Yin Ju-keng
Encyclopedia
Yin Ju-keng; was a politician in the early Republic of China, later noted for his role as in the collaborationist Provisional Government of the Republic of China and Nanjing Nationalist Government during the Second Sino-Japanese War
.
in Zhejiang
province. In 1902, he was dispatched by his wealthy father to Japan
, where he studied Japanese language
and enrolled at the Tokyo No.1 High School, a preparatory school for Tokyo Imperial University in 1905. The following year, he enrolled in the No.7 Military Preparatory School. During his stay in Japan, he became an active member of the Tongmenghui
movement to overthrown the Qing Dynasty
, and also married a Japanese woman. Per the orders of Tongmenghui leader Huang Xing
, he returned to China to oversee revolutionary activities
in Hubei
province. After the Republic of China
had been established, he joined the Kuomintang
. After participating in the 2nd Kuomintang party conference in 1913, he decided to return to Japan to complete his studies at Waseda University
, where he majored in law. He returned to China in 1916, entering into service with the Beiyang Government
, helping establish the Bank of China
and playing an active role in opposing the Constitutional Protection Movement. After the Zhili–Anhui War, he fled briefly back to Japan. On his return to China, he found the country rapidly dissolving into warlord
ism. Yin went into the service of Fengtian clique
General Guo Songling
, and was assigned charge of foreign affairs. However, Guo was killed months later in a revolt against Manchurian warlord Zhang Zuolin
, and Yin again sought refuge on Japanese territory.
In 1926, Yin joined Chiang Kai-Shek
's Northern Expedition, participating in the capture of Nanchang
. He was appointed to the post of Communications Director for the National Revolutionary Army
, and tasked with negotiations between Kuomintang forces and the Imperial Japanese Army
. The following year, after the Shanghai massacre of 1927
, he entered into the service of Shanghai mayor Huang Fu
as chief secretary, and was again tasked with maintaining communications and relations with the Japanese. He was the chief negotiator on the Chinese side after the Jinan Incident
in 1928. Later that year, he was recalled into service with the National Revolutionary Army. After the Shanghai Incident of 1932
, he helped negotiate the Shanghai Ceasefire Agreement
Yin became commissioner of the Luantung Area of the demilitarized zone created by this Agreement in Hebei
Province in 1933. With the encouragement of Kwantung Army General Kenji Doihara
, on November 15, 1935 Yin proclaimed the area under his administration as the East Hebei Autonomous Council
, and independent of the Kuomintang government. However, in July 1937, a detachment of approximately 800 soldiers of the Chinese 29th Army under command of General Song Zheyuan
and loyal to the Kuomintang (KMT) government, camped outside the walls of Yin’s capital of Tongzhou, and refused to leave despite protests from its Japanese garrison commander. Unknown to the Japanese, General Song had reached an agreement with Yin, in hope of using the Kuomintang troops to rid himself of Japanese presence in his government. The end result was a battle between the Japanese and KMT troops, mutiny of East Hopei troops against their Japanese overlords, and a subsequent massacre of the town's Japanese population (see Tungchow Mutiny
).
Yin was captured by the Japanese Army after the mutiny's failure, but spared from execution by the Japanese through the personal intervention of Toyama Mitsuru
. Allowed back to Beijing after a five year exile in Japan, he returned to public life after the establishment of Wang Jingwei
's Nanjing Nationalist Government, but was appointed to only a relatively minor position in Shanxi
province in 1942. Appointed to the Legal Affairs Department of the Nanjing National Government from the January 1944, he remained dissatisfied with the positions he was assigned, and resigned from government. He returned to Beijing in June.
Yin was arrested by the Republic of China
after the surrender of Japan
and tried for treason against the Chinese people
. At his trial in Nanjing he protested his arrest vehemently, stating that everything he had done had been out of patriotism for China. His case was decided by the Supreme Court, which sentenced him to death
on November 8, 1947. Still protesting his innocence, Yin was executed by firing squad on December 1, 1947 at Nanjing.
Second Sino-Japanese War
The Second Sino-Japanese War was a military conflict fought primarily between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. From 1937 to 1941, China fought Japan with some economic help from Germany , the Soviet Union and the United States...
.
Biography
Yin was a native of Pingyang CountyPingyang County
Pingyang County is a county in the prefecture-level city of Wenzhou, Zhejiang, China.In Pingyang, there are two main cities with many surrounding villages. The two main cities are called AoJiang and KunYang...
in Zhejiang
Zhejiang
Zhejiang is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. The word Zhejiang was the old name of the Qiantang River, which passes through Hangzhou, the provincial capital...
province. In 1902, he was dispatched by his wealthy father to Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, where he studied Japanese language
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
and enrolled at the Tokyo No.1 High School, a preparatory school for Tokyo Imperial University in 1905. The following year, he enrolled in the No.7 Military Preparatory School. During his stay in Japan, he became an active member of the Tongmenghui
Tongmenghui
The Tongmenghui, also known as the Chinese United League, United League, Chinese Revolutionary Alliance, Chinese Alliance and United Allegiance Society, was a secret society and underground resistance movement formed when merging many Chinese revolutionary groups together by Sun Yat-sen, Song...
movement to overthrown the Qing Dynasty
Qing Dynasty
The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....
