Xu Qian or George Hsu (; June 15, 1871 – September 26, 1940) was a Chinese politician and jurist. He made important contribution to the judicial system of modern China.
Originated from She County of Anhui province and born in Nanchang of Jiangxi province, Xu Qian passed the highest level of Imperial Examination in 1903 and obtained Jinshi title. He was sent abroad to inspect European and American legal affairs, and participated in the judicial reforms of the late Qing Dynasty. Under the Republic of China, he served as the chief legal officer and director of the school committee of National Wuchang Sun Yat-Sen University (now Wuhan University).Confucianism and Spiritual Traditions in Modern China and Beyond, page 262 He was active in the politics of both the Beiyang government and the Nationalist government for many years. Xu Qian contributed a lot to the establishment and improvement of China's modern judicial system.
Early life and education Xu Qian was born in the city of Nanchang, Jiangxi, on June 15, 1871. He lost his father at the age of four and was raised by his mother. When he was young, he studied scriptures and history from the Tongcheng School. In 1902, he successfully stood for the Imperial Examination in Nanjing. The next year, he ranked eighth in the Second Class and obtained the Jinshi title, enrolling in Hanlin Academy to study law."The Record of Emperor Dezong of the Qing Dynasty, Tongtian Chongyun, Dazhongzhizhizheng, Wei Wuren, Filial Piety, Wisdom, Dianjian, Kuanjing, Diligent King" (Volume 517): 1903. Guimao.Han Ce, teacher? Are you born? The Situation of International Students Teaching in the Jinshi Hall of Jingshi University, Journal of Tsinghua University Philosophy and Social Sciences 2013(3):28-37 Xu Qian had an arrogant attitude towards the teachers, and the Jinshi Hall teacher Cao Rulin once could not bear it and asked the supervisor Zhang Hengjia to resign. Zhang Hengjia invited all the teachers and Xu Qian to a special banquet, and talked about the way of respecting teachers. He returned Cao Rulin's letter of resignation. The teacher Zhang Zongxiang recalled that after a certain criminal law examination, he received a letter from Xu Qian beginning "My dear friend", considered a disrespectful way for a student to address his teacher. Xu Qian's test paper was therefore "submitted to the Academic Affairs Office... and no points were awarded." After mediation by the Minister of Management and Education, Xu Qian withdrew his offending letter.
Career In 1907, Xu Qian graduated and was made counselor in the Ministry of Justice, where he presided over the Law Compilation and Inspection Office and participated in the formulation of new laws. One important law he participated in the drafting of was the "Regulations on the Reform of the Judicial System". In 1908, he served as the director of a local court and handled more than a thousand cases a year for several years. Later, he was promoted to Higher Court Procurator. Xuantong In April 1910, Xu Qian was sent to Washington, D.C. in the United States together with Xu Shiying to participate in the eighth session of the Universal Conference on Reforming the Prison and Judicial System. Along the way, he visited London, Paris, Rome, Berlin, Moscow and other places to inspect the judicial systems of various countries. He returned to China in the spring of 1911.
Work under the Republic of China After the establishment of the Republic of China, Xu Qian, Wu Tingfang, Wang Chonghui, Xu Shiying and others established National Progress Association in Shanghai. In April of the same year, he served as the Deputy Minister of Justice in the first Tang Shaoyi Cabinet of Yuan Shikai's Provisional Government. In June of the same year, when Yuan Shikai revised the law requiring presidential orders to be countersigned by the cabinet, Xu Qian joined the mass resignation led by Tang Shaoyi. In August, the National Co-Progress Association was jointly established with the Tongmenghui, the Kuomintang, and several other groups. Xu Qian was elected to its National Congress.
On March 20, 1913, the Kuomintang leader Song Jiaoren was assassinated. On April 27, Xu Qian published a famous article "Announcement to the People" in "Civil Rights Daily", calling on the people to fight against the president Yuan Shikai. After the failure of the second revolution, Xu Qian fled to Shanghai, practiced law, and sold characters. In the meantime, some Christian friends advised him to convert, Xu Qian replied: "If you have a good God, you should not allow people like Yuan Shikai to live in the world. If Yuan Shikai dies immediately, I will join [the Church]." Yuan Shikai died soon after, and Xu Qian fulfilled his promise and was baptised in the Anglican Church, taking the Christian name "George". Xu Qian claimed that he joined the Church to save the country. In 1917, Chinese Catholics and Protestants jointly founded the "Religious Freedom Association" with Xu Qian as the president in order to fight for the right of freedom of religious belief under the Chinese Constitution. In 1918, Xu Qian initiated the organization "Christian Salvation Congress" and was elected as an executive member.
Constitutional Protection Movement In 1916, after Yuan Shikai died of illness, Li Yuanhong took over as the president. In September, Xu Qian was again appointed to serve as Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Justice in the first Duan Qirui Cabinet, with the secret task of liaising with the Kuomintang members in the Legislative Yuan. In July 1917, Sun Yat-sen launched the Constitutional Protection Movement, and Xu Qian went south to Guangzhou in July to serve as the secretary-general of Protection Military Government. In May 1918, the warlords of Guangxi forced Sun Yat-sen leave Guangzhou and seek exile in Shanghai. Xu Qian was the representative before leaving to attend the government affairs meeting of the military government of protecting France. Later, Xu Qian was appointed Minister of Justice by the law-protecting military government controlled by the Guangxi warlords.
