Gu Weijun had five firsts in his life: he was the first outstanding diplomat of the Republic of China; he was the first to refuse to sign the peace treaty at the Paris Peace Conference; he was the first to sign the "Agreement on the Outline of the Settlement of Outstanding Cases between China and Russia" with soviet representatives; he was the first to sign the Charter of the United Nations at the San Francisco Constituent Assembly; and he was the first centenarian to complete the magnificent work "Memoirs of Gu Weijun". Some diplomatic historians have called it "a shining star in the diplomatic history of the Republic of China."
Gu Weijun served as ambassadors of the United States, Britain, France and other countries, then promoted to foreign minister, acting premier of the State Council, and finally served as a judge and vice president of the International Tribunal in The Hague, until he retired at the age of 80. He was the first distinguished diplomat of the Republic of China; he was the first to refuse to sign the peace treaty at the Paris Peace Conference; he was the first to sign the Agreement with soviet representatives on the Outline agreement for the Settlement of Outstanding Cases between China and Russia; he was the first to sign the Charter of the United Nations at the San Francisco Constituent Assembly; and he was the first centenarian to complete the magnificent work "Memoirs of Gu Weijun". Therefore, some diplomatic historians call Gu Weijun "a shining star in the diplomatic history of the Republic of China."
<h1>"Jiading Little Show Talent"</h1>
Gu Weijun (1888-1985), zi Shaochuan. A native of Jiading, Jiangsu (present-day Jiading District, Shanghai). His father, Gu Qingchuan, was a Hanshi, because of his family's poverty and hopeless fame, he went to Shanghai to make a living for a living, and was introduced by friends to become a master in the Shanghai Daoyin Yuan Guanlan shogunate. At that time, his son Gu Weijun was only 12 years old, and he also followed his father to Shanghai to study, and was admitted to Shanghai Nanhai Yucai Middle School with excellent results. It was precisely Yuan Guanlan's son Yuan Ludeng who was also admitted to Yucai Middle School, and was a classmate, and after school, the two often played in the Yamen compound, and the two teenagers became friends in the same window. Gu Weijun has a clear eyebrow, a table of talents, and reads diligently, is quite talented, works poetry and good writing, writes a thousand words, has excellent examination results, has a lot of prestige among his classmates, and is known as "Jiading Xiaoxiucai", thus attracting the attention of a person who is good at looking, which is the aunt and cousin of Yuan Guanlan, the governor of Shanghai Daoyin, and Zhang Hengshan, a high counselor in the shogunate. He speculated from the point of view of xiangshu that Yuan Ludeng and Gu Weijun were not idle people, but unfortunately Yuan Ludeng was not right, lest he not be able to die well in the future (Note: Later he did become a traitor), but Gu Weijun had a bright future, glory and wealth, and a complete life, which was a rare "dragon and phoenix among people".
Zhang Hengshan has a beloved daughter, who has been brilliant since childhood, one year younger than Gu Weijun, and intends to recruit Gu Weijun as a fast son-in-law of the East Bed, so he entrusts someone to act as a matchmaker. At that time, judging from the economic status of the Gu and Zhang families, the Zhang family was much superior to the Gu family, so Gu Qingchuan immediately agreed and booked this family affair. After Gu Weijun graduated from Yucai Middle School, due to financial constraints and unable to go to school, Gu Qingchuan planned to let his son study business and make money early to fill the family. When his father-in-law Zhang Hengshan learned of this, he expressed strong opposition, and with his strong financial support, Gu Weijun was admitted to St. John's University in Shanghai. After graduating from St. John's University in Shanghai, Zhang Hengshan did not hesitate to sell some of his properties as funds for his son-in-law Gu Weijun to study in the United States. In 1905, Gu Weijun was admitted to Columbia University in the United States to study international law and diplomacy. He later received his Doctor of Philosophy and Honorary Doctor of Laws with honors. Hailed by Columbia's president as "the most talented student the university has ever had." ”
<h1>The journey has been smooth</h1>
After Gu Weijun graduated and returned to China, due to Zhang Hengshan's introduction and recommendation, he went north to join Tang Shaoyi, the foreign minister of the Beijing government. Gu Weijun began his diplomatic career in May 1912 as Secretary of State and Third Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as a returnee who had doubled his doctorate in the United States. Soon, Gu Weijun and Tang Shaoyi, the chief of foreign affairs, met each other, and the elegant Gu Weijun won the heart of Miss Rose, and both fell in love and were inseparable. With this relationship, Gu Weijun won the favor and appreciation of Tang Shaoyi. At this time, Gu Weijun also had to be accused of being ungrateful to Zhang Hengshan and his fiancée behind his back, and even proposed to Miss Rose and married for a hundred years. Since then, Gu Weijun's career has been smooth.