, and also married a Japanese woman. Per the orders of Tongmenghui leader Huang Xing
Huang Xing
Huang Xing or Huang Hsing , was a Chinese revolutionary leader, militarist, and statesman, was the first army commander-in-chief of the Republic of China. As one of the founders of the Kuomintang and the Republic of China, his position was next to Sun Yat-sen. Together they were known as...
, he returned to China to oversee revolutionary activities
Xinhai Revolution
The Xinhai Revolution or Hsinhai Revolution, also known as Revolution of 1911 or the Chinese Revolution, was a revolution that overthrew China's last imperial dynasty, the Qing , and established the Republic of China...
in Hubei
Hubei
' Hupeh) is a province in Central China. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Lake Dongting...
province. After the Republic of China
Republic of China
The Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan , is a unitary sovereign state located in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China currently governs the island of Taiwan , which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other minor...
had been established, he joined the Kuomintang
Kuomintang
The Kuomintang of China , sometimes romanized as Guomindang via the Pinyin transcription system or GMD for short, and translated as the Chinese Nationalist Party is a founding and ruling political party of the Republic of China . Its guiding ideology is the Three Principles of the People, espoused...
. After participating in the 2nd Kuomintang party conference in 1913, he decided to return to Japan to complete his studies at Waseda University
Waseda University
, abbreviated as , is one of the most prestigious private universities in Japan and Asia. Its main campuses are located in the northern part of Shinjuku, Tokyo. Founded in 1882 as Tokyo Senmon Gakko, the institution was renamed "Waseda University" in 1902. It is known for its liberal climate...
, where he majored in law. He returned to China in 1916, entering into service with the Beiyang Government
Beiyang Government
The Beiyang government or warlord government collectively refers to a series of military regimes that ruled from Beijing from 1912 to 1928 at Zhongnanhai. It was internationally recognized as the legitimate Government of the Republic of China. The name comes from the Beiyang Army which dominated...
, helping establish the Bank of China
Bank of China
Bank of China Limited is one of the big four state-owned commercial banks of the People's Republic of China. It was founded in 1912 by the Government of the Republic of China, to replace the Government Bank of Imperial China. It is the oldest bank in China...
and playing an active role in opposing the Constitutional Protection Movement. After the Zhili–Anhui War, he fled briefly back to Japan. On his return to China, he found the country rapidly dissolving into warlord
Warlord
A warlord is a person with power who has both military and civil control over a subnational area due to armed forces loyal to the warlord and not to a central authority. The term can also mean one who espouses the ideal that war is necessary, and has the means and authority to engage in war...
ism. Yin went into the service of 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...
General Guo Songling
Guo Songling
Guo Songling was a Manchurian general who led a three month rebellion against his commanding warlord - Zhang Zuolin....
, and was assigned charge of foreign affairs. However, Guo was killed months later in a revolt against Manchurian warlord 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...
, and Yin again sought refuge on Japanese territory.
In 1926, Yin joined Chiang Kai-Shek
Chiang Kai-shek
Chiang Kai-shek was a political and military leader of 20th century China. He is known as Jiǎng Jièshí or Jiǎng Zhōngzhèng in Mandarin....
's Northern Expedition, participating in the capture of Nanchang
Nanchang
Nanchang is the capital of Jiangxi Province in southeastern China. It is located in the north-central portion of the province. As it is bounded on the west by the Jiuling Mountains, and on the east by Poyang Lake, it is famous for its scenery, rich history and cultural sites...
. He was appointed to the post of Communications Director for the National Revolutionary Army
National Revolutionary Army
The National Revolutionary Army , pre-1928 sometimes shortened to 革命軍 or Revolutionary Army and between 1928-1947 as 國軍 or National Army was the Military Arm of the Kuomintang from 1925 until 1947, as well as the national army of the Republic of China during the KMT's period of party rule...
, and tasked with negotiations between Kuomintang forces and the Imperial Japanese Army
Imperial Japanese Army
-Foundation:During the Meiji Restoration, the military forces loyal to the Emperor were samurai drawn primarily from the loyalist feudal domains of Satsuma and Chōshū...
. The following year, after the Shanghai massacre of 1927
Shanghai massacre of 1927
The April 12 Incident of 1927 refers to the violent suppression of Chinese Communist Party organizations in Shanghai by the military forces of Chiang Kai-shek and conservative factions in the Kuomintang...
