Grand Lodge of China

Freemason

Travel back in time through the history of Grand Lodge of China: from Chin Dynasty era to Taiwan in 1949.

1970 曹荊川Ching-Chung Tsao
Past Grand Master Tommy Weng

About
1970-71 MW
 Ching-Chung Tsao

曹荊川

1970-71GRAND MASTER OF GLOC

 Ching-Chung Tsao

The 17th Grand Master M.W. Brother Ching-Chung Tsao (1970-1971)

M.W. Grand Master Ching-chuan Tsao was born in 1907 in Shasi of Hupei Province on China Mainland. He was sent to Shanghai at the age of eleven to start his school education at the Shanghai Municipal Public School for Chinese, before which he was taught Chinese Classics only by tutors. Throughout the years in the preparatory school of this Public School, he was always first in his class and was highly commended by the Principal. His high school years were spent in the St. John’s Middle School, attached to the well-known St. John’s University, where a scholarship was again awarded him in the Third Class because of his excellent scholastic work. Meantime, the track and field, the basketball and the football teams of the school each enlisted him as a skillful member. Later, he entered the Kwang Hua University to study Political Science and Economics and graduated in 1931 with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. While in college, he was the President of the Student Council for two consecutive terms, in which capacity he assisted the University Authorities in carrying out several important projects. He was one of the three debators of the College English Debating Team which won the championship in the Intercollegiate English Debating Contest in Shanghai; and incidentally he turned out to be the individual champion in the same contest. Besides, he played right half-back in the football team and experienced many vigorous and exciting games in the Inter-collegiate contest.

After graduation from college, he joined the Salt Revenue Service of the Chinese Government as an Assistant English Secretary. At the outbreak of the Sino-Japanese War for which the Service deliberately assigned important duties to the more competent young officers to meet the challenge of the time,

 

he was promoted to the post of Department Chief of the District Directorate of Salt Administration in Shansi and then to the post of Chief Collector of the Salt Revenue Collectorate in West Honan. In 1944, he became the Salt Magistrate of the Central Yunnan Salt Works and from there he was transferred, upon the termination of the war, to Tsingtao as the Sub-District Director. In 1949, he was the District Director of the Shantung District Directorate, in which position the political situation necessitated his evacuation of Shantung to Taiwan with his staff and the entire Salt Revenue Guards Force of the Shantung District. Subsequent appointment of him as the Associate District Director of Liang Kwang (Kwang-tung& Kwangsi) District Directorate was made by the Government in virtue of his loyalty as well as his meritorious service. Afterwards, he returned to Taiwan. He is now the Deputy Director of the Food and Salt Administration Department of the Ministry of Finance of the Chinese Government and concurrently the Director of the China Salt Corporation.

 

M.W. Bro. Tsao took the Government Salt Service as his career and has contributed a great deal to the Chinese Salt Administration especially during and after the Sino-Japanese War. In addition to the Government service, he has been an Adjunct Associate Professor of the Cheng Kung University and is still teaching part-time in the Chung Cheng College of Science and Engineering.

He has been married to the former Miss Ching-ling Chang from a reputable family in Anhui Province. They have four children. Their eldest daughter is a graduate of the University of California at Los Angeles with a degree of Master of Science in Mycology. Their first son has been graduated from the University of Missouri at Columbia and conferred the degree of Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering. Their second daughter has been studying Chemistry at the Graduate School of the State University of New York at Stony Brook and

 

Their youngest son is studying Chemical Engineering at the Graduate School of New Mexico State University. M.W. Bro. Tsao has, indeed, a very happy family.

 

He was initiated in 1956 in the Pearl River Lodge No.3,F. & A. M. immediately after its reactivation in Tainan and raised in 1957 soon after his return from the States. He served twice as the Master of the Pearl River Lodge. He is a 32° Mason of the Scottish Rite and a Shriner of the Nile Temple. Being a very devoted Mason, M. W. Bro. Tsao is willing to do everything in his power for the good of Masonry.

Ching-Chung Tsao

1970-71 PGM, GLOC

關於

第十七屆總會長曹荊川尊兄

曹荊川總會長於1907年出生於中國大陸湖北省沙市。 十一歲時,他被送到上海,在上海市立國文學校開始就學,在此之前,他只接受家庭教師的國文教育。 在這所公立學校的預科多年,他的成績一直是班級第一,受到校長的高度表揚。 他的高中時代是在著名的聖約翰大學附屬的聖約翰中學度過的,由於學習成績優異,他再次獲得三等獎學金。 同時,學校的田徑隊、籃球隊和足球隊都將他列為能手。 後入光華大學攻讀政治經濟學,1931年畢業,獲文學學士學位。 在大學期間,他連續兩屆擔任學生會主席,協助校方開展多項重要項目。 大學英語辯論隊三名辯手之一,在上海市大專英語辯論賽中獲得冠軍; 順便說一句,他竟然是同一場比賽的個人冠軍。 此外,他還在足球隊打過右前衛,在校際比賽中經歷了多場轟轟烈烈、精彩紛呈的比賽。

大學畢業後,他加入了中國政府鹽稅局,擔任助理英語秘書。 中日戰爭爆發後,軍方特意將重要任務分配給更能幹的年輕軍官,以應對時代的挑戰,

他升為山西區鹽政署科長,又升為豫西鹽稅署署長。 1944年任滇中鹽廠鹽長,抗戰結束後調往青島,任街道主任。 1949年,他任山東區總局區長,當時的政治形勢迫使他帶著他的工作人員和整個山東區鹽稅衛隊撤離山東到台灣。其後,基於他的忠誠和立功,政府委任他為兩廣西民政事務總局副區長。 之後,他返回台灣。 現任中國政府財政部食鹽司副司長,兼任中鹽總公司董事。

曹荊川總會長以官鹽務為業,尤其在中日戰爭期間及戰後,為中國鹽政事業立下汗馬功勞。 除了為政府服務外,他還是成功大學的兼職副教授,目前仍在中正理工學院兼職任教。

娶了安徽名門望族的張小姐(Miss Ching-ling Chang) ,有一個非常幸福的家庭。 他們有四個孩子。 他們的大女兒畢業於加州大學洛杉磯分校,獲得植物病理學碩士學位。 他們的長子畢業於密蘇里大學哥倫比亞分校,獲得機械工程碩士學位。 他們的二女兒一直在紐約州立大學石溪分校的研究生院學習化學,

他們的小兒子在新墨西哥州立大學化學工程研究所就讀。

1956 年恆廬第三分會在台南復會後,曹荊川總會長隨即加入美生會,並於 1957 年從美國返回後不久提升為工師美生。 兩度出任恆廬會長。 他是慈修會的 32° 級成員和尼羅河慈壇社的成員。 作為一個非常忠誠的美生兄弟,曹荊川總會長總是隨時願意為美生會的利益貢獻其所能。