Ruan Zhenduo (; Hepburn: ''Gen Shintaku''; 1893–1973), was a politician in the early

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 ...

who subsequently served in a number of Cabinet-level positions in the Empire of

Manchukuo Manchukuo, officially known as the State of Manchuria prior to 1934 and the Empire of Great Manchuria thereafter, was a puppet state of the Empire of Japan in Northeast China that existed from 1932 until its dissolution in 1945. It was ostens ...

Biography

A native of

Tieling Tieling ( zh, t=鐵嶺 , s=铁岭 , p=Tiělǐng , l=iron peak) is one of 14 prefecture-level cities in Liaoning province of the People's Republic of China. Tieling is a city where coal mining Coal mining is the process of resource extract ...

Liaoning ) , image_skyline = , image_alt = , image_caption = Clockwise: Mukden Palace in Shenyang, Xinghai Square in Dalian, Dalian coast, Yalu River at Dandong , image_map = Liaoning in China (+all claims hatched).svg , ...

Province, Ruan studied medicine at the Manchurian Medical College in 1913. In 1919, he went to Japan to study at the

Kyoto Imperial University , or , is a national research university in Kyoto, Japan. Founded in 1897, it is one of the former Imperial Universities and the second oldest university in Japan. The university has ten undergraduate faculties, eighteen graduate schools, and t ...

and graduated with a doctorate in medicine. After his return to China in 1923, Ruan was appointed chairman of the Fentian State Medical Board, and a professor of medicine at the Northeastern University (Shenyang, China). He was also asked by the

Fengtian Clique The Fengtian clique () was the faction that supported warlord Zhang Zuolin during Republic of China (1912–1949), China's Warlord Era. It took its name from Fengtian Province, which served as its original base of support. However, the clique quic ...

to serve as its chief army medical officer. He also held the posts of chairman of the

Changchun Changchun is the capital and largest city of Jilin, Jilin Province, China, on the Songliao Plain. Changchun is administered as a , comprising seven districts, one county and three county-level cities. At the 2020 census of China, Changchun ha ...

and

Jilin ) , image_skyline = Changbaishan Tianchi from western rim.jpg , image_alt = , image_caption = View of Heaven Lake , image_map = Jilin in China (+all claims hatched).svg , mapsize = 275px , map_al ...

State Medical Boards by 1929. In April 1932, under the new State of Manchukuo Ruan was asked to serve as Chief Secretary for Fengtian Province. He assisted Yu Jingyuan in establishing the Manchukuo Youth League and was one of the founding members of the

Concordia Association The Concordia Association of Manchukuo ( Japanese Shinjitai: 満州国協和会, Hepburn: ''Manshū-koku Kyōwakai'') was a political party in Manchukuo. Established to promote the ideals of Pan-Asianism and the creation of a multi-ethnic nat ...

. From November 1932, he served on the General Affairs State Council as Director of the Construction Bureau. In May 1935, Ruan accepted the cabinet-level post of Minister of Education of the Empire of Manchukuo, which he held to July 1937. From December 1940 to September 1942, he served as Minister of Transportation and from September 1942 to April 1944 as Minister of Finance. From April 1944 to August 1945, he served as Foreign Minister. Following the

Soviet invasion of Manchuria The Soviet invasion of Manchuria, formally known as the Manchurian Strategic Offensive Operation or simply the Manchurian Operation () and sometimes Operation August Storm, began on 9 August 1945 with the Soviet Union, Soviet invasion of the Emp ...

, Ruan was captured by Soviet

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

and initially held in custody in

Siberia Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...

, but was extradited to the

People's Republic of 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 ...

on July 31, 1950, where was incarcerated at the

Fushun Fushun ( zh, s=, t=, p=Fǔshùn, historically Fuxi ()) is a prefecture level city in Liaoning province, China, about east of Shenyang, with a total area of , of which is the city proper. Situated on the Hun River ("muddy river"), it is one o ...

War Criminals Management Centre. He was housed with former Emperor

Puyi Puyi (7 February 190617 October 1967) was the final emperor of China, reigning as the eleventh monarch of the Qing dynasty from 1908 to 1912. When the Guangxu Emperor died without an heir, Empress Dowager Cixi picked his nephew Puyi, aged tw ...

, and helped the former emperor write his autobiography: ''The First Half of My Life; From Emperor to Citizen: The Autobiography of Aisin-Gioro Pu'' Yi. He was released by a special pardon in 1962 and found employment at the Changchun Medical Library as a librarian. He died in 1973 at the age of 81.

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ruan, Zhenduo Government ministers of Manchukuo People from Tieling Chinese collaborators with Imperial Japan 1893 births 1973 deaths Recipients of Chinese pardons Chinese prisoners and detainees People extradited from the Soviet Union Kyoto University alumni Diplomats of Manchukuo