Sir Robert Hart, 1st Baronet

Sir Robert Hart
2nd Inspector-General of the Chinese Maritime Customs Service
In office
15 November 1863 – 20 September 1911
MonarchsTongzhi Emperor
Guangxu Emperor
Xuantong Emperor
Preceded byHoratio Nelson Lay
Succeeded byFrancis Aglen
Personal details
Born
Robert Walter Hart

20 February 1835
Portadown, County Armagh, Ulster, Ireland
Died20 September 1911(1911-09-20) (aged 76)
Great Marlow, Buckinghamshire, England
Resting placeBisham, Berkshire, England
NationalityBritish
Alma materQueen's College, Belfast

Sir Robert Hart, 1st Baronet, GCMG (20 February 1835 – 20 September 1911) was a British diplomat and official in the Qing Chinese government, serving as the second Inspector-General of China's Imperial Maritime Custom Service (IMCS) from 1863 to 1911. Beginning as a student interpreter in the consular service, he arrived in China at the age of 19 and resided there for 54 years, except for two short leaves in 1866 and 1874.[1]

Hart was the most important and most influential Westerner in Qing dynasty China.[2][3] According to Jung Chang, he transformed Chinese Customs "from an antiquated set-up, anarchical and prone to corruption, into a well-regulated modern organisation, which contributed enormously to China's economy."[4] Professor Rana Mitter of the University of Oxford writes that Hart "was honest and helped to generate a great deal of income for China."[5] Sun Yat-sen described him as "the most trusted as he was the most efficient and influential of 'Chinese.'"[6]

  1. ^ King, Frank H. H.. "Hart, Sir Robert, first baronet". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (2004 ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/33739.
  2. ^ Thompson, Larry Clinton (2009). William Scott Ament and the Boxer Rebellion. McFarland. p. 37. ISBN 9780786440085.
  3. ^ Heaver, Stuart (9 November 2013). "Affairs of Our Hart". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 27 June 2018.
  4. ^ Chang, p. 78
  5. ^ Mitter, Prof Rana (20 April 2018). "Five ways China's past has shaped its present". BBC News – via bbc.co.uk.
  6. ^ Cantlie, James; Jones, C. Sheridan (1912). Sun Yat Sen and the Awakening of China. New York: Fleming H. Revell Company. p. 248.