Chen Lu

Chen Lu

Chen Lu (1877-1939, February 18) was a diplomat in the period of the Republic of China. He is from Fuzhou, Fujian Province. In 1894, he entered the mineralization school attached to the General Administration of railways, and later entered the Wuchang Ziqiang school. After graduating in 1901, he stayed in the school as a French teacher, and then transferred to France to study law at the University of Paris. After graduating in 1907, he was the first overseas student in China to obtain a bachelor's degree in law in France. In March 1938, he took refuge in Japan, became a traitor and became the foreign minister of the puppet reform government. In 1939, he was assassinated and killed by an agent of the Military Commission.

Early experience

Chen Lu was born in Minhou, Fujian Province in 1877. In his early years, he entered Fuzhou Mawei Shipping school to study French. In 1901, after graduating from Wuchang Ziqiang school, he stayed in the school to teach French. At that time, stimulated by the defeat of the Sino Japanese War of 1894-1895, with the purpose of "enriching the country and strengthening the army", Chen Lu won the post of "foreman of overseas students" in 1903 and escorted eight students selected by the Qing government to Germany. Later, he went to France to study law at the University of Paris and graduated in 1907. He was the first Chinese student to obtain a bachelor's degree in law in France. After returning to China, Chen Lu took part in the imperial examination of the Qing government and was awarded the title of Jinshi in law science. Later, he successively served as the chief of the Department of production and exploration of the Ministry of law, the editor of the law Museum of the Hanlin academy, and the foreman of the Ministry of foreign affairs. After the founding of the Republic of China, Lu Zhengxiang, the first foreign minister of the Beijing government, made great efforts to recruit foreign students. He attached great importance to Chen Lu, who was born in French and familiar with international law, and appointed him as Chief Secretary for administration of the Ministry of foreign affairs. In December 1913, Chen Lu became China's plenipotentiary in Mexico and began to become an independent diplomat.

Dealing with Outer Mongolia

Chen Lu's emergence on the stage of China's diplomacy is related to the Outer Mongolia issue. At the beginning of the Republic of China, in order to seek their own interests, tsarist Russia instigated the princes of Outer Mongolia to make "independence" and created the Outer Mongolia incident. In December 1913, under the pressure of the Russian government, Yuan Shikai's government and Russia signed the Sino Russian declaration document and its annex on the settlement of the Outer Mongolia issue. It stipulates that the interests of China and Russia in Outer Mongolia shall be negotiated and agreed by the representatives of China, Russia and Mongolia at their discretion. Chen Lu was appointed as China's "plenipotentiary envoy to the meeting on the Outer Mongolia issue" because he followed Lu Zhengxiang and his successor sun Baoqi to participate in the negotiations on the Outer Mongolia issue between China, Russia and was familiar with the inside information.

In September 1914, China, Russia and Mongolia held talks in chaktu. In June 1915, it took nine months, 48 formal meetings and more than 40 negotiations before the final signing of Article 22 of the China Russia Mongolia agreement. At that time, under the pressure of Japan's "Article 21" requirements, the Beijing government was unable to use military means as the backup of the negotiations. Chen Lu was just relying on his words to fight at the negotiation table, and the results were not hard to imagine. With the signing of the Treaty of chaktu, China maintained its nominal suzerainty, but lost its actual ruling power in Outer Mongolia. However, Chen Lu also won the right for the central government to confer the title of Zhebuzundanba, to send senior officials in Kulun to monitor the behavior of the Outer Mongolia Autonomous Government and its subordinate officials, and urged Zhebuzundanba to announce the abolition of independence.

The chaktu conference earned Chen Lu a reputation. Later, Chen Lu became the chief executive of China in dealing with Mongolian affairs. During his term of office, he completed the procedure of conferring the title of Zhebuzundanba by the president of the Republic of China, urged Zhebuzundanba to send people to meet the president of the Republic of China, agreed to the central government to set up an assistant commissioner in tangnuwulianghai area, safeguarded China's legitimate rights and interests in outer Mongolia, and gradually pulled Outer Mongolia from the state of "independence" to the reality of "autonomy" of recognizing China's suzerainty. For this period of history, Chen Lu's works, such as essays on Mongolian affairs and anecdotal history of Mongolia, exist in the world.

Acting director

Dealing with the affairs of Outer Mongolia accumulated rich diplomatic experience for Chen Lu. In May 1917, Chen Lu finished his one-year and seven month "garrison" mission and returned to Beijing. At the end of the same year, he served as vice minister of foreign affairs. Soon after, Lu Zhengxiang attended the Paris Peace Conference on behalf of China, and Chen Lu took the post of foreign minister as vice minister of the Ministry of foreign affairs. This is the peak of Chen Lu's diplomatic career.

The Paris peace conference is the most important international conference in which China participated as a victor after World War I. As the Acting foreign minister, Chen Lu was responsible for reporting the information of the Chinese delegation to the decision-making center in time, and distributing the government policies to the delegation. He participated in the decision-making activities of the central government's foreign affairs. As the leading power of the Paris peace conference is in the hands of the United States, Britain, France, Japan and Italy, China's rights and interests have become a bargaining chip for power exchange, making it difficult for the Chinese government and delegation to safeguard their legitimate rights and interests. This is evidenced by the diplomatic disturbance in Beijing when Japanese Minister Youji Kofan "questioned" Chen Lu.

