Shouson Chow

Shouson Chow LLD, JP
Sir Shouson in 1952
Unofficial Member of the Executive Council
In office 9 July 1926 – 8 July 1936
Appointed by	Sir Cecil Clementi Sir William Peel
Preceded by	Paul Chater
Succeeded by	Robert Kotewall
Senior Chinese Unofficial Member
In office 1922–1931
Preceded by	Lau Chu-pak
Succeeded by	Robert Kotewall
Personal details
Born	13 March 1861 Wong Chuk Hang, Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong
Died	23 January 1959 (aged 97)
Alma mater	Queen's College, Hong Kong Winsted Local Grammar School

Sir Shouson Chow (Chinese: 周壽臣爵士; 1861–1959), KBE, LLD, JP, also known as Chow Cheong-Ling (Chinese: 周长龄; pinyin: Zhou Changling), was a Hong Kong businessman. He had been a Qing Dynasty official and prominent in the Government of Hong Kong.

Family

Chow was born in "Little Hong Kong", a village north of present-day Shouson Hill. "Little Hong Kong" was a walled village of a Chow lineage. His father was compradore of the Canton-based Canton and Hong Kong Steamship Company. His grandfather was the head of "Little Hong Kong", who helped Charles Elliot post the first official proclamation of Hong Kong Island in 1841. He had a son, named Chow Yat-Kwong.

Career

Among the third group of Chinese students sponsored by the Qing government to the United States in the 1870s,^[1] Chow left China in 1874 and studied at Phillips Academy, Andover (class of 1880)^[2] and Columbia University. After his graduation he worked for the Qing government.

In 1881 he joined the Korean Customs Service under Yuan Shikai. Later he was the president of the China Merchant Steam Navigation Company of Tientsin from 1897 to 1903, and the managing director of the Peking-Mukden Railway between 1903 and 1907.

He was the Customs and Trade Superintendent and Counselor for Foreign Affairs in Newchwang between 1907 to 1910. During this period he was promoted to Mandarin of the Second Rank. He left government service after the 1911 Revolution and became director of various companies and charities.

Public Service

Sir Shouson with Sir Alexander Grantham, the Governor of Hong Kong, in 1952

Chow with Justice John Wood and Henry Gollan CJ in 1929 at the funeral of Mr H.P. White

Chow was appointed a Justice of the Peace in Hong Kong in 1907. He was subsequently elected to membership of the North British Academy of Arts.^[1][3] In 1918, he founded the Bank of East Asia with three Chinese partners where he was the Chairman of the Board from 1925 to 1929. In 1922 he was appointed a member of the Sanitary Board, the precursor of the Urban Council, and the Legislative Council, where he served until 1931. In 1926, he became the first Chinese member of the Executive Council, and was knighted. In 1933, he was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Laws.

During the Japanese Occupation of Hong Kong, Chow and other leading Chinese figures joined the Chinese Cooperative Council founded by the Japanese military which he was the chairman to maintain public order amongst the Chinese population. They did not suffer from punishment after the return of British rule.

Memory

Shouson Hill, in the south of Hong Kong Island, is named after him.

References

1. Chinese Educational Mission Connections 1872–1881 – Chow Chang Ling
2. Phillips Academy Notable Alumni: 1800s
3. Document III.1: Mr. Chou Show Son p118-9 in A Documentary History of Hong Kong Society, ed David Faure, Hong Kong University Press, Hong Kong 1997