Bao Guancheng
Encyclopedia
Bao Guancheng was a Manchukuo
politician
, who served as mayor of Harbin
and ambassador to Japan
.
, Jiangsu
. In his youth, he studied law at Beiyang University, then worked as a secretary at the National Bureau of Alcohol and Tobacco (全國烟酒事務署). He joined the Zhili clique, then switched to the Fengtian clique
, but Zhang Zuolin
had him arrested due to alleged corruption. However, he escaped punishment, and in 1927 went on to become head of the Shanghai Telephone Exchange (上海電話局). Afterwards he became the victim of a stabbing, stepped down from this position, and went north; around this time, he was believed to have become involved with Japanese agents.
On 28 January 1932, a few months after the Mukden Incident
, he was appointed the mayor of Harbin
. The major event of his mayorship was a 100-year flood
in July: half a metre of water fell in twenty-seven days of continuous rain, bursting the dikes on the Songhua River
and leaving hundreds of thousands of refugees in its wake. Bao headed up the local flood relief committee (哈爾濱水災善後復興委員會) in the aftermath. In response, a local wag Pei Xinyuan (裴馨園) published a newspaper column giving Harbin the new nickname "City of Abalone", a pun on Bao's surname (鮑) and an allusion to the oceans of water which covered the city. Pei soon after found himself unemployed. However, the following month, Lü Ronghuan
was appointed to replace Bao as mayor.
Soon after the end of his mayorship, Bao was appointed Manchukuo's ambassador to Japan. In a speech given in Manchukuo before his departure for Tokyo
in September 1932, he derided the League of Nations
as a failure and called for the creation of an "Asiatic League of Nations" as an alternative. After the collapse of Manchukuo in 1945, he went into hiding in Tianjin
and then his hometown Zhenjiang, and finally escaped into exile in British Hong Kong
, where he would live until his death.
Manchukuo
Manchukuo or Manshū-koku was a puppet state in Manchuria and eastern Inner Mongolia, governed under a form of constitutional monarchy. The region was the historical homeland of the Manchus, who founded the Qing Empire in China...
politician
Politics of Manchukuo
Manchukuo was a puppet state set up by the Empire of Japan in Manchuria which existed from 1931 to 1945. The Manchukuo regime was established four months after the Japanese withdrawal from Shanghai with Puyi as the nominal but powerless head of state to add some semblance of legitimacy, as he was a...
, who served as mayor of Harbin
Harbin
Harbin ; Manchu language: , Harbin; Russian: Харби́н Kharbin ), is the capital and largest city of Heilongjiang Province in Northeast China, lying on the southern bank of the Songhua River...
and ambassador to Japan
Empire of Japan
The Empire of Japan is the name of the state of Japan that existed from the Meiji Restoration on 3 January 1868 to the enactment of the post-World War II Constitution of...
.
Career
Bao was born in ZhenjiangZhenjiang
Zhenjiang is a prefecture-level city in the southwest of Jiangsu province in the eastern People's Republic of China . Sitting on the southern bank of the Yangtze River, it borders the provincial capital of Nanjing to the west, Changzhou to the east, and Yangzhou across the river to the north.Once...
, Jiangsu
Jiangsu
' is a province of the People's Republic of China, located along the east coast of the country. The name comes from jiang, short for the city of Jiangning , and su, for the city of Suzhou. The abbreviation for this province is "苏" , the second character of its name...
. In his youth, he studied law at Beiyang University, then worked as a secretary at the National Bureau of Alcohol and Tobacco (全國烟酒事務署). He joined the Zhili clique, then switched to the Fengtian clique
Fengtian clique
The Fengtian Clique was one of several mutually hostile cliques or factions that split from the Beiyang Clique in the Republic of China's warlord era. It was named for Fengtian Province and led by Zhang Zuolin...
, but Zhang Zuolin
Zhang Zuolin
Zhang Zuolin was the warlord of Manchuria from 1916 to 1928 . He successfully invaded China proper in October 1924 in the Second Zhili-Fengtian War. He gained control of Peking, including China's internationally recognized government, in April 1926...
had him arrested due to alleged corruption. However, he escaped punishment, and in 1927 went on to become head of the Shanghai Telephone Exchange (上海電話局). Afterwards he became the victim of a stabbing, stepped down from this position, and went north; around this time, he was believed to have become involved with Japanese agents.
On 28 January 1932, a few months after the Mukden Incident
Mukden Incident
The Mukden Incident, also known as the Manchurian Incident, was a staged event that was engineered by Japanese military personnel as a pretext for invading the northern part of China known as Manchuria in 1931....
, he was appointed the mayor of Harbin
Harbin
Harbin ; Manchu language: , Harbin; Russian: Харби́н Kharbin ), is the capital and largest city of Heilongjiang Province in Northeast China, lying on the southern bank of the Songhua River...
. The major event of his mayorship was a 100-year flood
100-year flood
A one-hundred-year flood is calculated to be the level of flood water expected to be equaled or exceeded every 100 years on average. The 100-year flood is more accurately referred to as the 1% annual exceedance probability flood, since it is a flood that has a 1% chance of being equaled or exceeded...
in July: half a metre of water fell in twenty-seven days of continuous rain, bursting the dikes on the Songhua River
Songhua River
The Songhua or Sunggari River is a river in Northeast China, and is the largest tributary of the Heilong River , flowing about from Changbai Mountains through Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces. The river drains of land, and has an annual discharge of .As the Second Songhua River, it joins the...
and leaving hundreds of thousands of refugees in its wake. Bao headed up the local flood relief committee (哈爾濱水災善後復興委員會) in the aftermath. In response, a local wag Pei Xinyuan (裴馨園) published a newspaper column giving Harbin the new nickname "City of Abalone", a pun on Bao's surname (鮑) and an allusion to the oceans of water which covered the city. Pei soon after found himself unemployed. However, the following month, Lü Ronghuan
Lü Ronghuan
Lu Ronghuan , was a politician in the early Republic of China who subsequently served in a number of Cabinet posts of the Empire of Manchukuo.-Biography:...
was appointed to replace Bao as mayor.
Soon after the end of his mayorship, Bao was appointed Manchukuo's ambassador to Japan. In a speech given in Manchukuo before his departure for Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
in September 1932, he derided the League of Nations
League of Nations
The League of Nations was an intergovernmental organization founded as a result of the Paris Peace Conference that ended the First World War. It was the first permanent international organization whose principal mission was to maintain world peace...
as a failure and called for the creation of an "Asiatic League of Nations" as an alternative. After the collapse of Manchukuo in 1945, he went into hiding in Tianjin
Tianjin
' is a metropolis in northern China and one of the five national central cities of the People's Republic of China. It is governed as a direct-controlled municipality, one of four such designations, and is, thus, under direct administration of the central government...
and then his hometown Zhenjiang, and finally escaped into exile in British Hong Kong
British Hong Kong
British Hong Kong refers to Hong Kong as a Crown colony and later, a British dependent territory under British administration from 1841 to 1997.- Colonial establishment :...
, where he would live until his death.
External links
- Press photo of Bao and his wife in Japan (Nihon Shinbun Rengōsha)