View source for Wei Yuk

{{Short description|Hong Kong businessman}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2019}}
{{EngvarB|date=April 2019}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| image               = Sir Boshan Wei-Yuk.jpg
| imagesize           = 250
| alt                 =
| name                = Sir Boshan Wei Yuk
| honorific-suffix    = [[Order of St Michael and St George|CMG]] [[Justice of the Peace|JP]]
| office              = Unofficial Member of the [[Legislative Council of Hong Kong]]
| term_start          = 3 December 1896
| term_end            = 11 October 1917
| predecessor         = ''New seat''
| successor           = [[Ho Fook]]
| appointed           = Sir [[William Robinson (governor)|William Robinson]]<br/>Sir [[Henry Arthur Blake]]<br/>Sir [[Frederick Lugard]]<br/>Sir [[Francis Henry May]]
| birth_date          = 1849
| birth_place         = [[British Hong Kong]]
| death_date          = {{Death date|df=y|1921|12|16}} (aged 72)
| death_place         = [[British Hong Kong]]
| party               =
| occupation          = [[Compradore]]
| alma_mater          = [[Queen's College, Hong Kong|Central Government School]]<br/>Leicester Stoneygate School<br/>[[Dollar Academy]]
| resting_place       =
| spouse              = {{marriage|Lady Wei Yuk|1892|1921}}
| religion            =
| signature           =
| footnotes           =
| relations           =
}}
{{Infobox Chinese
| order =
| showflag =
| t = 韋寶珊
| j = Wai<sup>4</sup> Bou<sup>2</sup>-saan<sup>1</sup>
| y = Wàih Bóu-sāan
}}
Sir '''Boshan Wei Yuk''' {{postnominals|country=GBR|CMG|JP}} ({{lang-zh|t=韋寶珊|p=Wéi Bǎoshān}}; 1849 – 16 December 1921) was a prominent Hong Kong businessman and member of the [[Legislative Council of Hong Kong]].
==Early life, education, and business career==
Wei was born in Hong Kong in 1849, the son of Wei Kwong (1825–1879), an adopted son of an American missionary,<ref>{{Cite book |title=Healing Bodies, Saving Souls: Medical Missions in Asia and Africa |publisher=Rodopi |year=2006 |editor-last=Hardiman |editor-first=David |page=108}}</ref> [[Elijah Coleman Bridgman]], at the age of 13; and became the head [[compradore]] of the [[Chartered Mercantile Bank of India, London and China]] in 1857.<ref name="Daily Press" /> His brothers Wei An and Wei Pei were a solicitor and barrister respectively.<ref name="Wu">{{Cite book |last=Pomerantz-Zhang |first=Linda |title=Wu Tingfang (1842–1922): Reform and Modernization in Modern Chinese History |publisher=Hong Kong University Press |year=1992 |page=22}}</ref> He married the eldest daughter of [[Wong Shing]], the second Chinese member to be appointed to the [[Legislative Council of Hong Kong]] in 1892.<ref name="Death">{{Cite news |date=17 December 1921 |title=Death of Sir Boshan Wei Yuk. |page=1 |work=The Hong Kong Telegraph}}</ref> Wei received classic Chinese private education and studied at the Government Central School (today known as [[Queen's College, Hong Kong|Queen's College]]).<ref name="Wu" />
Wei was one of the first Chinese to go abroad for Western Education.<ref name="Daily Press" /> He proceeded to England in 1867 where he entered the Leicester Stoneygate School. He went to Scotland in 1868 and studied at the [[Dollar Academy]] for four years. He returned to Hong Kong after a European tour in 1872.<ref name="Daily Press" /><ref name="Death" />
Wei entered the service of the Chartered Mercantile Bank of India, London and China. Practicing the Chinese custom, he retired from its service for three years when his father died in 1879 and rejoined as compradore and held the position for nearly sixty years.<ref name="Daily Press" /><ref name="Death" />
==Legislative Council unofficial==
Wei was appointed a [[Justice of the Peace]] in 1883 and an [[unofficial member]] of the Legislative Council in 1896, representing the Chinese community alongside [[Kai Ho]]. In the 1908–09 session presided by [[Governor of Hong Kong|Governor]] Sir [[Frederick Lugard]], an Ordinance to amend the Magistrate's Ordinance 1890 and to effect certain other amendments in the criminal law was tabled in the Legislative Council, criminalising the Chinese habit of spitting in and out of doors were strongly dissented by Kai Ho and Wei, on the ground that to penalise a universal and almost involuntary habit would antagonise the whole Chinese population. A petition movement with 8,000 signature were launched and defeated the legislation.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Choa |first=Gerald Hugh |title=The Life and Times of Sir Kai Ho Kai: A Prominent Figure in Nineteenth-century Hong Kong |publisher=Chinese University Press |year=2000 |page=152}}</ref>
