Who's Who in China (3rd edition)/T'ang Tsai-li

General Tiang Tsai-li

唐在黄字夫

General Tang Tsai-li was born at Shanghai in 1882. He passed in 1898 the competitive examinations conducted by the Shanghai School of Languages and was sent to Japan as a government student. He was among the first group of Chinese students sent to the Japanese Military Cadet School. He entered this school in October 1901, taking a course in applied artillery and engineering, graduating there in 1904. In 1904 General Tang returned to China and served under Yuan Shih-kai, who was then Viceroy of Peiyang, as his staff officer, chief assistant instructor and in various other capacities at the Training Bureau. He acted as umpire at the manoeuvres held in Hokienfu, Chihli and Changtehfu Honan. In 1900, was appointed commander of the artillery regiment of the Fifth Division stationed in Shantung. In 1908 he became chief of the department of the Training Bureau of the Metropolitan Forces. In the same year, he was commissioned Lieutenant-Colonel of the artillery, chief staff officer of the manoeuvres at Chochow, Chihli and inspected the National Manoeuvre of Japan. In 1910, went to Urga, Mongolia, as the chief of the military staff there. In the following year, he returned to Peking to become the staff officer of Yuan Shih-kai. Upon the establishment of the Republic, Yuan Shih-kai sent him as one of the Northern Delegates to negotiate with the Nanking government to effect the unification of the North and the South. He served later in the year 1912 as Military Counselor to President Yuan, being promoted as a Brigadier-General and awarded the Fourth Order of Merit. In 1914 he became Deputy Chief of the Military Council in the President's Office and a year later he was promoted to be Chief of the Council. In February 1915 he was commissioned to act as Deputy-Chief of the General Staff. In June 1915 he was appointed Acting Deputy Chief of the General Staff which position was substantiated to him in August 1915. In December 1915 he was ordered to act as Chief of the General Staff. In July 1916 he resigned from these posts, to accept a military councillorship in the president's office. In 1918 General Tang was sent to Europe as the Chinese representative at the Allied Military Council. During the first part of 1919 he was at Paris as Chief Military Delegate on the Chinese Delegation to the Peace Conference. In December 1919 he was appointed Deputy Chief of the General Staff although he was still in Europe making an extensive travel throughout the Balkans as well as Central and Southern Europe. While in England he was knighted (K. B. E.) by King George. He returned to China in the summer of 1920 and resigned from the General Staff in August that year. In recognition of his services, he was made a Chiangchun, of the College of Marshals with "Yen-Wei” as special title and also decorated with the Second Class Paokuang Chiaho and the Second Class Wenfu Decorations. In January 1922 he was appointed a Member of the Commission on Mongolian Affairs. General Tang is the wearer of the French Legion d'Honneur, Commander; the Belgian Order of Crown, Commander; and the Greek Order of the Second Class.