Mei Yiqi or Mei Yi-chi (; 29 December 1889 – 19 May 1962),

courtesy name A courtesy name ( zh, s=字, p=zì, l=character), also known as a style name, is an additional name bestowed upon individuals at adulthood, complementing their given name. This tradition is prevalent in the East Asian cultural sphere, particula ...

Yuehan (), was a

Chinese Chinese may refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people identified with China, through nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **Han Chinese, East Asian ethnic group native to China. **'' Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic ...

politician, physicist and educator, who served two separate terms as Ministry of Education of the Republic of China, from 1948 to 1949 and from 1958 to 1961. He was additionally President of National Tsinghua University between 1931 and 1948, making him the university's longest serving president.

Biography

Mei was born in

Tianjin Tianjin is a direct-administered municipality in North China, northern China on the shore of the Bohai Sea. It is one of the National Central City, nine national central cities, with a total population of 13,866,009 inhabitants at the time of the ...

on 29 December 1889, to a merchant family. His father Mei Bochen () was a small merchant. His

ancestral home An ancestral home is the place of origin of one's extended family, particularly the home owned and preserved by the same family for several generations. The term can refer to an individual house or estate, or to a broader geographic area such as a ...

Wujin District Wujin District (; postal: ''Wutsin'') is a district under the jurisdiction of Changzhou in Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. In 2005 Wujin was ranked as 8th in the top 100 best cities and counties in mainland China. History In ...

Changzhou Changzhou is a prefecture-level city in southern Jiangsu, China. It was previously known as Yanling, Lanling, and Jinling. Located on the southern bank of the Yangtze River, Changzhou borders the provincial capital of Nanjing to the west, Zhen ...

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 ...

Province. In 1904, at the age of 15, he attended Nankai School, becoming a student of

Zhang Boling Chang Po-ling (; April 5, 1876 – February 23, 1951) was a Chinese educator who, with Yan Xiu, founded Nankai University and the Nankai system of schools. Biography Chang Po-ling was born in Tianjin in 1876 during the last years of the Q ...

. He secondary studied at Baoding Higher School. In August 1909, he was sent to the U.S. as one of the first group of

Boxer Indemnity Scholarship Program The Boxer Indemnity Scholarship Program was a scholarship program for Chinese students to be educated in the United States, funded by the Boxer Indemnities. On May 25, 1908, the U.S. Congress Senate and House of Representatives passed the Joint ...

students. He received his bachelor's degree from the

Worcester Polytechnic Institute The Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) is a Private university, private research university in Worcester, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1865, WPI was one of the United States' first engineering and technology universities and now h ...

. He returned to China after graduation in 1914 and worked in the Tianjin Youth Association. In autumn of that same year, he moved to

National Tsinghua University National Tsing Hua University (NTHU) is a public research university in Hsinchu, Taiwan. It was first founded in Beijing. After the Chinese Civil War, president Mei Yiqi and other academics relocated with the retreating Nationalist government to ...

, where he was elected President of National Tsinghua University in 1931. In December 1948, he was appointed Ministry of Education of the Republic of China, but having held the position for only one year. After the defeat of the Nationalists by the Communists in

Chinese Civil War The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led Nationalist government, government of the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China and the forces of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Armed conflict continued intermitt ...

in 1949, Mei relocated to

Taiwan 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 ...

. In July 1958, he was appointed Ministry of Education again, and concurrently served as President of National Tsing Hua University in

Hsinchu City Hsinchu (, ), officially Hsinchu City, is a Provincial city (Taiwan), city located in northwestern Taiwan. It is the most populous city in Taiwan that is not a Special municipality (Taiwan), special municipality, with estimated 450,655 inha ...

. In February 1962, he was elected an academician of the

Academia Sinica Academia Sinica (AS, ; zh, t=中央研究院) is the national academy of the Taiwan, Republic of China. It is headquartered in Nangang District, Taipei, Nangang, Taipei. Founded in Nanjing, the academy supports research activities in mathemat ...

. On 19 May 1962, he died of cancer at National Taiwan University Hospital, in

Taipei , nickname = The City of Azaleas , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Taiwan#Asia#Pacific Ocean#Earth , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country ...

Personal life

Mei married Han Yonghua () in 1919 in

. The couple had one son and four daughters: Mei Zutong (), Mei Zufen (), Mei Zuyan (), Mei Zubin () and Mei Zushan (). Mei Yiqi was the brother of , and uncle of

Mei Tsu-lin Mei Tsu-lin (; 14 February 1933 – 14 October 2023) was a Chinese-American linguist. Life and career Mei was born in Beijing on 14 February 1933, and immigrated to the United States in 1949, during the Chinese Civil War. He earned a bachelor's de ...

Works

* * *

Memorials

Mei was highly praised by teachers and students of

Tsinghua University Tsinghua University (THU) is a public university in Haidian, Beijing, China. It is affiliated with and funded by the Ministry of Education of China. The university is part of Project 211, Project 985, and the Double First-Class Constructio ...

, "Mei Yiqi is the

President of Tsinghua University The president of Tsinghua University is the chief administrator of Tsinghua University, a National university, national Public university, public research university in Beijing, China. After 1992, each president of Tsinghua University is appointed ...

forever." () Mei was buried in

National Tsing Hua University National Tsing Hua University (NTHU) is a public research university in Hsinchu, Taiwan. It was first founded in Beijing. After the Chinese Civil War, president Mei Yiqi and other academics relocated with the retreating Nationalist government to ...

campus, his tomb was named "Garden of Mei" ().

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mei, Yiqi 1889 births 1962 deaths Tianjin Nankai High School alumni Worcester Polytechnic Institute alumni Educators from Tianjin Presidents of Tsinghua University Republic of China politicians from Tianjin Physicists from Tianjin Deaths from cancer in Taiwan Chinese Civil War refugees Ministers of education of Taiwan Education ministers of the Republic of China Members of Academia Sinica