Shortly after the [[Chinese revolution of 1911]], Wei and Kai Ho voted for an amendment to the Peace Preservation Ordinance which authorised the [[flogging]] of rabble-rousers in the prisons, in order to prevent any political and economic instability in Hong Kong, despite Wei and Ho supported the revolution.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Carroll |first=John M. |title=A Concise History of Hong Kong |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield Publishers |year=2007 |page=82}}</ref> In April 1912, the Hong Kong government banned the circulation of Chinese coins as it feared the effects of their depreciation after the revolution. In November, Governor May encouraged the [[Star Ferry]] and Hong Kong's two tramways stop accepting Chinese coins. Many Chinese took it as an insult to the new [[Republic of China (1912-49)|Chinese republic]] and left the local residents with less money for tram fare. A colony-wide boycott broke out, and Wei and Kai Ho defended the tram companies and condemned the boycott for harming the economies of both Hong Kong and Guangdong in a meeting at the Chinese Commercial Union. The boycott ended by early February 1913 with the help from local Chinese merchants.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Carroll |first=John M. |title=A Concise History of Hong Kong |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield Publishers |year=2007 |page=84}}</ref>
Boshan Wei Yuk was reappointed for further six-year terms in 1902<ref>{{Cite news |date=22 October 1902 |title=The Hongkong Government Gazette |work=The Hongkong Government |issue=640}}</ref> and 1908,<ref>{{Cite news |date=11 December 1908 |title=The Hongkong Government Gazette |work=The Hongkong Government |issue=918}}</ref> and a further three-year term in 1914.<ref>{{Cite news |date=16 October 1914 |title=The Hongkong Government Gazette |work=The Hongkong Government |issue=395}}</ref> When he retired from the Legislative Council in October 1917, Governor [[Francis Henry May|Sir Henry May]] paid a very high tribute to Wei.<ref name="Daily Press" />
==Public services==
He was associated with the official proclamation of the accession of [[King Edward VII]] and [[King George V]]. He was also a member of the Hong Kong Jubilee Committee in 1890, the Retrenchment Committee in 1894, the Queen's Statue Committee, and the Insanitary Properties Commission, in 1896, the Victoria Diamond Jubilee Committee, and the Indian Famine Relief Committee, in 1897, and the Typhoon Relief Fund Committee in 1906.<ref name="Daily Press" /><ref>{{Cite news |date=18 September 1906 |title=Report of Relief Fund Committee Typhoon of 18th September, 1906 |work=The Hongkong Government |url=http://sunzi.lib.hku.hk/hkgro/view/s1907/2011.pdf}}</ref> He was also member of the Council and Court of the [[University of Hong Kong]] from 1911 to 1921. Wei and Kai Ho were the first Chinese [[Freemasons]]. They took an active part in forming the University Lodge of Hong Kong No. 3666 when the University of Hong Kong was opened in 1912.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Choa |first=Gerald Hugh |title=The Life and Times of Sir Kai Ho Kai: A Prominent Figure in Nineteenth-century Hong Kong |publisher=Chinese University Press |year=2000 |page=27}}</ref>
Wei was chairman of the [[Tung Wah Hospital]] from 1881 to 1883 and from 1888 to 1889, the most prominent Chinese charity authority in Hong Kong. He co-founded the [[Po Leung Kuk]] (Society for Protection of Women and Children) and was the permanent member of the committee of the society. He was a good friend to government official [[Stewart Lockhart]], who was godfather to Boshan Wei Yuk's son Lock Wei, and was one of the most enthusiastic supporter of Lockhart's scheme of the Hong Kong District Watchmen's Committee.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Airlie |first=Shiona |title=Thistle and Bamboo: The Life and Times of Sir James Stewart Lockhart |publisher=Hong Kong University Press |year=2010 |page=65}}</ref> After its foundation, Wei served as a permanent member of the District Watchmen's Committee from 1898 until his death in 1921.<ref name="Daily Press" />
