Collection Guide
Collection Title:
Collection Number:
Get Items:
View entire collection guide
Search this collection
Table of contents
Title: H. H. Kung 孔祥熙 papers
Date (bulk): 1925-1947
Collection Number: 2006C51
Contributing Institution: Hoover Institution Library and Archives
Language of Material: In Chinese and English
Physical Description:
119 manuscript boxes, 3 oversize boxes, 3 oversize folders, memorabilia
(50.37 Linear Feet)
Abstract: The H. H. Kung 孔祥熙 papers (1901-1976) consist of speeches and writings, correspondence, reports, conference proceedings, and
meeting minutes, relating to political and economic conditions in China and to Chinese diplomatic policy and finances during
the Second Sino-Japanese War and World War II.
Creator:
Kung, H. H. (Hsiang-hsi), 1880-1967
Physical Location: Hoover Institution Library & Archives
This collection is being digitized and additional online items will be made available as they are created throughout 2023
via the Hoover Institution Library & Archives
Digital Collections portal. Original materials are closed due to the fragility of the documents.
For copyright status, please contact the Hoover Institution Library & Archives.
The H. H. Kung 孔祥熙 papers are on deposit with the Hoover Institution Library & Archives. Ownership of the collection lies
with the Kung family. For more information, please contact the Hoover Institution Library & Archives.
[Identification of item], H. H. Kung 孔祥熙 papers, Hoover Institution Library & Archives, [permalink]
Microfilm use copies are available for boxes 1-51, with a finding aid available upon request for these materials. Boxes 52-114
were not microfilmed.
The Hoover Institution Library & Archives received the H. H. Kung papers on deposit from the Kung family in 2006. The collection
was rehoused into archival boxes and folders upon receipt and during this process mold was discovered in some materials. In
response, the entire collection was frozen, and a detailed preservation survey identified both levels of damage and required
levels of treatment. 51 boxes were identified as not requiring extensive treatment for mold. These materials were left in
their original order, defined as boxes 1-51, described, and published as "Part I" of the collection. Due to the fragility
of these original documents, the materials were microfilmed and have been made available via microfilm since 2010. The rest
of the collection underwent preservation treatment for mold and fragility; this work was completed in 2016. These materials
were rehoused into archival boxes and folders in their original order and were defined as boxes 52-114. In 2017, boxes 52-114
were described by two graduate students (in both English and simplified Chinese) and were published as "Part II" of the collection.
Boxes 52-114 were not microfilmed.
In 2020, Hoover Institution Library & Archives began preparations for the complete digitization of the H. H. Kung 孔祥熙 papers.
This work included reviewing and updating the description, converting the simplified to traditional Chinese characters to
better reflect the language used in the collection materials, and applying intellectual arrangement to support discovery based
on researcher feedback. During preparation, the original order of the materials was maintained, but to improve the physical
stability of some materials, rehousing was performed and the total extent of the collection expanded to 122 boxes. The "Part
I" and "Part II" designations that had been applied by the Library & Archives to delineate the content made available on microfilm
in 2010 from the rest of the collection were removed once the collection had been intellectually rearranged.
| 1881 | Born, Shanxi Province, China |
| 1896-1900 | Studied at North China Union College in Tongzhou |
| 1906 | Graduated from Oberlin College, Ohio |
| 1907 | Graduated from Yale University, M.A. in Economics |
| 1913 | Secretary of the Chinese YMCA in Tokyo, Japan |
| 1914 | Married Soong E-ling 宋靄齡 |
| 1924 | Joined the Kuomintang (KMT) |
| 1925 | Received honorary LL.D. degree from Oberlin College |
| 1928 | Named Minister of Industry and Commerce |
| 1929 | Elected to the KMT Central Executive Committee |
| 1932 | Appointed special commissioner to study European industrial conditions; assigned to secure foreign aid for the development of China's national defense |
| 1933 | Vice-Premier, Executive Yuan |
| Minister of Finance | |
| Governor, Bank of China | |
| 1937 | Received honorary degree from Yale University |
| Represented the Chinese National Government as special envoy during the coronation of King George VI | |
| 1938-1939 | President, Chinese-American Institute of Cultural Relations |
| Premier, Executive Yuan | |
| 1948 | Moved to New York, United States |
| 1967 August 15 | Died, Long Island, New York |
Scope and Content of Collection
The H. H. Kung 孔祥熙 papers bear witness to and describe significant turning points in the history of the Republic of China,
such as the passing of Sun Yat-sen in 1925, the Manchurian (Mukden) Incident of 1931, the Xi'an Incident of 1936, the Second
Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945), the Chinese Civil War (1946-1949), and the reformation of China's modern banking and monetary
systems.
Among the previously lesser-known historical accounts now revealed from Kung's personal papers are Nationalist China's endeavors
to manufacture its own military weapons before and during World War II, as demonstrated by the wide range of aviation-related
documents displaying international collaboration between China and other countries, intelligence reports concerning the Chinese
Communist Party's financial, economic, and military operations in the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region, Japanese secret
activities in China in the early war years, and the intricate relationship between Chiang Kai-shek's central government, regional
warlords, and various political factions.
A major component of the collection consists of Kuomingtang / Guomindang (KMT) records, conference proceedings, meeting minutes,
agendas, reports, resolutions, and other support documents from the Central Executive Committee and the Supreme National Defense
Commission (bulk 1930-1943). It also contains a significant number of materials that discuss international affairs during
the 1930s and 1940s, which are broken up into three categories: international loans, international relations, and international
trade. These core domestic and foreign policy making files compiled throughout his political career serve to highlight Kung's
domestic and international efforts and contributions as Head of the Executive Yuan (Premier and Vice-Premier), Minister of
Finance, Minister of Industry and Commerce, President of the Central Bank, special delegate to the United Kingdom, diplomat
to Germany and Belgium, and member of the National Aviation Committee. In this way, the H.H. Kung papers also present the
turning points of the Republic of China era through the lens of Kung's various political appointments.
Finally, the papers reveal Kung's intricate identity as an American-educated Chinese individual during the early half of the
20th century. They exhibit Kung's charitable and educational endeavors, such as his involvement in disaster relief efforts,
as well as his role as founder and President of the Oberlin Shansi Ming Hsien School/Oberlin Shanxi Ming Xian School (see
English correspondence files, 1917-1948), which fostered cross-cultural and educational exchange programs with the United
States. Moreover, his speeches and writings cover a wide range of topics, namely banking and finance, industry and trade,
mobilization and war, education, agriculture, diplomacy, and more. The topics found in both his personal and professional
career papers complicate and deepen our understanding of Kung's complex identities and viewpoints as a philanthropist, educator,
politician, banker, and diplomat.
This collection is currently being digitized; links to digital materials are available throughout the finding aid and are
browsable within the Hoover Institution Library & Archives
Digital Collections portal.
Kia-ngau Chang papers, Hoover Institution Library & Archives
Chen Li-fu memoirs, Hoover Institution Library & Archives
Chiang Ching-kuo diaries, Hoover institution Archives
Chiang Kai-shek diaries, Hoover Institution Library & Archives
T. V. Soong papers, Hoover Institution Library & Archives
Zhongguo guo min dang records, Hoover Institution Library & Archives
Subjects and Indexing Terms
World War, 1939-1945 -- Diplomatic history
World War, 1939-1945 -- China
China -- Economic conditions -- 1912-1949
China -- Politics and government -- 1912-1949
Finance, Public -- China
World War, 1939-1945 -- Economic aspects
Statesmen -- China
Sino-Japanese War, 1937-1945
Sino-Japanese Conflict, 1931-1933
China -- History -- Republic, 1912-1949