Yuán Kèdìng (
Chinese: A Chinese character, also known as a Han character , is a logogram used in writing Chinese , Japanese , less frequently Korean , and formerly Vietnamese , and other languages...
袁克定; 1878 - 1958), courtesy name Yuntai (云台) was the eldest son of
Yuan ShikaiYuan Shikai was an important Chinese general and politician famous for his influence during the late Qing Dynasty, his role in the events leading up to the abdication of the last Qing Emperor of China, his autocratic rule as the...
. His mother was Yuan's original wife, Yu (于氏), and
Yuan KewenYuan Kewen , courtesy name Baocen , sobriquet Hanyun , was the second son of Yuan Shikai, and the younger brother of Yuan Keding. His mother was Yuan's third concubine, Jin , a Korean born in Seoul....
was his younger brother.
In his childhood, Yuan followed his father to many places when he served in various positions in Qing Dynasty. He studied in
GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
and spoke fluent German and English. At the end of the Qing Dynasty, he served as a low-rank official in the government.
Yuán Kèdìng (
Chinese: A Chinese character, also known as a Han character , is a logogram used in writing Chinese , Japanese , less frequently Korean , and formerly Vietnamese , and other languages...
袁克定; 1878 - 1958), courtesy name Yuntai (云台) was the eldest son of
Yuan ShikaiYuan Shikai was an important Chinese general and politician famous for his influence during the late Qing Dynasty, his role in the events leading up to the abdication of the last Qing Emperor of China, his autocratic rule as the...
. His mother was Yuan's original wife, Yu (于氏), and
Yuan KewenYuan Kewen , courtesy name Baocen , sobriquet Hanyun , was the second son of Yuan Shikai, and the younger brother of Yuan Keding. His mother was Yuan's third concubine, Jin , a Korean born in Seoul....
was his younger brother.
In his childhood, Yuan followed his father to many places when he served in various positions in Qing Dynasty. He studied in
GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
and spoke fluent German and English. At the end of the Qing Dynasty, he served as a low-rank official in the government. After the
Xinhai RevolutionThe Xinhai Revolution or Hsinhai Revolution , also known as the 1911 Revolution or the Chinese Revolution, began with the Wuchang Uprising on October 10, 1911 and ended with the abdication of Emperor Puyi on February 12, 1912...
, under the instruction of his father, Yuan became a close friend of
Wang JingweiWang Jingwei , alternate name Wang Zhaoming , was a Chinese politician...
. According to the
History of Xinhai Revolution, Yuan and Wang swore to be "brothers of different surnames" in front of Yuan Shikai.
After the death of his father, Yuan lived reclusively in the German concession in
Tianjin' is the sixth largest city of the People's Republic of China in terms of urban population. Administratively it is one of the four municipalities that have provincial-level status, reporting directly to the central government...
. In 1935, he moved to Baochao Lane (宝钞胡同) in Beijing. In 1937, he again relocated to Qinghuaxuan Villa in the
Summer PalaceThe Summer Palace or Yihe yuan is a palace in Beijing, China.The Summer Palace is mainly dominated by Longevity Hill and the Kunming Lake. It covers an expanse of 2.9 square kilometers, three quarters of which is water. The central Kunming Lake covering 2.2 square kilometers was entirely man made...
. During the
Sino-Japanese WarThere were two wars known as the Sino-Japanese War :* The First Sino-Japanese War occurred between 1894 and 1895, primarily over control of Korea....
, Yuan refused to cooperate with the Japanese army and his life became impoverished.
In 1948, due to poverty, Yuan turned to his cousin, Zhang Boju (张伯驹), and moved into Tsinghua Garden. Thanks to the help of
Zhang ShizhaoZhang Shizhao , courtesy name Xingyan, penname Huangzhonghuang, Qingtong or Qiutong, was a Chinese politician of the 20th century. He was the Minister of Justice and Minister of Education of the Beiyang Government, led by Duan Qirui during the Republic of China period...
, after 1949, Yuan became a fellow of the
Central Research Institute of Culture and HistoryCentral Research Institute of Culture and History is an institute founded by Communist Party of China and Chinese government for senior intellects with united front and honorary purposes. Its principle is "respecting elders and promoting culture"...
, and thus had a steady income. He died in 1958 of illness.
Yuan had three children. His son, Yuan Jiarong (袁家融), studied in the United States and majored in geology.