Wei also served on many commissions appointed by the government to enquire into matters affecting the Chinese and served in connection between the Hong Kong and Chinese governments.<ref name="Death" /> He was presented with a gold medal and letter of thanks by the general public and an address of thanks from the Chinese community for his service during the plague epidemic of 1894. During the [[Six-Day War (1899)|Six-day riots]] with the British takeover of [[New Territories]] in 1898, Wei was instrumental in pacifying the Chinese.<ref name="Death" /> Wei and Kai Ho, as well as other Chinese businessmen spread rumours that the British were going to seize all land, in order to persuade villagers to sell their land cheaply.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Carroll |first=John M. |title=A Concise History of Hong Kong |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield Publishers |year=2007 |page=70}}</ref>
Wei was also the originator of the idea of a railway from [[Kowloon]] to [[Guangzhou|Canton]], and thence to [[Beijing]].<ref name="Death" /> The idea was later carried out by the Hong Kong and Chinese governments as the construction of [[Kowloon-Canton Railway]]. Wei spent large sum of money in furthering the scheme,<ref name="Death" /> which was failed at that time due to the opposition from the Chinese officials.<ref name="Daily Press" />
==Chinese politics==
During the Chinese Revolution of 1911 after [[Viceroy of Liangguang]] [[Zhang Mingqi]] sought refuge in the British Consul General's compound, Wei helped establishing peace and order at Canton. He acted as a guarantor of good faith on both the revolutionary army headed by [[Hu Hanmin]] and the imperial forces commanded by Admiral {{ill|Li Chun (admiral)|lt=Li Chun|zh|李準 (清朝)}} in Canton.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Mellor |first=Bernard |title=Lugard in Hong Kong: Empires, Education and a Governor at Work 1907–1912 |publisher=Hong Kong University Press |year=1992 |page=155}}</ref>
He was rewarded the Third Class Order of Chao Ho by President [[Yuan Shikai]] for his service. He was also offered the civil governorship of [[Guangdong]] by President Yuan after Governor Hu Hanmin was driven out by Yuan's army in the [[Second Revolution (China)|Second Revolution]], but Wei declined it.<ref name="Daily Press" />
Governors Sir Frederick Lugard and Sir Henry May were uncomfortable with the Chinese Unofficials' active involvement in Chinese politics and close connection with Canton without their prior knowledge. May was convinced that Kai Ho and Wei Yuk were very closely associated with the [[Sze Yap]] Association and the government in Canton. An article by Hu Hanmin in the Hong Kong Chinese press on Li Chun's contribution to the revolutionary success in Guangdong in January 1912 included also Wei's role in the revolution. Lugard called for an explanation from Wei who succeeded in explaining away his conduct,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Chan Lau |first=Kit-ching |title=China, Britain and Hong Kong, 1895–1945 |publisher=Chinese University Press |year=1990 |page=115}}</ref>. However, although May was "willing to acquit Mr. Wei Yuk of disloyalty" in his dispatch to the [[Secretary of State for the Colonies|Secretary of State]] [[Lewis Harcourt]] in 1913, Kai Ho was not so lucky. May said that he had lost confidence in him and he was not reappointed to the Legislative Council.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Lee |first=Pui-tak |url=https://archive.org/details/colonialhongkong00leep |title=Colonial Hong Kong and Modern China: Interaction and Reintegration |publisher=Hong Kong University Press |year=2005 |page=[https://archive.org/details/colonialhongkong00leep/page/n93 81] |url-access=limited}}</ref>
==Death==
Boshan Wei Yuk retired in 1917. He died at his residence 37 [[Wong Nei Chong Road]] (demolished and now residential flats) at [[Happy Valley, Hong Kong|Happy Valley]] at 9:15&nbsp;p.m. on 16 December 1921 at the age of 74.<ref name="Daily Press">{{Cite news |date=17 December 1921 |title=Death of Sir Boshan Wei Yuk, C.M.G. |page=5 |work=Hong Kong Daily Press}}</ref><ref name="Death" /> He was survived by four sons and two daughters. Lady Wei Yuk died before her husband on 7 February 1921.<ref name="Death" />
==Honours==