In 1919, Xu Qian left Guangzhou to go to Shanghai to meet with Sun Yat-sen. On the eve of the Paris Peace Conference that ended the First World War, Sun Yat-sen sent Xu Qian and Chen Youren to attend as advisors. Xu Qian and others opposed the Conference's handling of the Shandong issue and opposed China's signing of the peace treaty. After Xu Qian returned to China, because he was dissatisfied with Cen Chunxuan's control of the French-protecting military government, he did not return to Guangzhou and went to Tianjin to serve as the editor-in-chief of the Catholic Yishibao.
In July 1920, on the eve of the outbreak of the Zhili–Anhui War, Feng Yuxiang led his troops from Changde to oppose the Beiyang government's policy of "unification by force", calling for federalism. Sun Yat-sen appointed Xu Qian and Niu Yongjian to meet Feng Yuxiang in Hankou, in order to convince Feng Yuxiang to defect from the Beijing government and participate in the national revolution. During the meeting, Xu Qian and Niu Yongjian introduced Sun Yat-sen's revolutionary ideas to Feng Yuxiang, and Feng Yuxiang agreed. From that point on, Xu Qian became the liaison between Sun Yat-sen and Feng Yuxiang, and he often visited Feng Yuxiang's army.
In late October 1920, the Gui Army suffered a disastrous defeat in the First Guangdong-Guangxi War. Cen Chunxuan, Lu Rongting, Lin Baoyi and others announced the withdrawal of the French Protector Army in the name of the fourth president. The Beiyang government unilaterally proclaimed "North-South reunification". Sun Yat-sen and others in Shanghai called for "North-South peace talks" and exposed the crimes of the French-protecting military government under the control of the Guangxi warlords. On November 25, Sun Yat-sen, together with Tang Shaoyi, Wu Tingfang and others, returned to Guangzhou from Shanghai to reorganize the French-protecting military government. On November 29, the French-protecting military government appointed Xu Qian as the Minister of Justice. In April 1921, the Guangzhou National Congress was held, and Sun Yat-sen was elected as the extraordinary president, and Xu Qian was elected as the president of the Dali Academy. In September 1922, Xu Qian served as the chief justice under Wang Chonghui's "cabinet of good men".
In February 1923, Sun Yat-sen returned to Guangzhou to organize the Grand Marshal Base Camp again. Xu Qian, Hu Hanmin, Sun Hongyi and others were dispatched by Sun Yat-sen to Shanghai and served as the Grand Marshal in Shanghai, participating in peace talks between the Kuomintang and the Beiyang government. While in Shanghai, Xu Qian founded the Shanghai University of Political Science and Law. After the failure of peace negotiations, Xu Qian returned to Guangzhou in 1923, serving as the director of the literature department at Lingnan University and founding the "Evaluation Daily".
First United Front In January 1924, 1st National Congress of the Kuomintang was held in Guangzhou, approving the creation of the First United Front between the KMT and the Chinese Communist Party. Xu Qian actively endorsed this cooperation. In October 1924, Feng Yuxiang launched the Beijing coup, imprisoned the president Cao Kun, and invited Sun Yat-sen to go north with the Communist Party to discuss the state of country. In October 1924, Xu Qian was invited by Feng Yuxiang to Beijing to attend the state conference, and persuaded Feng Yuxiang, the "Christian general", with the idea of "Christian salvation". Because Feng Yuxiang married a Christian Li Dequan in 1924, he converted to Christianity and asked his soldiers to do likewise. Xu Qian also published a telegram in his own name, praising Feng Yuxiang for launching the Beijing coup as "a brave act of righteousness", advocating the dissolution of the illegal Yuan and holding a peace conference, stating that "The Abolished Emperor of the former Qing Dynasty is a criminal of the Republic of China, and should be governed by national laws.” Xuan was appointed by Feng Yuxiang as the director of the Russian Language School of Law and Politics, and the chairman of the Committee oversseing China's Boxer indemnity to Russia. At the same time, he also served as a member of the Beijing Branch of the Political Committee of the Kuomintang's Central Committee. During his time in Beijing, Xu Qian established contacts with Li Dazhao and other leaders of the Chinese Communist Party, Li Dazhao was then an executive member of the Central Committee of the Kuomintang, and in charge of the work of the Beijing Executive Department. Under the leadership of Li Dazhao, Xu Qian participated in the National Assembly Movement and the May 30th Movement in 1925.
In March 1925, Sun Yat-sen died of illness in Beijing. In July of that same year, the Guangzhou National Government was established, and Xu Qian elected to the Central Executive Committee as the member in charge of judicial administration. In January 1926, the 2nd National Congress of the Kuomintang was held in Guangzhou, and Xu Qian was elected as a member of the Central Executive Committee and a member of the Standing Committee. He is also a member of the National Government and Minister of Justice. Soon he was appointed director of the Beijing Executive Department of the Kuomintang. On March 7, 1926, the Sino-Russian University was established and Xu Qian became its director.