Weng Wenhao


Weng Wenhao, courtesy name Yongni, was a Chinese geologist and politician. One of the earliest modern Chinese geologists, he is regarded as the founder of modern Chinese geology and the father of modern Chinese oil industry. From May to November 1948, Weng served as President of the Executive Yuan of the Republic of China.

Life

Early years

He was born in 1889 in Cixi, Zhejiang in late Qing dynasty. His father was a local businessman.
In 1902, he earned the xiucai degree in the Imperial Examination at the age of only 13 He later studied at a French Catholic school in Shanghai.
He obtained his Doctor's degree on geology from the Catholic [University of Leuven (1834–1968)|Catholic University of Leuven], Belgium, in 1912. He was the first Chinese person to hold a western Doctor's degree in geology.

ROC period

After returning to China in 1912, Weng served as Minister of Mine Industry and Minister of Agriculture and Commerce, in the Beiyang Government. He was a professor of the National Research Institute of Geography. Together with Ding Wenjiang, he founded the new National Geological Survey.
He was also a professor of geology in both Beijing University and Tsinghua University. He once was the head of the Department of Geography, Tsinghua University. In July 1931, he was appointed acting president of Tsinghua University.
In 1928, he assisted Canadian paleoanthropologist Davidson Black in the establishment of the Cenozoic Research Laboratory for the research and appraisal of Peking Man fossils unearthed at Zhoukoudian.
He led the National Defense Planning Commission, which was created in 1932 for industrial mobilization as a response to Japan's 1931 invasion of Manchuria. During his tenure, the Commission gained control over most heavy industry enterprises in areas of China controlled by the Nationalist government.
During the period of Central Military Government of the Republic of China, he served in the central government as the General Secretary of the Executive Yuan ; the Minister of Industry, Minister of Education, and the Minister of Economy.
Weng also served as the chairman of the state-owned enterprise China Textile Construction Company.
Invited by Chiang Kai-shek, he served as the first president of the Executive Yuan of Nationalist Government .
In March 1948, he was elected a founding member of Academia Sinica.

People's Republic of China

After the Chinese Civil War, he moved to Beijing and served in the Chinese [People's Political Consultative Conference] with his longtime associate Qian Changzhao.
During the Cultural Revolution, he was specially protected by Zhou Enlai. In 1971, he died in Beijing.

Views

In 1941, Weng advocated a "planned and controlled economic system" in which "the government shall take major responsibility for making national defense its top priority, by promoting to ensure the creation of a solid foundation, and by controlling private enterprise to ensure its healthy development."
In a 1943 article, Weng wrote that the Japanese-operated enterprises in the puppet state of Manchukuo would be crucial to China's recovery from the Second Sino-Japanese War.
Weng viewed the establishment of state-owned enterprises as important to the task of nation-building. In a 1946 speech, he stated, "The master of the state enterprises is the state and all citizens. Therefore, those who work for state enterprises must be loyal to the state and work hard for the nation. They cannot pursue any individual interests."

Family

He had four sons, the eldest one named , was a famous petroleum engineer who was killed in the Cultural Revolution, the second oldest one named was a Chinese Air Force pilot, and veteran of the Battle of Sichuan, who was killed later in the Second Sino-Japanese War/WWII.
The founder of Chinese modern geophysics - , an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, is his cousin.
, academician of Chinese Academy of Engineering, is his nephew.

Academic achievements & activities

Major works

  • Studies of Earthquakes in Gansu Procince
  • A Brief Record of Minerals in China
  • Literary Collection of Zhuizhi
  • Mourn for Mr. Ding Zai-Jun
  • Earthquake
  • Quadrumana Fossils in China
  • The First Record on Chinese Mine Industry
  • Paleozoic Plant Fossils in the Middle Part of Shanxi Province
  • An Elementary Introduction to Earthquake
  • ''Lectures on Geology''