In recognition of his great public services to Hong Kong, Wei was created a [[Order of St Michael and St George|Companion of the Most Distinguished Order of St. Michael and St. George]] in 1908.<ref>{{Cite news |date=26 June 1908 |title=The Hongkong Government Gazette |work=The Hongkong Government |issue=471}}</ref> He was knighted in 1919 after his retirement from the Legislative Council.<ref name="Death" /> Wei was also honoured by [[Gustaf V of Sweden|King Gustave V of Sweden]] with the [[Order of Vasa|First Class Order of Wasa]] in 1918.<ref name="Daily Press" /> He was rewarded the Third Class Order of Chao Ho by President Yuan Shikai for his efforts in maintaining peace and order in Canton during the 1911 Revolution.<ref name="Daily Press" />
==Family==
His son Wei Wing-lok (韋榮洛) was a well-known Chinese tennis player who was the Chinese national tennis champion in 1914 and was one of the first engineering graduates of the University of Hong Kong in 1916 before matriculating at MIT.{{fact|date=July 2024}}
He represented China in the Far Eastern Olympic Games held in China and Japan in 1921 and 1923, captain of China’s Olympic Lawn Tennis Team in 1924, making him one of the first Chinese athletes to participate in the Olympics. In 1925, he was the captain of China’s first Davis Cup team.<ref>{{cite web |title=Wing Lock Wei |url=http://chinacomestomit.org/wing-lock-wei |website=China Comes To MIT}}</ref>
Wei figured in several important championship matches in England (including [[The Championships, Wimbledon|Wimbledon]]) in the 1920s.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Archives |first=Tennis |title=Wing Lock Wei |url=https://www.tennisarchives.com/player.php?playerid=3760 |access-date=2019-11-21 |website=tennisarchives.com |language=en}}</ref>
He passed away in New York in 23 September 1935.<ref>{{cite web |title=Wei, Davis Cup Star, Dies Here Mysteriously; Body of Missing Chinese Found in Hudson |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1935/09/23/archives/wei-davis-cup-star-dies-here-mysteriously-body-of-missing-chinese.html |website=The New York Times |date=23 September 1935}}</ref>
His great great grandson Lo Tak-Chun (卢德俊) is a technologist and venture capitalist based out of Hong Kong. He was one of the first directors for [[Techstars]] and served under [[Paul Chan Mo-po|Paul Chan]] for two terms under the inaugural [[Government of Hong Kong|Hong Kong Government]] [[Innovation, Technology and Industry Bureau|Innovation, Technology, and Industry Bureau]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Committee on Innovation, Technology and Re-industrialisation Current:Membership List |url=https://www.itib.gov.hk/en/committee_on_innovation/membership_list/index.html |website=HKSAR: Innovation and Technology Bureau}}</ref> He also served in the [[United States Army]] with distinction.
==Legacy==
Po Shan Road, in the Mid Levels, was named after him.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Holdsworth |first1=May |last2=Munn |first2=Christopher |title=Dictionary of Hong Kong biography |date=2012 |publisher=Hong Kong University Press |location=Hong Kong |isbn=978-988-8083-66-4}}</ref>
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{s-start}}
{{s-par|hk}}
{{s-new|seat}}
{{s-ttl|title=Chinese [[Unofficial Member]]|years=1896–1917}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Ho Fook]]}}
{{s-bef|rows=2 |before=[[Kai Ho]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Senior Unofficial Member#Senior Unofficial Member in Legco|Senior Unofficial Member]]|years=1914–1917}}
{{s-aft|after=Sir [[Henry Pollock]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Senior Chinese Unofficial Member#Senior Chinese Unofficial Member in Legco|Senior Chinese Unofficial Member]]|years=1914–1917}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Lau Chu-pak]]}}
{{end}}
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wei, Boshan Yuk}}
[[Category:1849 births]]
[[Category:1921 deaths]]
[[Category:Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George]]
[[Category:Hong Kong financial businesspeople]]
[[Category:Hong Kong Freemasons]]
[[Category:Hong Kong justices of the peace]]
[[Category:Knights Bachelor]]
[[Category:Members of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong]]
[[Category:People educated at Dollar Academy]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Order of Vasa]]
[[Category:Alumni of Queen's College, Hong Kong]]
[[Category:People from British Hong Kong]]
[[Category:Hong Kong businesspeople]]