Research Catalog

V. K. Wellington Koo papers

Title: V. K. Wellington Koo papers, 1906-1992 bulk 1931-1966
Author: Koo, V. K. Wellington, 1888-1985
Supplementary Content: Finding aid

Items in the Library & Off-site

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5 Items

Item details
Status	Container	Format	Access	Call Number	Item Location
Request for On-site Use Request Scan How do I pick up this item and when will it be ready?	Boxes 2-3 Reel 2 [MN# 94-2022]	Mixed material	Use in library	F d 8302 Boxes 2-3 Reel 2 [MN# 94-2022]	Off-site
Request for On-site Use Request Scan How do I pick up this item and when will it be ready?	Boxes 2-3 Reel 2 [MN# 94-2022]	Mixed material	Use in library	F d 8302 Boxes 2-3 Reel 2 [MN# 94-2022]	Off-site
Request for On-site Use Request Scan How do I pick up this item and when will it be ready?	Boxes 2-3 Reel 1 [MN# 94-2021]	Mixed material	Use in library	F d 8302 Boxes 2-3 Reel 1 [MN# 94-2021]	Off-site
Request for On-site Use Request Scan How do I pick up this item and when will it be ready?	Boxes 2-3 Reel 1 [MN# 94-2021]	Mixed material	Use in library	F d 8302 Boxes 2-3 Reel 1 [MN# 94-2021]	Off-site
Request for On-site Use Request Scan How do I pick up this item and when will it be ready?	Report to President Yuan on Tibet, 1914-1915 [MN# 7915-1]	Mixed material	Use in library	F d 8302 Report to President Yuan on Tibet, 1914-1915 [MN# 7915-1]	Off-site

Details

Description

120.5

Summary

The V. K. Wellington Koo papers document the diplomatic legacy of Wellington Koo as a Chinese statesman and diplomat of the 20th Century. The papers primarily consist of materials collected during Koo's diplomatic career, relating to the Lytton Commission, 1932-1933; the League of Nations, 1931-1940; the United Nations, 1944-1946; his ambassadorships to France, 1932-1941; to Britain, 1941-1946; to the United States, 1946-1956; as the Senior Advisor to the Republic of China from 1956; and as the Judge on the International Court of Justice, 1957-1966. The materials include correspondence, diaries, memoranda, manuscripts, documents, notes, speeches, maps, photographs, printed material, and audio visual material. The bulk of the materials emphasizes China's domestic and foreign affairs, such as the Sino-Japanese conflict, World War II and the Cold War in the Far East region, as well as the League of Nations and the United Nations.
The V. K. Wellington Koo papers document the activities of Wellington Koo, who served as an ambassador in France, London, and the United States under the governance of the Republic of China for 24 years, including his involvement in the League of Nations, the United Nations, and the International Court of Justice, with its bulk dating from 1931 to 1966. Materials are substantially textual, comprising correspondence, diaries, memoranda, manuscripts, maps, meeting notes, speeches, financial documents, news clippings, and related printed material. Other formats include photographs and audio visual materials. The correspondence includes extensive files of telegrams (primarily carbon copies) to and from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of China, as well as letters with relevant correspondents, in Chinese and English, on both Chinese domestic and international affairs. The telegrams mainly composed of communication exchanged between Koo and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as well as other statesmen. The notes of conversation taken during Koo's conversations with world leaders from 1931 to 1956 are also valuable scholarly resources to those who are interested in China’s modern history and the history of the 20th Century international affairs. The notes are chronological minutes of interviews or conversations between Koo and various international figures on topics related to Koo’s work. The collection overall documents the course of 20th Century international affairs as well as Chinese domestic and foreign affairs under the governance of the Republic of China. The papers also cover various significant historical events and topics such as the Sino-Japanese War, the Chinese Civil War, the Cold War in the Far East Theater, the legacy of the League of Nations, as well as the founding of the United Nations and its affiliated agencies.

