Background
Chu Ching-lan was born in 1873. He was brought up in Shantung, although he was native of Shaoxing, Zhejiang, China.
Chu Ching-lan was born in 1873. He was brought up in Shantung, although he was native of Shaoxing, Zhejiang, China.
He served under the Manchu Regime as Commander of the 17th Army and Inspector-General of Heilungkiang and was a Civil Governor of Kwangtung in 1916. Also Mr. Chu was a Commander-in-Chief of the Chinese Eastern Railway Defence Guards and concurrently Chief Civil Administrator of the Harbin Special Area in 1921. In 1923 Chu Ching-lan was appointed Director of Jiaozhou (Kiaochow) Port Affairs (Tsingtao).
Then Mr. Chu devoted himself to famine relief work in the country and served as a member of the National Famine Relief Commission since 1930.
Since the Japanese invasion of Manchuria in September 1931, he has interested himself in organizing and raising subscriptions for the Chinese Volunteers in Manchuria to oppose Japanese aggression and was nominally Commander-in-Chief of these Forces.
Chu Ching-lan was a philanthropist and energetic welfare worker, well-known among both Chinese and foreigners for the integrity of his character and personality.