Cheng Tien-hsi (; 10 July 1884 – 31 January 1970) was a Chinese author, jurist, and the last ambassador of 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 ...

to the United Kingdom. His courtesy name was "Futting" (茀定), so he was commonly known as F. T. Cheng.

Early life and education

Cheng was born in Mawei,

Fuzhou Fuzhou is the capital of Fujian, China. The city lies between the Min River (Fujian), Min River estuary to the south and the city of Ningde to the north. Together, Fuzhou and Ningde make up the Eastern Min, Mindong linguistic and cultural regi ...

Fujian Fujian is a provinces of China, province in East China, southeastern China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its capital is Fuzhou and its largest prefe ...

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...

, to parents from

Zhongshan Zhongshan ( zh, c=中山 ), alternately romanized via Cantonese as Chungshan, is a prefecture-level city in the south of the Pearl River Delta in Guangdong province, China. As of the 2020 census, the whole city with 4,418,060 inhabitants is n ...

Guangdong ) means "wide" or "vast", and has been associated with the region since the creation of Guang Prefecture in AD 226. The name "''Guang''" ultimately came from Guangxin ( zh, labels=no, first=t, t= , s=广信), an outpost established in Han dynasty ...

. His parents were living in Mawei at the time, where his father was employed in the ordnance factory there, but they had to evacuate to Hong Kong almost immediately after his birth because of the

Sino-French War The Sino-French or Franco-Chinese War, also known as the Tonkin War, was a limited conflict fought from August 1884 to April 1885 between the French Third Republic and Qing China for influence in Vietnam. There was no declaration of war. The C ...

. He attended

Queen's College, Hong Kong Queen's College () is the first public secondary school founded by the British colonial government in Hong Kong. It was initially named The Government Central School () in 1862 and later renamed Victoria College () in 1890, and finally obtain ...

, and graduated from

St. John's University, Shanghai St. John's University (SJU) was a Christian university in Shanghai. It was founded in 1879 by American missionaries. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the Communist government closed the university in 1952. Most of its facul ...

. Having sold the import-export business which he successfully started in Hong Kong, Cheng went to

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, England, to study law in 1907. He graduated from

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

with the LL.B. (Hons.) degree in 1912 and acquired the LL.D. degree of the University of London in 1915, being the first Chinese to gain a doctorate in law in a British university. He won the Quain Prize in Public International Law at about the same time, and was also called to the English Bar.

Early career

On his return to China, Cheng served from 1918 to 1927 in various legal capacities in the

Beiyang government The Beiyang government was the internationally recognized government of the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China between 1912 and 1928, based in Beijing. It was dominated by the generals of the Beiyang Army, giving it its name. B ...

in Beijing, principally concerned with codification, trade mark, extraterritoriality and judicial reform, as technical expert of the Chinese Delegation to the

Washington Naval Conference The Washington Naval Conference (or the Washington Conference on the Limitation of Armament) was a disarmament conference called by the United States and held in Washington, D.C., from November 12, 1921, to February 6, 1922. It was conducted out ...

(1921), counsellor at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, before becoming a judge of the

Supreme Court of the Republic of China The Supreme Court of Taiwan () (also known as the Supreme Court of the Republic of China) is the court of last resort in Taiwan, except matters regarding interpretation of the Constitution and unifying the interpretation of laws and orders whic ...

. He also taught law at several universities. Cheng subsequently practised law in Shanghai from 1927 to 1932, the year when he acceded to the invitation of the Chinese Government to take up the post of Executive Vice-Minister and sometime Acting Minister of the Justice Ministry of the Republic of China, the capital of which had by then moved to

Nanjing Nanjing or Nanking is the capital of Jiangsu, a province in East China. The city, which is located in the southwestern corner of the province, has 11 districts, an administrative area of , and a population of 9,423,400. Situated in the Yang ...

. In 1935, he resigned and, while serving as an adviser in both the Justice Ministry and the Foreign Ministry, he was appointed by the Chinese Government as the Special Commissioner for the London International Exhibition of Chinese Art in England, which, as things turned out, provided a convenient excuse for moving the then most valuable treasures in the

Forbidden City The Forbidden City () is the Chinese Empire, imperial Chinese palace, palace complex in the center of the Imperial City, Beijing, Imperial City in Beijing, China. It was the residence of 24 Ming dynasty, Ming and Qing dynasty, Qing dynasty L ...

in Beijing to the south of China in order to escape the war that was then threatening and avoid being accused of being provocative. That was how a significant proportion of them ended up in the

National Palace Museum The National Palace Museum, also known as Taipei Palace Museum, is a national museum headquartered in Taipei, Taiwan. Founded in Beijing in 1925, the museum was re-established in Shilin District, Shilin, Taipei, in 1965, later expanded with a S ...

in Taipei. Generally regarded as having been appointed for his integrity, he accompanied the treasures, escorted by a British warship, to England and back to China.

Diplomatic career

From 1936 to 1945, Cheng served as a judge of the

Permanent Court of International Justice The Permanent Court of International Justice, often called the World Court, existed from 1922 to 1946. It was an international court attached to the League of Nations. Created in 1920 (although the idea of an international court was several cent ...