Subjects

Genre/Form

Accounts
Agendas (administrative records)
Agreements
Articles
Biographies (literary works)
Diaries
Interviews
Lists (document genres)
Memorandums
Microfilms
minutes (administrative records)
Notebooks
Notes (documents)
Passports
Photographs
Prefaces
Press releases
Programs (documents)
Reports
Speeches (documents)
Theses
Treaties
Visas
Clippings (Information Artifacts)
Certificates
Telegrams
Correspondence
Letters (correspondence)
Manuscripts (documents)
Maps (documents)
Photographic postcards
Sound recordings
Video recordings (physical artifacts)

Access (note)

The following boxes are located off-site: 1-288, 291-293, 295-305. You will need to request this material from the Rare Book and Manuscript Library at least three business days in advance to use the collection in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room. Cataloged Correspondence Box 1-2 (CC1-2) are located on-site. Microfilm Onsite in RBML stack 13 Microfilm cabinet: MN#95-2070, MN#95-2071, MN#95-2072, MN#95-2073, MN#95-2074, MN#7268, MN#7269 Microfilm on 4th floor offsite,mmr: Report to President Yuan on Tibet (Box 1) and Box 2-3: MN#94-2021, MN#94-2022. Please request through https://clio.columbia.edu/archives/4078997
Speech scroll in box 306 remain inaccessible until conservation issues are resolved.
All original copies of audio / moving image media are closed until reformatting. Email rbml@columbia.edu for more information.
The following materials are restricted until 2040 based on the agreement with the family. Folder/s were pulled from the boxes and rehoused in a restricted box onsite: Box 59 Folder 2, Box 229 Folder 11-14, Box 231 Folder 5, Box 245 Folder 5 and 9, Box 250 Folder 9, Box 262 Folder 1-3 and 5, Box 273 Folder 4-5, Box 276 Folder 11, 17, 19-20, Box 277 Folder 13, Box 278 Folder 4, Box 285 Folder 8-10, Box 289 Folder 1-3, 10, 13-14, 28, Box 293 Folder 6.

Cite As (note)

Identification of specific item, Date (if known); V. K. Wellington Koo papers; Box and Folder; Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.

Original Location (note)

Report to President Yuan on Tibet (from Box 1) is on: Type of reproduction--microfilm. Boxes 2-3 (MN#94-2021; MN#94-2022) and 39-41 (MN#2003-1001-MN#2003-1004) are on: Type of reproduction--microfilm. Diaries No. 00-35 (from Boxes 215-220) are on: Type of reproduction--microfilm. Box 1-225 are digitized as of 2018.

Terms of Use (note)

Reproductions may be made for research purposes. The RBML maintains ownership of the physical material only. Copyright remains with the creator and his/her heirs. The responsibility to secure copyright permission rests with the patron.
Diaries: may not be quoted or paraphrased in detail, nor may any living person be quoted or mentioned, without the written permission of the donor or his/her heirs. Please contact rbml@columbia.edu for more information.

Source (note)

Source of acquisition--Koo, V.K. Wellington. Method of acquisition--Gift; Date of acquisition--1976. Accession number--M-76. Microfilms of Boxes 2 and 3: Method of acquisition--Addition; Date of acquisition--11/--/1994. Accession number--M-94-11. Gift of V.K. Wellington Koo, 1976. Addition to the collection by the Koo Family, 2012-2020 (2012-2013-M015; 2012-2013-M052; 2012-2013-M105; 2016-2017-M022; 2017-2018-M062; 2017-2018-M070; 2019-2020-M082). Purchase from Voyager Press, 2022: 6 photographs from 1919-1946 and an autograph album from 1920.

Biography (note)

