Diplomat, Scholar, authority on international law
Degree: Doctor of Jurisprudence (JD)
Graduation year: 1921
Biography
John C.H. Wu (courtesy name: Desheng, 德生，also known as Jingxiong Wu, John C.H. Wu, John Ching Hsiung Wu, and Ching-Hsiung Wu) was a diplomat, scholar, and authority on international law[i].
Read moreBorn in Ningpo, Zhejiang in 1899, he was baptized John when he became a Methodist while at the Soochow Law School in Shanghai.[ii] After graduating with honors in 1920, Wu went to the University of Michigan Law School, where he received a Doctor of Jurisprudence degree in 1921.[iii] While at the University of Michigan, he developed a friendship with Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes.[iv] He did graduate work at the Sorbonne (University of Paris), the University of Berlin, and Harvard Law School.[v] He served as an adviser to the Chinese Delegation at the United Nations Conference in San Francisco in 1945 and Nationalist Ambassador from China to the Vatican from 1947 to 1949.[vi] In 1957, Wu was appointed judge of the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague. He returned to the United States in 1951 as a professor at Seton Hall Law School.[vii] Wu retired to Taiwan in 1967. He died of heart failure on February 5, 1985 at the Veterans Hospital in Taipei, Taiwan at 86.[viii]
Intellectual Influence
Wu’s areas of scholarship were philosophy, religion, and international law. A prominent statesman and leading cultural figure in the Chinese Nationalist Government, he is most noted for his leading authorship of the Chinese Constitution of 1946.[ix]
Read moreHe is also recognized as one of the greatest figures in international law both in the United States and in China.[x] His specializations as a jurist and writer were Christian spirituality, literature, and jurisprudence. Wu is also known for his works as a translator, including the Bible into Chinese [聖詠譯義初稿] and Tang Dynasty poetry into English [唐诗四季].
Publication Showcase
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Bibliography *Profile photo obtained from: John C.H. Wu, Box 147, Individual photographs. Alumni Association University of Michigan [i]Marvine Howe. John C.H. Wu of Taiwan, 86; Diplomatand Legal Scholar. The New York Times. February 10 1986. http://www.nytimes.com/1986/02/10/obituaries/john-ch-wu-of-taiwan-86-diplomatand-legal-scholar.html accessed: January 10, 2017 [ii]Xiongqing Li. John C. H. at the University of Michigan School of Law. Jornal of Legal Education. Vol. 58, p. 545, December 2008 [iii]The Thomas Merton Center at Bellarimine University. Wu, Joh C.H. (Wu Jingxiong), 1899-1986. http://www.merton.org/research/Correspondence/y1.aspx?id=2171 accessed: January 10 2017 [iv] Xiongqing Li. John C. H. at the University of Michigan School of Law. Jornal of Legal Education. Vol. 58, p. 545, December 2008 [v]Xiongqing Li. John C. H. at the University of Michigan School of Law. Jornal of Legal Education. Vol. 58, p. 545, December 2008 [vi] Marvine Howe. John C.H. Wu of Taiwan, 86; Diplomatand Legal Scholar. The New York Times. February 10 1986. http://www.nytimes.com/1986/02/10/obituaries/john-ch-wu-of-taiwan-86-diplomatand-legal-scholar.html accessed: January 10, 2017 [vii] Marvine Howe. John C.H. Wu of Taiwan, 86; Diplomatand Legal Scholar. The New York Times. February 10 1986. http://www.nytimes.com/1986/02/10/obituaries/john-ch-wu-of-taiwan-86-diplomatand-legal-scholar.html accessed: January 10, 2017 [viii] Marvine Howe. John C.H. Wu of Taiwan, 86; Diplomatand Legal Scholar. The New York Times. February 10 1986. http://www.nytimes.com/1986/02/10/obituaries/john-ch-wu-of-taiwan-86-diplomatand-legal-scholar.html accessed: January 10, 2017 [ix] Marvine Howe. John C.H. Wu of Taiwan, 86; Diplomatand Legal Scholar. The New York Times. February 10 1986. http://www.nytimes.com/1986/02/10/obituaries/john-ch-wu-of-taiwan-86-diplomatand-legal-scholar.html accessed: January 10, 2017 [x] Marvine Howe. John C.H. Wu of Taiwan, 86; Diplomatand Legal Scholar. The New York Times. February 10 1986. http://www.nytimes.com/1986/02/10/obituaries/john-ch-wu-of-taiwan-86-diplomatand-legal-scholar.html accessed: January 10, 2017