In the autumn of 1912, Yuan Shikai, who had usurped the fruits of the victory of the Xinhai Revolution by means of deception, specially summoned Gu Weijun, who had just returned from studying in the United States as secretary to the premier of the State Council, to give an important talk on China's political orientation. According to Gu Weijun's Memoirs, Yuan Shikai once asked Gu Weijun: "How can China become a republic?" What does it mean to achieve a republic in a situation like this in China? Gu Weijun replied confidently: "The republic originated from the establishment of the Roman Republic in 509 BC centered on the city of Rome, and roman citizens attached great importance to their civil rights and the elected legislature. Rome did not exist as a republic for a long time, but this idea rose in the Middle Ages, and the rise of the middle class in the so-called free city-states was the precursor to democratic politics. Free city-states are small and have small populations, but this idea of civil rights and political freedom takes root in people's minds. This idea gradually spread and became the basis of democratic politics in England in the 13th century, although Britain was ostensibly a constitutional monarchy, and political affairs were democratic, dating back to the Magna Carta in the 13th century. Since then, the Americans have established a republic through revolution. They are prone to success because they love freedom and have a legally based concept of rights and freedoms. American ideas have spread widely in Europe, Latin America, and more recently to Asia. As the president said, the situation in China is very different, especially with such a large territory and such a large population. However, it will only take time to educate the people on the basic principles of democratic politics. Yuan Shikai asked again, "What is the meaning of republicanism?" Gu Weijun said: "The word republic means a public state or a people-owned country. Yuan Shikai asked, "How can the chinese people understand these truths?" Gu Weijun said: "That is natural, because the people lack education, but they must also love freedom, but they do not know how to obtain freedom, so the government should formulate laws and systems to promote the development of democracy." Yuan Shikai asked again, "How long will that take, won't it take centuries?" This question, of course, is a question that Gu Weijun cannot answer. Yuan Shikai wanted to find out what "republic" meant and what "republic" meant. However, what Gu Weijun said and what Yuan Shikai had in mind were incompatible with the wind and horses, so it did not dispel Yuan Shikai's idea of later becoming emperor. However, due to Yuan Shikai's separate summons to Gu Weijun, the magnates of the Beijing government were greatly shaken, and they all had to look at Gu Weijun, a fledgling student studying in the west, and from then on his position in the Beiyang government was more stable and his official fortunes were more prosperous.