On January 27, 1919, Chinese representative Gu Weijun stated China's views on the Shandong issue to the five powers at the Paris peace conference, and said that he could request the Chinese government to publish secret documents on the Shandong issue at any time. On February 2, Xiaofan couldn't wait to meet Chen Lu on the second day of the Chinese new year to question the matter. "The Japanese government is not unwilling to publish the above-mentioned document, but it can publish it at any time with the consent of the two governments," he said. Today, without the consent of the Japanese side, Gu made it clear to the journalists that he could publish it. The Japanese government is very unhappy and does not conform to diplomatic practice. " Chen Lu replied: "the telegram sent by the representative did not mention The Chinese government has not instructed the two representatives to talk about the issue of any document. Moreover, chief Lu attaches great importance to the diplomatic relations between the two countries. He is convinced that he will not be so careful. " The Japanese side was aggressive, so Chen Lu had to shirk responsibility and make good plans. In a hurry, Chen Lu revealed the contents of Xiaofan's Secret appointment to the press, which set off a "diplomatic storm" in Chinese society to denounce Xiaofan's behavior.

The Paris Peace Conference finally decided to transfer the rights and interests of Germany, the defeated country, in Shandong Province of China to Japan, which completely exposed the faces of the great powers and put the Beijing government of China on the crater. The Ministry of foreign affairs was the first to bear the brunt. Chen Lu was deeply impacted and did not dare to work in the Ministry. When the Chinese delegation "refused to sign" the peace treaty with Germany, Chen Lu thought that "not signing will do more harm than good", asked to resign and refused to work in the Ministry. However, the conflicts between China and Japan, such as the "Shandong issue" and "Fuzhou incident", forced him to stay, and Chen Lu suffered a lot. Until the middle of February 1920, accompanied by Lu Zhengxiang, who came back to China and asked to resign, Chen Lu submitted his resignation again. In his resignation, Chen Lu indicated his embarrassment on that day: "in the past year, he has been walking on thin feet, passing through time and danger, suffering and hardship, exhausted from the burden, changeable situation, and poor in maintenance..."

Vortex in France

In September 1920, the Beijing government appointed Chen Lu as plenipotentiary to France. He had been in this position for nearly eight years, and was the longest serving ambassador to France in the late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China. However, Chen Lu was attacked by Chinese students and groups in France because he acted according to the intention of Beijing government.

In February 1921, as soon as Chen Lu came to office, he met with the thorny petition incident of Chinese students studying in France. After the end of the first World War, with the encouragement of the China France Education Association, the movement of "work study in France" flourished in all parts of China. More than 1600 students came to France one after another. However, a large number of young students who came to France with high hopes soon fell into the situation of not being able to enter the school, finding jobs and even living in difficulties. In January 1921, the Chinese French Education Association issued a circular declaring that it was divorced from the economic relations with the students from France. As a result, the students turned to the Chinese Embassy in France to appeal. After several negotiations, the embassy got a reply from the Beijing government, saying that the current national treasury is extremely short, and the students in France who have no money or work can only be repatriated to China, and the embassy was instructed to handle the matter. Chen Lu had to invite the French police to maintain order, and promised the embassy to pay the students a living maintenance fee for June, and promised to continue to look for jobs for those who had no jobs, which temporarily resolved the crisis and contradictions. In June, Chen Lu participated in a delegation composed of Beijing government envoy Zhu Qiqian and his entourage Wu Dingchang to secretly negotiate with the French government on the loan of 300 million francs. China's guarantee condition is to sell the state stamp duty, deed tax and the construction rights of Yunnan Chongqing railway and Guangdong Guangdong railway. Under the strong opposition of Zhou Enlai, Cai Hesen and other Chinese students studying in France, the incident was forced to stop. In September, Chen Lu clashed with the French students who entered the "Lyon University of China and France" and demanded the "right to study" in France. He supported and acquiesced in the French government's forced repatriation of students. For a time, Chen Lu became the "public enemy" of international students.

On March 20, 1922, Li Helin, a student studying in France in Sichuan, shot Chen Lu's car with a pistol, but failed to hit it. In July 1928, the Nanjing National Government, which was not long established, removed Chen Lu from the post of minister in France. Frustrated Chen Lu, dejected, left the diplomatic arena.

Become a traitor

At the end of 1928, Chen Lu left his post as minister in France and returned to Shanghai. In order to appease Chen Lu, the Nanjing National Government appointed him as an adviser to the Ministry of foreign affairs and vice chairman of the Negotiation Committee of the Ministry of foreign affairs in 1934. After the outbreak of the Anti Japanese war in 1937, Chen Lu stayed in Shanghai. Chen Lu, who was unwilling to be lonely and unwilling to succeed, became the object of the Japanese puppet government. He soon degenerated and agreed to take up the post of Foreign Minister of the "reform government of the Republic of China" established in Nanjing on March 28, 1938. At the same time, his son Chen Youtao also served as the general secretary of the puppet foreign ministry. Because of Chen Lu's great experience, his defection to the enemy was regarded as a major victory in the Japanese puppet regime, which also prompted the juntong to make up its mind to get rid of him.

Chinese PinYin : Chen Lu