Yuan Keding

Who was Yuan Keding?

Yuán Kèdìng, courtesy name Yuntai was the eldest son of Yuan Shikai. His mother was Yuan's original wife, Yu, and Yuan Kewen 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 Germany 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 Revolution, under the instruction of his father, Yuan became a close friend of Wang Jingwei. 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. In 1935, he moved to Baochao Lane in Beijing. In 1937, he again relocated to Qinghuaxuan Villa in the Summer Palace. During the Sino-Japanese War, 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, and moved into Tsinghua Garden at Tsinghua University. Thanks to the help of Zhang Shizhao, after 1949, Yuan became a fellow of the Central Research Institute of Culture and History, and thus had a steady income. He died in 1958 of illness.