Liang Shiyi (; May 5, 1869 – April 9, 1933) was a Chinese minister who served as

premier of China The premier of China, officially the Premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China, is the head of government of the People's Republic of China (PRC) and leader of the State Council. This post was established in 1911 near the e ...

during 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 ...

from 1921 to 1922.

Biography

Liang Shiyi was born in Sanshui,

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 ...

in 1869. In the

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 ...

, he was put in charge of railways, the most profitable ministry of the government. This allowed him to create the influential Communications Clique. He was a close supporter of

Yuan Shikai Yuan Shikai (; 16 September 18596 June 1916) was a Chinese general and statesman who served as the second provisional president and the first official president of the Republic of China, head of the Beiyang government from 1912 to 1916 and ...

, served as his finance minister, and supported Yuan during the National Protection War. After Yuan's death, 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 ...

ordered the arrest of the eight top monarchists of Yuan's regime, this caused Liang to flee to

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

. He returned in 1918 to run for the

National Assembly of the Republic of China The National Assembly was the authoritative legislative body of the Republic of China, from 1947 to 2005. Along with the Control Yuan (upper house) and the Legislative Yuan (lower house), the National Assembly formed the tricameral parliament ...

. His Communications Clique was a distant second compared to Duan Qirui's

Anfu Club The Anfu Club () was a political organisation in China. It controlled the National Assembly of the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China after the 1918 Chinese National Assembly election, elections of 1918. On the order of President X ...

but nevertheless he became speaker of the Senate. He then became premier when Jin Yunpeng was forced to resign in December 1921. His month-long premiership was the subject of dispute between his supporter, Marshal

Zhang Zuolin Zhang Zuolin; courtesy name Yuting ( zh, c=雨亭, p=Yǔtíng, labels=no) and nicknamed Zhang Laogang ( zh, c=張老疙瘩, p=Zhāng Lǎo Gēda, labels=no) (March 19, 1875June 4, 1928) was a Chinese warlord who ruled Manchuria from 1916 to 1928 ...

, and his detractor, General Wu Peifu. When Wu forced his resignation on January 25, 1922, it caused the First Zhili-Fengtian War. Liang was fortunate to avoid the war himself: he left

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

under the excuse of illness as soon as he resigned. The

Northern Expedition The Northern Expedition was a military campaign launched by the National Revolutionary Army (NRA) of the Kuomintang (KMT) against the Beiyang government and other regional warlords in 1926. The purpose of the campaign was to reunify China prop ...

forced him to flee once again to Hong Kong in 1928, then he shuttled between Shanghai and Hong Kong until the Japanese invaded Manchuria in 1931. He died at Shanghai in 1933.

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Liang, Shiyi 1869 births 1933 deaths Premiers of the Republic of China Republic of China politicians from Guangdong People from Sanshui District Politicians from Foshan