Chen Jitong

Chen Jitong in official dress

This is a Chinese name; the family name is Chen.

Chen Jitong (simplified Chinese: 陈季同; traditional Chinese: 陳季同; pinyin: Chén Jìtòng; 1851-1907; style 敬如; also known as Tcheng Ki-tong). Chinese diplomat, general and scholar during the late Qing dynasty. Chen was born in Houguan, in present day Fuzhou. In 1869 he started to study the French language at the school attached to the Fuzhou shipyard. In 1876, he was selected to accompany Shen Baozhen to Europe and he wrote a book on his impressions after his return to China the following year. He subsequently served on a number of important positions in the Qing foreign service. While serving as a diplomat in France, he wrote several famous works in French, becoming the first Francophone Chinese author.

In 1891, he was dismissed from all official positions and settled in Shanghai. Following China's defeat in the First Sino-Japanese War, he served as foreign minister of the short-lived Republic of Formosa.

References

• Tcheng-ki-tong. The Chinese painted by themselves. Translated from the French by James Millington. London: Field & Tuer, [1885?]
• Yeh, Catherine Vance. "The Life-Style of Four Wenren in Late Qing Shanghai." Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies 57, no. 2 (1997): 419-70.

External links

• Speech by Chen (in French)
• Les Chinois peints par eux memes from Google Books

Persondata
Name	Chen, Jitong
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Date of birth	1851
Place of birth
Date of death	1907
Place of death