Peking, Dec. 29.
Ex-President Feng Kuo-chang died at midnight at Tientsin of General Feng was born in Hocchienfu of Chibli province 57 years ago. He obtained a licentiate litersry degree, but owing to poverty, he enlisted'as a writer in the Chihli Defence Corps. He was, however, soon recommended as a student to the Military College upon its inception. After graduation, he served as a soldier and rose gradually until he was a Colonel in rank, when he applied for a conversion to the civil rank of a prefect. In 1902, he was first Director of the Training Bureau of the new army and then President of the Officers Academy of Paoting. Having done duty in various capacities, the most important of which was Director of the Military College, he was appointed, successively, Acting Deputy Lieut.- General of the Plain Yellow Banner Mongol Corps, and that of the Bordered White Banner Corps. He was promoted one of the Military Councillors upon the establishment of the Military Council.
After the Revolution began at Wuchang and Hankow, he accom panied General Yin Chang to the scene of action. On the 6th day of the 9th moon, he was Commander-in-Chief of the Ist Army, and was rewarded with the bestowal of hereditary rank of a baronet of the 2nd Order, for his service in recovering possession of the Tachihmen region. Subsequently, he was appointed Deputy Licut.-General of Chakhar, but soon reverted as Acting General Commander of the Imperial Guards Corps. When he returned to Peking, he formed the Tungchih Union, in conjunction with the princes and officials, ostensibly for the protection of the northern' five provinces, but really for the purpose of enrolling and drilling local militia in earnest. He was a strong Monarchist.
1913 he was appointed Tutuh of Nanking, after the capture of that city from the revolutionaries, by President Yuan Shih-kai, ana on the latter's death in 1916, he succeeded Li Yuan-hung as Vice-President. When President Li resigned office in 1917 he was succeeded as President by the late Feng Kuo-chang, who went into retirement on the election of President Hsu Shih-chang last year, but continued to play a powerful part in Peking politics.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.