Xu Shiying (; 10 September 1873 – 13 October 1964, also romanized as Hsu Shih-ing) was a Chinese

Kuomintang The Kuomintang (KMT) is a major political party in the Republic of China (Taiwan). It was the one party state, sole ruling party of the country Republic of China (1912-1949), during its rule from 1927 to 1949 in Mainland China until Retreat ...

politician who served as

Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of govern ...

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 26 December 1925 to 4 March 1926. He is known as a staunch believer in the rule of law and Western-style legal tenets. Xu contributed to the modernization of the judicial system in China and for initiating prison reform during the presidency 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 ...

Biography

Xu was born on 10 September 1873, in Guichi, in the eastern

Anhui Anhui is an inland Provinces of China, province located in East China. Its provincial capital and largest city is Hefei. The province is located across the basins of the Yangtze and Huai rivers, bordering Jiangsu and Zhejiang to the east, Jiang ...

province. He began his career at the Law Compilation Bureau, in the Board of Justice in 1897. After a year, he was appointed to the Board of Punishments. By the age of 25, he was made a Senior Licentiate of the Qing dynasty. Xu followed his mentor, Shen Jiaben to Taiwan during the Qing government in exile. In 1900, they went back to China where Xu was tasked to head an Outer Beijing city police supervision of infrastructure projects. In 1908, he was promoted as the associate chief of the high court of justice in the province of Fengtian. Two years later, he was part of the delegation sent to inspect the judicial systems in Europe. He also led the first formal Qing delegation that attended the Eighth International Prison Congress in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

As part of the government's drive to build a modern judicial system, he was appointed Minister of Justice in 1912. Tomb of Xu Shiying

Among Xu's career highlights include his appointment as minister of the interior in 1916; and his appointment, in 1924, to chief secretary of Marshal Duan Qirui, who was head of the Provisional Government of China. Xu was later the Chinese ambassador to Japan, and the chairman of a Chinese delegation for peace negotiations with KMT China. Xu died in

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

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 ...

References

External links

Hsu Shih-ying (Xu Shiying) 許世英
from ''Biographies of Prominent Chinese'' c.1925. 1873 births 1964 deaths Politicians from Chizhou Republic of China politicians from Anhui Qing dynasty government officials Ambassadors of China to Japan Chinese police officers Justice ministers of the Republic of China Senior advisors to President Chiang Kai-shek Premiers of the Republic of China Political office-holders in Shanxi Political office-holders in Liaoning Political office-holders in Fujian Taiwanese people from Anhui Empire of China (1915–1916) {{China-politician-stub