Chen Lianbo
Chen Lim-pak (courtesy name Pu-an; October 21, 1884 – December 24, 1944) was a businessman and regional militia leader in early Republican China. Grandson of Chen Qi-yuan, founder of Changchong Silk Mill, he served as head of the Guangzhou Chamber of Commerce. After the Guangzhou Chamber Incident in 1924 he fled to Hong Kong, where he became pro‑Japanese during the occupation and in 1942 was appointed one of four members of the Chinese Residents’ Council under the Japanese military administration. He was killed when the ferry Lingnan Maru was bombed and sunk by U.S. aircraft in the Dragon’s Mouth Channel north of Lantau Island on December 24, 1944.
Early life
Chen was born into a wealthy silk‑trading family in Panyu, Guangdong. At age 12 he was sent to Queen’s College in Hong Kong to study English and obtained British nationality. After graduation at 16 he joined the HSBC branch on Shamian Island, Guangzhou, rising to comprador. In 1905 he also began managing his family’s Changzhan Silk Warehouse. By 1908 he helped found Guangdong Insurance Company and became its assistant manager. Through savvy speculation during the 1910 Shanghai financial crisis and private minting of silver coinage he amassed a fortune of several million yuan by 1915, with interests spanning shipping, mining, paper, tea, tobacco, and other local products.
He was awarded the second‑class Order of the Grain by Yuan Shikai, and served as Chancellor of the Guangdong Export Association at the 1915 Panama Exhibition. He also led the Guangdong Silk and Textile Guild, the Mining Guild, and the Exporters’ Association.[1][2]
Guangzhou Chamber of Commerce
After the 1911 Revolution, local merchants formed the Guangzhou Chamber of Commerce for self‑defense. Chen became its head and financed the purchase of firearms to maintain order during the warlord era. In 1919 the Chamber reformed itself on parliamentary lines and elected Chen as general leader, and in 1924 he organized a joint city militia under his command. That summer he clashed with Nationalist forces under Chiang Kai-shek, leading to the Guangzhou Chamber Incident of 1924. After the defeat he escaped to Hong Kong.
Hong Kong years
In Hong Kong he served as supervisor of the Nanyang Brothers Tobacco Company, vice‑president of Tung Wah Hospital, and Justice of the Peace for Po Leung Kuk. In 1925 he briefly returned to Guangzhou at the invitation of Governor Chen Jitang, then resumed residence in Hong Kong. By the late 1930s he had forged ties with Japanese interests. After the fall of Hong Kong in 1941, he cooperated with the Japanese governor, proposing the establishment of the Chinese Residents’ Council, and served as one of its four members.
Chen died on December 24, 1944, when the ferry Lingnan Maru carrying his household was bombed and sunk in the Dragon’s Mouth Channel. Only one son and one concubine survived; his own body and those of other family members were lost at sea. His death was reported in the Hong Kong press on December 26 and commemorations followed in early January 1945, attended by Japanese and former British governors and leading Chinese community figures.
Legacy
Chen was a noted philanthropist, funding hospitals, schools, and charitable institutions in Guangdong. He helped establish Lingnan Agricultural College (later part of Lingnan University) in Guangzhou and built a Western‑style mansion at 36 Sha Di Lane, Fengyuan Road, which later served as government offices and has been earmarked for restoration by municipal authorities.
Family
- Grandfather: Chen Qi-yuan, silk magnate and returned overseas Chinese
- Father: Chen Pu-xuan, silk merchant
- Adoptive guardians: second uncle’s family
- Brothers:
- Chen Lian-zhong, remained in Guangzhou
- Chen Ru-gong, educator in Xiqiao
- Chen Pu-sheng, mining and petroleum ventures in Guangxi and Hong Kong
- Wives and children:
- First wife: Li Xing; sons: Chen Long, Chen Geng-yu
- Second wife: Julia Fayerweather; son: Chen Xi-ru; twelve daughters and one other son
References
External links
- Chen Lim-pak mansion restoration project