Qian Duansheng

Qian Duansheng (Chinese: 钱端升; February 25, 1900 – January 21, 1990) was a Chinese political scientist, jurist, and educator. He was one of the pioneers of modern political science and comparative constitutional studies in China. Qian served as the first president of Beijing College of Political Science and Law (now China University of Political Science and Law) and was elected an academician of Academia Sinica in 1948. Throughout his career he taught at major Chinese universities including Tsinghua University, National Central University, Peking University, and the National Southwest Associated University. He was also active in public affairs and participated in the early political institutions of the People's Republic of China.^[1]

Qian Duansheng was born on February 25, 1900, in Shanghai. He received a traditional early education before attending modern schools in Shanghai, including Jingye School and the private Nanyang Middle School. In 1917 he entered the preparatory program of Tsinghua University, which trained students for study in the United States. During his time there he participated in the May Fourth Movement in 1919. After graduating from Tsinghua later that year, he went to the United States for further education.^[2]

Qian first studied political science at North Dakota State University and later at the University of Michigan. In 1920 he entered the graduate school of Harvard University. He received a Master of Arts degree in June 1922 and completed his PhD in political science in 1924. His doctoral dissertation examined parliamentary committees in comparative government.^[3]

After returning to China in 1925, Qian began an academic career that spanned several major universities. He initially taught at Tsinghua University and soon became a professor in the Department of Political Science. In 1927 he was appointed associate professor in the political science department of National Central University in Nanjing. During the following decade he moved between institutions, teaching at Tsinghua, Peking University, and other universities while continuing research on political systems and constitutional law. In 1934 he returned to National Central University, and later resumed teaching at Peking University. During the Second Sino-Japanese War, he also taught at the National Southwest Associated University.^[4]

From the late 1930s to the 1940s, Qian was active internationally and visited the United States several times for academic conferences and lectures. Between 1947 and 1948 he served as a visiting professor at Harvard University, where he taught a course on Chinese government and politics. In 1948 he was elected an academician of Academia Sinica.^[5]

After returning to China, Qian continued teaching at Peking University. In 1949 he became dean of the university's law school and was elected vice chairman of the Beijing Municipal Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. During the early years of the People's Republic of China, he took part in the reorganization of legal and political education.^[6]

In 1952, following the nationwide reorganization of higher education, Qian participated in the founding of Beijing College of Political Science and Law and became its first president.^[7] He was also involved in public affairs, serving as vice president of the Chinese People's Institute of Foreign Affairs and as a consultant on constitutional matters, including participation in discussions related to the drafting of the Constitution of the People's Republic of China. During the Anti-Rightist Campaign in 1957 he was labeled a rightist and subsequently removed from many of his positions.^[8]

During the later decades of his life, Qian gradually returned to academic and advisory work. In 1974 he became a consultant to the Institute of International Studies of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China. In 1981 he was appointed professor at the China Foreign Affairs University and joined the Chinese Communist Party. Qian Duansheng died in Beijing on January 21, 1990, at the age of 90.^[9][10]

Among Qian's major works are Comparative Constitutional Law (1927), The Political Organization of France (1930), Government of Germany (1934), Government of France (1934), Political History of the Republic of China (1939), Reconstruction of the Postwar World (1943), and Chinese Government and Politics (1950), which was published by Harvard University.^[11][12]