Vi Kyuin Wellington Koo (Pinyin: Gu, Weijun; Wade Giles: Ku, Wei-Chun, Koo, Vi Kyuin; Chinese: 顧維鈞, 顾维钧; courtesy name: Shaochuan 少川; English: V. K. Wellington Koo) was born in 1888, Jiading, Shanghai, China. He attended Saint John’s University in Shanghai prior to studying abroad in the United States. In 1904, he attended the Cook Academy and later began his college career at the Columbia College in 1905. He received his Bachelors of Arts in 1908 and Master in 1909. In 1912, he completed his PhD in International and Constitutional Law jurisprudence, and received his LL.D. in 1917. He returned to China and served as the English Secretary to President Yuan Shikai, and then as the Counselor in the Foreign office. In 1915, he was appointed as the Minister to Mexico, but was later transferred to Washington to serve as Ambassador to the US. In 1919, he was appointed as the Plenipotentiary at Paris Peace Conference where he spoke on the behalf of the Chinese Delegation and demanded Shandong to be returned to China in accordance to international law and urged imperialists to end extraterritoriality in China. From 1920 to 1922, he was the Delegate to Assembly and Representative of the League of Nations. He was also the Foreign Minister and Premier. In 1931, he served on the Special Committee on Research of Northeastern affairs in China, the Chinese assessor to the Lytton Commission, and the Chief Delegate to the League of Nations in the investigation of the Mukden Incident and the Sino-Japanese conflict. From 1936 to 1941, Koo was the Chinese Ambassador to France. From 1940 to 1946, he was the Ambassador to London and then the Ambassador to the United States from 1946 to 1956. He was also the Chinese Delegate to the Dumbarton Oaks Conversation in 1944, and the Acting Chairman of the Chinese Delegation to the San Francisco Conference in 1945. In 1956, following his retirement as the Ambassador to the United States, he was appointed the Senior Advisor to the Republic of China. In 1957, he was elected as a Judge of the International Court of Justice and then later the Vice President of the Court where he remained until 1967. On November 14, 1985, he passed away at the age of 97 in New York.

Processing Action (note)

Processed and inventory created for box 1-225 by Larry N. L. Shyu, July 1964. Cataloged by Christina Hilton Fenn, 07/--/1989. Microfilm of Boxes 2 and 3 Processed HR 11/04/1994. Box 1-225 reprocessed by Yingwen Huang, October 2018-June 2019. Finding aid created, June 2019. Box 295-304 returned from mold remediation and processed by YH, November 2019. Box 305 returned from mold remediation and processed by YH, November 2020. The reprocessing on Box CC1-2, Box 1-225 began in October 2018. The work focused on basic rehousing of the materials. The former box and folder number are noted in the finding aid to help researchers cross-reference between the digital files and the physical files. The new box and folder numbers reflect the current order of folders within the boxes. Some folders were rehoused in new boxes due to overstuffing in the original box. Some folder titles were also updated in the current finding aid to reflect the mixed contents within the folders, especially those that were formerly titled “miscellaneous”. Materials in Box 182 were added to 181, 186 into 185, 190 into 189, 199 into 198, and 201 into 200. Therefore, physical box 182, 186, 190, 199, and 201, no longer exists. Materials in Box 221 were papers belonging to Li Zongren were removed and cataloged with the Li Zongren papers, therefore Box 221 has been deaccessioned from the collection. Copious amount of duplicates of official statements and speeches were also deaccessioned from the physical collection. Materials in box 1-225 are mostly arranged in its original order, which were mainly in chronological order and by topic/material type. Materials in box 226-307 were added to the collection by the Koo family between 2012 and 2019. Materials were intellectually interfiled into the existing series, while the physical materials were added to the collection as box 226-307. The materials in box 295-304 were treated for mold remediation, processed and added to the collection in Fall 2019. Box 305 returned from mold remediation treatment, processed and added to the collection in November 2020. Box 307 is part of Accession 2019-2020-M082, processed and added to the collection in March-April 2022. Some materials were added or interfiled physically into Box 264 Folder 12, Box 265 Folder 18, Box 268 Folder 1, Box 286 Folder 12, Box 289 Folder 1-3, 8, 12, and Box 293 Folder 7-8. Remaining materials processed physically as Box 307 and interfiled intellectually into existing series. In addition to the physical materials at the Rare Book and Manuscript Library, the first phase of the digitization project was completed in 2017 which includes materials in Box 1-225. The digital archives are currently accessible on-site at the Chinese Academy of Social Science (CASS) in Beijing, and Fudan University in Shanghai, China. Fudan University has created a bilingual Chinese/English Finding aid based on the May 2020 version of the Columbia finding aid, available at http://tecang.fudan.edu.cn/repositories/2/resources/27 .

OCLC

122622065
ocn122622065
SCSB-4796750

Owning Institutions

Columbia University Libraries