(Vientiane History Special Author: Ling Kongzi)
[November 14, 1985] Gu Weijun's short biography: The first diplomat of the Republic of China in Shandong, a war criminal wanted by the Kuomintang and the Communist Party
During the National Day, the popular "Diplomatic Storm" was broadcast, and the panorama showed the outstanding contributions of the older generation of revolutionaries in pioneering China's diplomatic cause. During the Republic of China period, there was a more legendary diplomatic prodigy who circled the international stage to fight for China's interests, safeguard the dignity of the country and the nation, and write the legend of "weak country diplomacy", he was Gu Weijun.
Gu Weijun was born on January 29, 1888 in the Jiading District of present-day Shanghai. As a teenager, he entered a private school and was admitted to the ecclesiastical school St. John's College in 1901. In 1904 (at the age of 16), he studied in the United States at his own expense, majoring in international law at Columbia University.
In 1912 (at the age of 24), Gu Weijun received a doctorate in law from Columbia University. After returning to China, under the introduction of Tang Shaoyi, he served as the English secretary of President Yuan Shikai. Two years later, he married Tang Shaoyi's daughter.
In 1915 (at the age of 27), in exchange for Japan's withdrawal from Shandong, Japan proposed the infamous "Twenty-One Articles" to Yuan Shikai! Gu Weijun participated in the negotiations, and in the face of Japan's aggressiveness, he quietly revealed the news to Britain and the United States, causing a public uproar and catching the Japanese side by surprise.
Under pressure from Britain and the United States, Japan had to abandon the most "shameless" provisions. In the end, Japan issued an ultimatum, withdrew the Japanese overseas Chinese, and the warships cruised and demonstrated, with a posture of immediate war, Yuan Shikai had to agree to sign the "Four Treaties between China and Japan", and designated May 9 as the Day of National Shame.
Compared with the Twenty-One Articles, the Fourth Sino-Japanese Treaty has shrunk considerably, which can be called a great success for the diplomacy of weak countries. Gu Weijun was indispensable, and was subsequently appointed by Yuan Shikai as a minister in the United States.
In 1919 (at the age of 31), after the end of World War I, Gu Weijun participated in the Paris Peace Conference as a Representative of China. At the meeting, Japan's demand to take over the rights and interests of the defeated Germany in Shandong, China, as a victorious power, was strongly opposed by the Chinese representatives.
Gu Weijun explained from all aspects of history, economy and culture that Shandong is an inseparable part of China, and Shandong is the hometown of Confucius, equivalent to Christian Jerusalem!
Gu Weijun's eloquence amazed the delegates, and the Japanese side was completely inferior.
("My 1919" Chen Daoming as Gu Weijun)
However, Italy subsequently withdrew from the peace conference, and if Japan were to roll it out again, it would lead to the complete abort of the peace conference. Britain, France, and the United States had no choice but to agree to cede Germany's rights and interests in Shandong to Japan. When the news spread back to China, the Chinese, which was full of hope, suffered a blow, and the "May Fourth Movement" broke out!
Lu Zhengxiang, head of the Chinese delegation, was pressured to leave Paris. Gu Weijun temporarily assumed the authority of the head of the regiment and continued to mediate with all parties. But the situation was irreparable, so he refused to sign the Treaty of Versailles.
However, Gu Weijun did not flinch at the Paris Peace Conference, and his reasoned and restrained debate won the admiration and respect of the heads of state of various countries. Gu Weijun won the reputation of "the first diplomat of the Republic of China".
(Paris Peace Conference 1919)
In 1920 (at the age of 32), Gu Weijun was appointed minister to Britain. In 1921, as one of the plenipotentiaries of the Chinese government, he attended the Washington Conference. The meeting abolished some of the provisions of the "Sino-Japanese Fourth Treaty", and China successfully recovered the rights and interests of Shandong that it had painstakingly demanded from Japan!
The meeting also signed the "Nine-Power Pact," in which all countries openly expressed their respect for China's sovereignty and independence and practiced the principle of "opening the door and equal opportunities," which greatly curbed Japan's attempt to monopolize China. At this meeting, China gained unprecedented respect, which can be described as a victory for diplomacy!
(Chinese delegates to the Washington Conference, from left, Gu Weijun, Shi Zhaoji, and Wang Pethui)
In 1922 (at the age of 34), after returning to China, Gu Weijun shined in the political arena, and after Gu Weijun returned to China, he began to shine in the political arena of Beijing, serving as the chief foreign minister three times, the minister of finance twice, and the acting prime minister three times and the president.
Gu Weijun devoted himself to the revision of treaty diplomacy and the revision of unequal treaties that had been signed, and achieved remarkable results. In 1926, Gu Weijun resolutely abrogated the Sino-Belgian Treaty signed in 1865, which was the first time in China's modern history that the old unequal treaty was completely abolished.
In June 1927, in the warlord melee, Zhang Zuolin of the Fengjun army won and reorganized the military government, and Gu Weijun was forced to resign and live in the Tianjin Concession.
In 1928 (at the age of 40), the National Revolutionary Army's Northern Expedition successfully unified the whole country, and Gu Weijun, as an important member of the Beiyang government, was wanted by the Nationalist government. In 1930, through the mediation of Zhang Xueliang, Gu Weijun joined the Nationalist government and returned to the diplomatic circles.
In 1931 (at the age of 43), after the "918" incident, Gu Weijun joined the League of Nations Lytton investigation mission and went to the northeast to investigate. Gu Weijun strongly condemned Japan and argued on the basis of reason. In 1933, Japan withdrew from the League of Nations.
In March 1936 (at the age of 48), Gu Weijun was elected as a director of the Chinese branch of the League of Nations. After the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Gu Weijun, who was in the United States, ran to the battlefield to win aid for the Nationalist government. In April 1941 (at the age of 53), Gu Weijun was appointed ambassador to Britain and thus joined the Chinese Nationalist Party.
(Represented China at the San Francisco Conference, the first to sign the Charter of the United Nations)
On June 26, 1945 (at the age of 57), Gu Weijun attended the United Nations Constituent Assembly in San Francisco and represented China as the first to sign the Charter of the United Nations. He was the first Chinese representative to the United Nations General Assembly.
During the Liberation War, Gu Weijun lobbied the United States with all his might, hoping to drag the United States into a civil war in an all-round way, but in the end he did not succeed. In 1949, the People's Daily published a list of "civil war criminals", and Gu Weijun ranked 22nd.
In 1956 (at the age of 68), Gu Weijun stepped down as "foreign minister" of the Kuomintang government. He served as a judge at the International Court of Justice in The Hague for 10 years.
In 1959 (71 years old), Gu Weijun married his 54-year-old lover Yan Youyun. The Memoirs of Gu Weijun, which he completed in his later years, is an important material for the study of Modern and Contemporary Chinese Diplomacy.
On November 14, 1985, Gu Weijun died of illness in the United States at the age of 98 and was buried at Fincliff Cemetery in New York. And his widow Yan Youyun died until May 24, 2017, living to the age of 112!
(109-year-old Yan Youyun dancing at a birthday party)
(The 547th work of the Vientiane History and Biography Writing Camp, and the 30th work of the camper "Lingkongzi")