On new year's day in 1914, the Japanese emperor sent a telegram to Yuan Shikai to pay respects to the New Year, but he did not have any whereabouts. The Emperor's congratulatory telegrams to the heads of state of the countries with diplomatic relations were all reciprocated, but the Beijing government did not hear back, and the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs was deeply embarrassed by this. The Japanese minister to China was also embarrassed, and specially sent a copy of the Japanese emperor's congratulatory telegram and asked what was going on. The Japanese envoy to China came to the door, causing the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Beijing Government to panic up and down, and when pressed questions one after another, they all said that they did not know, and the Presidential Office and the Telegraph Office did not know clearly about the matter. Cao Rulin, the pro-Japanese vice minister of foreign affairs, was like an ant in a hot pot, anxious to turn around. Early in the morning on Sunday, gu Weijun was summoned to ask what to do about this? Gu Weijun said: "This matter cannot be ambiguous, first hurry to send a reply to Tokyo, and at the same time continue to find out the whereabouts of the Japanese emperor's congratulatory telegram." Cao Rulin asked Gu Weijun to reply to the telegram and sent him to the military attaché in charge of handling foreign affairs at the Presidential Palace to inquire. The chief of the military attaché, Cai Tinggan, insisted that they had not received a call from Tokyo, opened the drawer full of telegrams, and said angrily: "If you don't believe me, you can check it for yourself." Gu Weijun didn't bother to argue with them, so he began to go through the pile of telegrams, only to turn them over twice, and immediately found that there was a telegram signed Hosnito (i.e., "Jiaren"),, which had no address. The telegram had a comment: "Mr. Yao of Tokyo calls, there is no need to reply." It turned out that "Jia ren" was the name of the Japanese emperor, Cai Tinggan and others did not know "foreign languages", and there was just a student who returned from the United States to help Cai Tinggan handle foreign affairs. Afterwards, he told Vice Foreign Minister Cao Rulin the truth about the whereabouts of the Japanese emperor's congratulatory message, but he had no choice but to put an end to it. Gu Weijun only told the international students who helped handle foreign affairs and caused the negligence to give instructions, and then let the people "one horse", for this reason, cai Tinggan, director of the military attaché department, apologized to Gu Weijun one after another to show gratitude and thus leave a good impression.
<h1>Show diplomatic talent</h1>
In 1915, Gu Weijun was sent to New York as Chinese minister to the United States (1915-1920); after the end of World War I, from January 18 to June 28, 1919, the Paris Peace Conference was held in Paris, attending representatives of twenty-seven countries, including China, the United States, Britain, France, Italy, and Japan, nominally in order to draw up a peace treaty with Germany and "establish post-war world peace", in fact, the imperialist victors re-divided the world. At that time Chinese people disregarded China's sovereignty and the status of the victorious power at the Paris Peace Conference, illegally decided to let Japan inherit the pre-war German privileges in Shandong, and broke out a huge anti-imperialist patriotic movement, forcing the Chinese delegation to refuse to sign the peace treaty. In fact, at the Paris Peace Conference, Chinese delegate Gu Weijun resolutely struggled for the interests of the country and the nation and took the lead in refusing to sign the peace treaty, but it is rarely mentioned in historical records, and it is necessary to add a note here. Gu Weijun was the youngest and backward member of the Chinese delegation to the Paris Peace Conference. However, when it was necessary to report the Shandong issue to the "Ten People's Meeting", the highest organ of the Paris Peace Conference, his predecessors refused to attend for various reasons, and some prevaricated and refused to speak. At the meeting, when Japanese representative Makino demanded that the privileged interests of the defeated Germany in Shandong, China, should be inherited by Japan, Gu Weijun, as the representative of the Chinese delegation, stood up solemnly and calmly to make a grand statement.
Gu Weijun said: "There is a saint in the West named Jesus, and Jerusalem, where he was crucified, has now become a holy place of Christianity, and no one can infringe on it. The representative gentlemen present should agree with me, right? The delegates all nodded in agreement. Gu Weijun then said: "We also have a saint in the East, called Confucius, not only in China, but also in neighboring Japan," at this time he looked at the Japanese representative Makino, and said: "Also recognize Confucius as a saint, are you right?" Makino could only nod. Gu Weijun paused for a moment, looked around at the delegates, and then said in a loud voice: "Shandong is the hometown of Confucius, the holy place of Chinese, and the holy place of all those who think that Confucius is a saint, of course, it cannot be violated." The Japanese representative Makino was ridiculed by Gu Weijun and was speechless. Then, at the congress, Gu Weijun bitterly expounded the origin of the German occupation of Shandong and China's attitude, and eloquently demonstrated from the perspective of international law that shandong should return China as a victorious country, which is beyond doubt. Gu Weijun's wonderful speech became the headline on the day of the Paris Peace Conference at that time. As soon as the speech was over, US President Wilson, Secretary of State Lan Xin, British Prime Minister Lloyd George, and Foreign Minister Belfort came to congratulate Gu Weijun, chief representative of China, and praised his position and outstanding courage. Subsequently, Gu Weijun shuttled through diplomatic activities at the meeting, hoping to win a favorable outcome for China. Regrettably, however, because the imperialist powers had long since carved up the sphere of influence, and in the absence of Gu Weijun's diplomatic mediation, the Chinese delegation decided to refuse to sign the peace treaty. According to the unanimous conclusion reached by diplomatic historians through examination and research, "At this time, Gu Weijun, who single-handedly supported the Chinese delegation, played a decisive role in the final realization of the refusal to sign the peace treaty. At the Paris Peace Conference, Gu Weijun made great contributions to the country and the nation, and the most praised by the world is that he was the first to refuse to sign the peace treaty at the peace conference. This is the most dazzling page in the history of Gu Weijun's diplomacy in the Republic of China, and is hailed as an epoch-making milestone in the history of modern Chinese diplomacy.
