{"record":{"aliases":[],"appointmentIds":["china-a646fb3385d21b"],"appointmentsDataset":"https://chanceries.org/diplomats.json","archivalSources":[],"canonicalUrl":"https://chanceries.org/diplopedia/people/hu-shih-d4a9d9d46c/","countrySlug":"china","entityId":"https://chanceries.org/diplopedia/people/hu-shih-d4a9d9d46c/#person","eventIds":[],"expandedParagraphs":["Hu Shih became known for his advocacy of writing in vernacular Chinese and for his work on Chinese philosophy and literature. A Boxer Indemnity scholar at Cornell and Columbia, he returned to teach at Peking University in 1917. His books included An Outline of the History of Chinese Philosophy and a history of vernacular literature; he also introduced Chinese readers to John Dewey’s ideas.","As ambassador in Washington from 1938 to 1942, Hu argued for continued resistance to Japan. In a May 1941 letter to Secretary of State Cordell Hull, he warned that concessions would not detach Japan from the Axis and urged American assistance to China alongside a firm naval position in the Pacific.","The embassy also handled the administrative work behind American assistance. In May 1941, Hu formally notified Washington that China Defense Supplies, Inc., was authorized to receive Lend-Lease aid. Later that year he transmitted and authenticated documents establishing China’s currency stabilization board and its authority over the dollar–yuan fund.","After the war, Hu became president of Peking University. In 1958 he assumed the presidency of Academia Sinica in Taiwan, continuing his work as a scholar and advocate of historical and textual research."],"id":"china:hu shih","identifiers":{},"legacyPersonIds":[],"legacyUrl":"https://chanceries.org/diplomat-d4a9d9d46cd131e67f33.html","name":"Hu Shih","notes":[],"paragraphSources":[["sinica-hu"],["frus-hu1941"],["frus-hu-aid","frus-hu-fund"],["sinica-hu"]],"profileUrl":"diplomat-d4a9d9d46cd131e67f33.html","relatedEvents":[],"relatedPeople":[],"relationships":[],"researchStatus":"reviewed","reviewedOn":"2026-10-28","revision":"b5610e51352fcc2d","sources":[{"accessedOn":"2026-10-28","date":null,"id":"sinica-hu","locator":"Introduction","publisher":"Academia Sinica, Hu Shih Memorial Hall","title":"Hu Shih: Introduction","type":"institutional-history","url":"https://hushih.mh.sinica.edu.tw/en/Hushih_Content?mid=116"},{"accessedOn":"2026-10-28","date":"1941-05-26","id":"frus-hu1941","locator":"FRUS 1941, vol. IV, document 145","publisher":"U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian","title":"The Chinese Ambassador (Hu Shih) to the Secretary of State","type":"primary-record","url":"https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1941v04/d145"},{"accessedOn":"2026-10-28","date":"1941-05-24","id":"frus-hu-aid","locator":"FRUS 1941, vol. V, document 681","publisher":"U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian","title":"The Chinese Ambassador (Hu Shih) to the Secretary of State","type":"primary-record","url":"https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1941v05/d681"},{"accessedOn":"2026-10-28","date":"1941-11-01","id":"frus-hu-fund","locator":"FRUS 1941, vol. V, document 783","publisher":"U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian","title":"The Chinese Ambassador (Hu Shih) to the Secretary of State","type":"primary-record","url":"https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1941v05/d783"},{"accessedOn":"","date":"2026-10-26","id":"mission-c3b3f6b01fc75ebfe9b0","locator":"Appointment and credentials chronology; its modern page heading does not identify the government represented by every historical entry.","publisher":"","title":"U.S. Department of State: Chinese diplomatic representation","type":"Mission record","url":"https://2009-2017.state.gov/s/cpr/rls/91588.htm"},{"accessedOn":"","date":"","id":"mission-0f77cae804e0ba7548a7","locator":"","publisher":"","title":"Hu Shih — mission record (1938–1942)","type":"Mission record","url":"https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1941v04/d507"},{"accessedOn":"","date":"2026-10-26","id":"mission-43a301dbb56e9082f46f","locator":"Nationalist-government representation, including the R.O.C. embassy after 1949 through the end of 1978. The P.R.C. flag does not apply to these appointments.","publisher":"","title":"Republic of China blue-sky, white-sun and red-field flag","type":"Mission record","url":"https://english.president.gov.tw/Page/96"},{"accessedOn":"","date":"2026-10-26","id":"mission-0d67afec1359e1f0d972","locator":"Separates government representation, U.S. recognition, and the 1979 change in diplomatic relations.","publisher":"","title":"Office of the Historian: recognition and relations with China","type":"Mission record","url":"https://history.state.gov/countries/china"}],"topics":["vernacular-literature","wartime-diplomacy","education"]},"schemaVersion":1}