The Diary of Wang Shijie

The Diary of Wang Shijie by Tao Yinghui* 133 Translated and condensed by Lawrence N. Shyu *For the full article by Tao Yinq-hui, see Cbin-tai Chung-kuo shih yen-chiu t'ung-hsun (Newsletter for Modern Chinese History), no. 9 (1990): 93-104. March 10, 1990, marked the 100th birthday of Dr. Wang Shijie, former President of ~cademi~ Sinica. It was a significant event for historians of' modern China that his hand-written diary was published that day. ) no records no records quite complete, with occasional interruptions the most complete, with only occasional interruptions or retroactive writing the diary's record is skimpy and relatively insignificant. It covered only 5 days in 1933 and three days in 1935, while nothing was recorded for 1934 or 1936. fairly complete 01/03/37 08 /16/48 08/17/48 08 /28/59 08/29/59 11 /09/60 11/10/60 05 /30/62 05/31/62 09 /18/79 Pre-1937: The Quantity and Format of the piary Dr. Wang's diary began in May 1933 and ended in September 1979, covering forty-seven years. It had interruptions, and yet the diary is fairly complete for the period of the Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945), when Wang held important positions in government. The following is a detailed breakdown of the period covered by the diary. ,~ ':J I -] ~ I; ~ ~ ! "" J, ... f .J r I : ] 1:. 1 ,~ .;. 1 J: r" 1!. ,,' rJ I I 1·~,·,·" .?: ~ 1. L ~ ~ In its hand-written form, the diary has forty-one volumes of different lengths. The Institute of Modern History has rearranged them into ten volumes, with each volume similar in length. For uniformity in the size of the pUblication, some pages were either slightly enlarged or reduced in photocopying. Pagination and years were added in the margins for the convenience of readers; otherwise , no changes were made in the original manuscript. An appendix was added at the end of volume 10, listing all names cited in the diary, including their Ii and hao. The Importance of Wang and His Diary Wang was one of the best examples of academics who turned to politics during the Nationalist period. His career covered important areas of scholarship, government service, and diplomacy. Wang (ll, Xueting) was born in Chongyang, HubeL After completing his primary and secondary education in Hubei, he was accepted by Beiyang University in Tianjin, and specialized in mining and metallurgy. In 1913, he won a government scholarship to study in England, where he earned a bachelor's degree in political science and economics from the University of London. After studying law at the University of Paris, where he received his doctorate in jurisprudence in 1920, he returned to China to-teach comparative constitutions at Beijing university. When the Nationalist Party came to power in 1927, he was recruited to serve in the new government . During the next forty-seven years, Wang was appointed to scoreS of important government positions, often serving concurrently in several posts. The following is a brief list of his most important political and academic positions: March 1929-April 1933: President of Wuhan University April 1933-January 1938: Minister of Education 1937-1939: June 1938-Sept 1943: Member of the Supreme National Defense Council Member of the Secretariat of the Military Commission Secretary-General of the People's Political Council November 1939-Dec 1942: Guomindang Propaganda Minister ,... September 1943-1946: Member of the Presidium, People's Political Council I \ ., 134 [ r- !IJ 135 JUly 1945-December 1948: Minister of Foreign Affairs Elected to the National Assembly in 1948 November 1944-July 1945: Party Propaganda Minister (served as the government representative in the negotiations with the CCP) April 1962-April 197Q': President, Academia Sinica I Wang's diary revealed that by 1937 he had become a member of the inner circle of the Guomindang Government and a member of Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek's brain trust. Because of his legal training, he was entrusted with the responsibility of drafting and revising numerous organic laws and regulations for various government offices •. In several instances, his diary is of great historical value, particularly in those sections pertaining to the period of the Sino-Japanese War...