In 1920, Gu Weijun was appointed as a minister in Britain and a Chinese representative of the Council of the League of Nations, before the minister's wife Tang Rose died of illness in a foreign country, which made Gu Weijun deeply sad. Unexpectedly, this elegant diplomat was soon photographed by Miss Huang, the daughter of the richest overseas Chinese in England, and although her appearance could not be compared with rose, she had a strong financial resource of five million pounds. One night, Miss Huang personally visited Gu Weijun and directly and frankly proposed: "With my money and financial resources, it is enough to help the jun's career soar, let us combine!" Gu Weijun hesitated in his heart. Early the next morning, he went to a famous British star and asked him if this marriage was suitable. And paid a pound of honorarium, the result of the triumph is considered "a good couple of heavenly, great luck". So Gu Weijun made up his mind to marry Miss Huang and hold a luxurious wedding in London, which made many young men and women admire. Shi people jokingly called this marriage a "one-pound marriage", because Gu Weijun paid a pound of fortune telling money, but unexpectedly obtained a five-million-pound dowry from his wife, and suddenly became extremely rich. Soon after, he became Minister to France. After returning to China in 1922, relying on the charm of money, Gu Weijun was quickly promoted to foreign minister, and he also served as acting premier of the State Council for several months.
On May 31, 1924, Gu Weijun, as plenipotentiary of the Beijing government, negotiated with Galahan, the plenipotentiary representative of the Soviet government, and signed the Agreement on the Outline of the Settlement of Outstanding Cases between China and Russia on behalf of the Chinese and Soviet governments, stipulating: "The Soviet government recognizes Outer Mongolia as a full part of the Republic of China and respects the sovereignty of China in that territory"; "The future of the Middle East railway can only be decided by the Chinese and Russian governments, and no third party interference is allowed." "The signing of the agreement established normal diplomatic and consular relations between the two countries, and the diplomatic chargé d'affaires of the Chinese and Soviet governments were upgraded to the level of ambassadors.
In June 1945, Song Ziwen led the Chinese delegation to the United Nations Constituent Assembly in San Francisco, and Gu Weijun participated in the drafting with his brilliant pen. At the signing ceremony of the Charter on June 26, when the Representative of China was one of the initiators, in alphabetical order, Gu Weijun, acting as China's chief representative, was the first to write the name "Gu Weijun" in the Charter of the United Nations, followed by Dong Biwu.
In 1957, Gu Weijun served as a judge and vice president of the International Tribunal in The Hague until his retirement in 1967, when he reached the age of 80. In the 18 years of his later years, he was as energetic and diligent as a young man, and he diligently completed the "Memoirs of Gu Weijun" (thirteen volumes) of more than 5 million words, leaving precious and detailed historical materials in the history of China's modern diplomacy, which is quite historical and academic value.
In 1985, Gu Weijun, who was known as the "100-year-old diplomat", died peacefully in his New York apartment at the age of 98. At that time, the New York Times, The Washington Post, The Times and other media all expressed their deep condolences, and the Permanent Representative of the People's Republic of China to the United Nations and the Consul in New York also went to mourn. Some newspaper columnists in the United Kingdom once wrote that "few people in China are more capable of being a typical figure than Dr. Gu Weijun." He was approachable, cultivated, patient and gentle, and no diplomat in the Western world could surpass him in terms of composure and kindness. ”