Mei Yiqi

In this Chinese name, the family name is Mei.

Mei Yiqi or Mei Yi-chi (Chinese: 梅貽琦; 29 December 1889 – 19 May 1962), courtesy name Yuehan (Chinese: 月涵), was a Chinese politician, physicist and educator, who served two separate terms as Ministry of Education of the Republic of China, from 1948 to 1949 and from 1958 to 1961. He was additionally President of National Tsinghua University between 1931 and 1948, making him the university's longest serving president.^[1]

Mei Yi-chi
梅貽琦
Minister of Education of the Republic of China
In office 19 July 1958 – 1 March 1961
Preceded by	Zhang Qiyun
Succeeded by	Huang Jilu
In office 22 December 1948 – 21 March 1949
Preceded by	Zhu Jiahua
Succeeded by	Chen Xueping (acting)
Chairman of Atomic Energy Council
In office 19 July 1958 – 1 March 1961
Preceded by	Zhang Qiyun
Succeeded by	Li Ximou (acting)
President of National Tsing Hua University
In office September 1956 – 19 May 1962
Preceded by	New position
Succeeded by	Chen Ke-chung (acting)
In office 14 October 1931 – 15 December 1948
Preceded by	Ye Qisun
Succeeded by	Feng Youlan
Personal details
Born	(1889-12-29)December 29, 1889 Tianjin, Qing China
Died	May 19, 1962(1962-05-19) (aged 72) Taipei, Taiwan
Political party	Kuomintang
Spouse	Han Yonghua
Children	5
Parent	Mei Bochen
Education	Nankai School Worcester Polytechnic Institute (BS)
Occupation	Politician, physicist, educator
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	梅貽琦
Simplified Chinese	梅贻琦
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Méi Yìqí Wade–Giles Mei I-ch'i
Yuehan
Chinese	月涵
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Yuèhán

Biography

Mei was born in Tianjin on 29 December 1889, to a merchant family. His father Mei Bochen (Chinese: 梅伯忱) was a small merchant. His ancestral home in Wujin District, Changzhou, Jiangsu Province. In 1904, at the age of 15, he attended Nankai School, becoming a student of Zhang Boling. He secondary studied at Baoding Higher School. In August 1909, he was sent to the U.S. as one of the first group of Boxer Indemnity Scholarship Program students. He received his bachelor's degree from the Worcester Polytechnic Institute.

He returned to China after graduation in 1914 and worked in the Tianjin Youth Association. In autumn of that same year, he moved to National Tsinghua University, where he was elected President of National Tsinghua University in 1931. In December 1948, he was appointed Ministry of Education of the Republic of China, but having held the position for only one year. After the defeat of the Nationalists by the Communists in Chinese Civil War in 1949, Mei relocated to Taiwan. In July 1958, he was appointed Ministry of Education again, and concurrently served as President of National Tsing Hua University in Hsinchu City. In February 1962, he was elected an academician of the Academia Sinica.^[2]

On 19 May 1962, he died of cancer at National Taiwan University Hospital, in Taipei, Taiwan.^[3]

Personal life

Mei married Han Yonghua (Chinese: 韓詠華) in 1919 in Tianjin. The couple had one son and four daughters: Mei Zutong (Chinese: 梅祖彤), Mei Zufen (Chinese: 梅祖芬), Mei Zuyan (Chinese: 梅祖彥), Mei Zubin (Chinese: 梅祖彬) and Mei Zushan (Chinese: 梅祖杉).^[4] Mei Yiqi was the brother of Mei Yi-pao [zh], and uncle of Mei Tsu-lin.

Works

• 梅貽琦西南聯大日記 [Diary of Mei Yi-chi in National Southwestern Associated University] (in Chinese). Zhong Hua Book Company. 2018. ISBN 9787101131857.
• 中國的大學 [Universities and Colleges in China] (in Chinese). Beijing: Beijing Institute of Technology Press. 2012. ISBN 9787564059446.
• 梅貽琦自述 [Autobiography of Mei Yi-chi] (in Chinese). Anhui: Anhui literature and Art Publishing House. 2013. ISBN 9787539643670.

Memorials

Garden of Mei

Mei was highly praised by teachers and students of Tsinghua University, "Mei Yiqi is the President of Tsinghua University forever." (Chinese: 梅貽琦是清華永遠的校長。)^[1] Mei was buried in National Tsing Hua University campus, his tomb was named "Garden of Mei" (Chinese: 梅園).