of Engineering The Cornell University College of Engineering (branded as Cornell Engineering) is the engineering school of Cornell University. It was founded in 1870 as the Sibley College of Mechanical Engineering and Mechanic Arts. It is one of four private u ...

at Cornell is named after S.C. Thomas Sze. Alfred Sze had two sons and four daughters. Szeming Sze was the medical director of the United Nations from 1955 to 1968. Deson C. Sze was a banker and also served as a private secretary to T.V. Soong. Mai-mai Sze was an accomplished painter, author, and model. Julia Sze-Bailey and Alice Wang lived in Manhattan and Boston, respectively. Sze died on January 3, 1958, at the age of 80.

References

External links

Sao Ke Alfred Sze (Shi Zhaoji) 施肇基
from ''Biographies of Prominent Chinese'' c.1925. {{DEFAULTSORT:Sze, Alfred Sao-Ke Cornell University alumni Foreign ministers of the Republic of China 1877 births 1958 deaths Politicians from Suzhou Republic of China politicians from Jiangsu Ambassadors of the Republic of China to the United States Ambassadors of the Republic of China to Peru Permanent representatives of the Republic of China to the League of Nations Chinese expatriates in the United States