Shen Tung

Shen Tung, whose Chinese name was Shen Tong (沈桐), served as a legation counselor and acting head of China's mission in Washington. An archival telegram reports his assumption of the legation seal in the tenth lunar month of the Guangxu emperor's twenty-eighth year. ¹

Currency instability occupied part of his work. Correspondence catalogued by Academia Sinica concerns the use of silver for indemnity payments and gold for customs revenue. Research on international monetary cooperation also identifies Shen as the Chinese representative who asked the United States to work with China and Mexico on exchange rate problems. The issue affected both China's foreign obligations and the prospects for trade and investment. ^{2, 3}