Tsiang Diaries, 1944-1965

Dr. Tingfu Fuller Tsiang (1895-1965), a scholar, educator, and diplomat, started his political career as the Chinese ambassador to the Soviet Union in 1936. After February 1938 he served as director of the political department of the Executive Yuan. Tsiang was named China's permanent representative to the United Nations in 1947, and was ambassador to the United States from 1961 to 1965. He is perhaps best known for his appointment to the United Nations.

While serving in this capacity, Tsiang campaigned for the right of the Chiang Kai'shek government, which governed only Taiwan and other islands off the coast of the mainland, to represent China at the United Nations. Dr. Tsiang wrote in a letter to The New York Times, "The Communist regime is un-Chinese in origin and un-Chinese in character and purpose. Morally, it cannot represent the Chinese people." Although his position became increasingly difficult after the Central People's Government of the People's Republic of China was established in 1949, Tsiang remained a well-respected figure throughout his diplomatic career.

In addition to his unflagging support of Nationalist China, Tsiang advocated international recognition and autonomy for the peoples of Indonesia, Palestine, Czecholslovakia, Ceylon, and others. He once said that "all people must make up their minds to respect the ideology of others...it is impossible to maintain that the world must accept one system."

The collection contains the personal reflections of this political figure for the years encompassing his most active diplomatic work. The diaries are written in English and contain one-page entries for each day. The collection was filmed from volumes housed at Harvard University.