, he entered into the service of Shanghai mayor Huang Fu
Huang Fu
Huáng Fú was a general and politician in early republican China. He was born in Hangzhou.-Biography:Huang studied at Zhejiang Military College and Qiushi Academy , later went to Japan. Huang came in contact with the Revolutionary Alliance while studying in a military academy in the Empire of Japan...
as chief secretary, and was again tasked with maintaining communications and relations with the Japanese. He was the chief negotiator on the Chinese side after the Jinan Incident
Jinan Incident
The Jinan Incident or May 3rd Tragedy , was an armed conflict between the Japanese Army allied with Northern Chinese warlords against the Kuomintang's southern army in Jinan, the capital of Shandong in 1928 during the Kuomintang's Northern Expedition.-Background:During the Northern Expedition,...
in 1928. Later that year, he was recalled into service with the National Revolutionary Army. After the Shanghai Incident of 1932
January 28 Incident
The January 28 Incident was a short war between the armies of the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan, before official hostilities of the Second Sino-Japanese War commenced in 1937.- Naming :...
, he helped negotiate the Shanghai Ceasefire Agreement
Yin became commissioner of the Luantung Area of the demilitarized zone created by this Agreement in Hebei
Hebei
' is a province of the People's Republic of China in the North China region. Its one-character abbreviation is "" , named after Ji Province, a Han Dynasty province that included what is now southern Hebei...
Province in 1933. With the encouragement of Kwantung Army General Kenji Doihara
Kenji Doihara
was a general in the Imperial Japanese Army in World War II. He was instrumental in the Japanese invasion of Manchuria for which he earned fame taking the nickname 'Lawrence of Manchuria', a reference to the Lawrence of Arabia....
, on November 15, 1935 Yin proclaimed the area under his administration as the East Hebei Autonomous Council
East Hebei Autonomous Council
The East Hebei Autonomous Council also known as the East Ji Autonomous Council and the East Hopei Autonomous Anti-Communist Council, was a short-lived Japanese puppet state in northern China in the late 1930s.-History:...
, and independent of the Kuomintang government. However, in July 1937, a detachment of approximately 800 soldiers of the Chinese 29th Army under command of General Song Zheyuan
Song Zheyuan
Sòng Zhéyuán was a Chinese general during the Chinese Civil War and Sino-Japanese War .- Early life and education :...
and loyal to the Kuomintang (KMT) government, camped outside the walls of Yin’s capital of Tongzhou, and refused to leave despite protests from its Japanese garrison commander. Unknown to the Japanese, General Song had reached an agreement with Yin, in hope of using the Kuomintang troops to rid himself of Japanese presence in his government. The end result was a battle between the Japanese and KMT troops, mutiny of East Hopei troops against their Japanese overlords, and a subsequent massacre of the town's Japanese population (see Tungchow Mutiny
Tungchow Mutiny
The , sometimes referred to as the Tōngzhōu Incident, was an assault on Japanese civilians and troops by East Hopei Army in Tōngzhōu, China on 29 July 1937 shortly after the Marco Polo Bridge Incident that marked the official beginning of the Second Sino-Japanese War.In early 1937, Tōngzhōu was...
).
Yin was captured by the Japanese Army after the mutiny's failure, but spared from execution by the Japanese through the personal intervention of Toyama Mitsuru
Toyama Mitsuru
was a right-wing political leader in early 20th century Japan and founder of the Genyosha nationalist secret society.-Early life:Tōyama was born to a poor samurai family in Fukuoka City in Kyūshū...
. Allowed back to Beijing after a five year exile in Japan, he returned to public life after the establishment of Wang Jingwei
Wang Jingwei
Wang Jingwei , alternate name Wang Zhaoming, was a Chinese politician. He was initially known as a member of the left wing of the Kuomintang , but later became increasingly anti-Communist after his efforts to collaborate with the CCP ended in political failure...
's Nanjing Nationalist Government, but was appointed to only a relatively minor position in Shanxi
Shanxi
' is a province in Northern China. Its one-character abbreviation is "晋" , after the state of Jin that existed here during the Spring and Autumn Period....
province in 1942. Appointed to the Legal Affairs Department of the Nanjing National Government from the January 1944, he remained dissatisfied with the positions he was assigned, and resigned from government. He returned to Beijing in June.
Yin was arrested by the Republic of China
Republic of China
The Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan , is a unitary sovereign state located in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China currently governs the island of Taiwan , which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other minor...
after the surrender of Japan
Surrender of Japan
The surrender of Japan in 1945 brought hostilities of World War II to a close. By the end of July 1945, the Imperial Japanese Navy was incapable of conducting operations and an Allied invasion of Japan was imminent...
and tried for treason against the Chinese people
Hanjian
In Chinese culture, a Hanjian is a derogatory and pejorative term for a race traitor to the Han Chinese nation or state, and to a lesser extent, Han ethnicity. The word Hanjian is distinct from the general word for traitor, which could be used for any race or country...
. At his trial in Nanjing he protested his arrest vehemently, stating that everything he had done had been out of patriotism for China. His case was decided by the Supreme Court, which sentenced him to death
Death Sentence
Death Sentence is a short story by the American science-fiction writer Isaac Asimov. It was first published in the November 1943 issue of Astounding Science Fiction and reprinted in the 1972 collection The Early Asimov.-Plot summary:...
on November 8, 1947. Still protesting his innocence, Yin was executed by firing squad on December 1, 1947 at Nanjing.