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

, Netherlands, the work of which was cut short by the outbreak of World War II. He took part in all the cases that came before the court during the period when the court was functioning, and issued one separate opinion in which he agreed with the decision of the Court but for very different reasons. His opinions were highly regarded by his fellow judges, including the Italian jurist Dionisio Anzilotti. When the Permanent Court of International Justice was being replaced by the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

with the

International Court of Justice The International Court of Justice (ICJ; , CIJ), or colloquially the World Court, is the only international court that Adjudication, adjudicates general disputes between nations, and gives advisory opinions on International law, internation ...

, Cheng was nominated by more than one government, but his own government had other plans for him, and he accordingly withdrew his name from the election of judges. From 1946 to 1950, Cheng served as the last ambassador of the

to the United Kingdom when Britain was under a Labour government. After 1950, Cheng lived first in New York and later in London, and continued to serve as a member of the United Nations Panel for Inquiry and Conciliation, and on the Panel of Arbitrators of the

Permanent Court of Arbitration The Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) is an intergovernmental organization headquartered at the Peace Palace, in The Hague, Netherlands. Unlike a judicial court in the traditional sense, the PCA provides administrative support in international ...

, in The Hague, Netherlands, as well as an adviser of the Justice Ministry of the Republic of China, until his death in London in 1970.

Honors

In 1936, Cheng was decorated by the government of the Republic of China with the Order of Brilliant Jade, Class Two, with Grand Cordon, and elected a Fellow of University College London. In 1946, he was elected an Honorary Bencher of the Middle Temple.

Family

Cheng had three daughters, Kum-wan, Ying-wan and Ching-wan, and three sons, Bin, Ben and Hung. Bin Cheng was a renowned legal scholar who served as Dean of the

Faculty of Laws.

Writings

Cheng wrote a number of books, including ''Rules of Private International Law Determining Capacity to Contract'' (London, Stevens, 1919), ''China Moulded by Confucius'' (London, Stevens, 1947), which was translated into French, German and Czech, ''East and West: Episodes in a Sixty Years’ Journey'' (London, Hutchinson, 1951), ''Musings of a Chinese Gourmet'' (London, Hutchinson, 1954), and ''Reflections at Eighty'' (London, Luzac, 1966). He also edited and translated from Chinese into English: ''Judgments of the High Prize Court of the Republic of China'' (Peking, High Prize Court, 1919), ''Chinese Supreme Court Decisions relating to General Principles of Civil Law'', ''Obligations, and Commercial Law'' (Peking, Commission of Extra-Territoriality, 1923. Reprinted by University Publications of America, Inc., Washington D.C., 1976), as well as numerous articles.

Literature

* Cheng Tien-Hsi, ''East and West: Episodes in a Sixty Years’ Journey'' (London, Hutchinson, 1951) * 袁道豐﹕〃與海外耆宿鄭天錫博士話生平〃(“Conversation with the Octogenarian Dr Cheng Tien-Hsi About his Life”)，東方雜誌3卷, 4 期( 3 (4) Dong Fang Za Zhi) (1969), 78–84; 5期 (3 (5) id.) (1969), 83-88 * 楊孔鑫﹕〃追念鄭天錫先生〃(“In Memoriam - Cheng Tien-Hsi”)，傳記文學18 卷（18 Zhuan Ji Wen Xue）（1971） * 陳堯聖﹕ 〃鄭天錫大使與倫敦國際中國藝展〃(“Ambassador Cheng Tien-Hsi and the London International Exhibition of Chinese Art”)，傳記文學19卷（19 Zhuan Ji Wen Xue）(1971), 21-27 * 孫甄陶(Sun Zhen Tao). 〃中山縣籍的三位外交使節〃 (“Zhongshan District's Three Diplomatic Envoys”, 大成，23 期 (23 Da Cheng) (1975), 24, at 28-31 * ''Biographical Notes concerning Members of the Court. Mr. Cheng Tien-Hsi, Member of the Court.'' In: ''Thirteenth Annual Report of the Permanent Court of International Justice.'' A.W. Sijthoff's Publishing, Leiden 1937, S. 23/24 * Warren F. Kuehl: ''Cheng Tien-hsi.'' In: Warren F. Kuehl (Hrsg.): ''Biographical Dictionary of Internationalists.'' Greenwood Press, Westport 1983, , S. 151/152

References

External links

Tien-Hsi Cheng
at the

National Portrait Gallery, London The National Portrait Gallery (NPG) is an art gallery in London that houses a collection of portraits of historically important and famous British people. When it opened in 1856, it was arguably the first national public gallery in the world th ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cheng, Tien-hsi 1884 births 1970 deaths Alumni of University College London People from Zhongshan Permanent Court of International Justice judges Chinese judges of international courts and tribunals Alumni of Queen's College, Hong Kong St. John's University, Shanghai alumni Ambassadors of China to the United Kingdom Alumni of the UCL Faculty of Laws