Xiong Xiling, or Hsiung Hsi-ling (); 23 July 1870 – 25 December 1937) was a Chinese philanthropist and politician, who served as premier 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 ...

from July 1913 to February 1914.

Biography

Born in Fenghuang, Xiangxi prefecture of

Hunan Hunan is an inland Provinces of China, province in Central China. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the Administrative divisions of China, province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi to the east, Gu ...

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 ...

, Xiong was also a Chinese scholar. In July 1913, Xiong was appointed by

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 ...

as the Premier and Finance Minister. However, after a few months, the relationship between Xiong and Yuan began to deteriorate, triggered by their conflicting views on governance. In February 1914, Xiong resigned from the government. After he left politics, Xiong became involved in some educational and charitable institutions to help the needy of

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 ...

and

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

. In 1937, Xiong was in

, helping the refugees during the

Battle of Shanghai The Battle of Shanghai ( zh, t=淞滬會戰, s=淞沪会战, first=t, p=Sōng hù huìzhàn) was a major battle fought between the Empire of Japan and the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China in the Chinese city of Shanghai during ...

. After Shanghai fell, he went 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 ...

, dying there on 25 December 1937. He was honored with a

state funeral A state funeral is a public funeral ceremony, observing the strict rules of protocol, held to honour people of national significance. State funerals usually include much pomp and ceremony as well as religious overtones and distinctive elements o ...

. His daughter Nora Hsiung Chu became an educator and expert on child welfare. 1870 births 1937 deaths Republic of China politicians from Hunan Premiers of the Republic of China Politicians from Xiangxi Unity Party (China) politicians Progressive Party (China) politicians {{China-politician-stub