Background
Mr. Chiang was born in Yincheng, Jiangxi, China in 1883.
Mr. Chiang was born in Yincheng, Jiangxi, China in 1883.
After having received a preliminary education in his native Province Chiang Tso-ping went to Japan and entered the Military Officers Academy in 1907, taking the course of infantry.
Mr. Chiang was appointed as a professor in the Military College at Baoding and while there he translated into Chinese several Japanese books on military tactics. While in Japan Chiang Tso-ping made acquaintance with Dr. Sun Yat-sen and became a member of the Tung-meng-hui, the secret society of the revolutionaries. He took a prominent part in the 1911 Revolution when the monarchy was overthrown and when the Republican Government was proclaimed in Nanking on January 1,1912, he was appointed the Vice-Minister of War by Dr. Sun.
Chiang Tso-ping held this post until 1916 when he was appointed vice-chief of the General Staff. Owing to his opposition to the monarchial restoration and the subsequent regime he resigned in July, 1917, and after that identified himself with the revolutionary movement.
Mr. Chiang led a successful revolt in his native province in 1921 against Wang Chan-yuan, then High Inspecting Commissioner for Hubei (Hupeh) and Hunan. Later he went to Canton and was appointed by Dr. Sun as Chief Staff Officer in charge of preparations of the northern punitive expedition. During the Nationalist Revolution he was a member of the Government Council and subsequently the Chairman of the Provincial Government of Anhui.
In 1928 he was appointed chairman of the Political Commission for War Zone Provinces until the Nationalist armies captured Peking (Beijing). After the unification of the country Chiang Tso-ping resigned all his military and political posts and was appointed Minister to Germany and Austria and delegate to the disarmament commission of the League of Nations and at the 10th and the 11th seccions of the Assembly of the League.
Upon his return to China, Mr. Chiang was elected a member of the Central Supervisory Committee and Chairman of the Diplomatic Affairs Committee. He was appointed Minister to Japan in August, 1931, which post he held until summer of 1935, when he was promoted the first Chinese Ambassador to that country. On December 1935 Chiang Tso-ping was appointed Minister of Interior.