人文湖南 | 慢品社区老房子 · 郭泰祺旧居记忆 武康路376号
武康路376号
郭泰祺旧居位于武康路376号，建于1928年，占地面积约600平方米。建筑为新古典主义风格的花园住宅，三层砖混结构，清水红砖外墙，人字坡红瓦屋顶。主立面三段式划分，左右结构布局完全对称，局部有欧洲古典元素。南面底层为塔斯干柱廊，二层内阳台为简化的爱奥尼克券柱结构，建筑主入口门楣具巴洛克风格。
建筑内部用材考究，制作精良，整体保存较好，多数室内装饰和卫浴设备仍在使用。中华人民共和国成立后一度作为超声波仪表厂和长江计算机厂的办公用房，现为民居。
武康路376号▲
郭泰祺简介
郭泰祺（1888—1952）▲
打通滇缅公路禁区
抗战期间，郭泰祺作为中国驻英全权大使，以宽广的人脉和良好的亲和形象，积极开展公众外交，充分利用各种机会发表讲演，声明“我国此次抗战乃为争民族之独立自由，非至敌人放弃其侵略政策，绝无和平可言”的立场。
滇缅公路是抗战期间中国军事重要的补给线。1940年6月24日，日本通过正式外交途径向英国提出停止通过滇缅公路运送武器弹药以及诸如燃料、卡车及铁路器材等物资的要求。郭泰祺非常关注事态的进展。6月28日，他前往英国外交部，向英国外长指出一味退让徒增纠纷，希望英国就滇缅公路运输给中国一个切实的保证。7月1日，在访问英国外交部政务次官巴特勒时，郭泰祺重申滇缅运输事关中国抗战及英国自身利益，希望英国慎重考虑。日本的屡次威胁与中国的一再抗议使英国政府左右为难。7月10日， 英国驻日大使克莱琪“在雨季关闭滇缅公路三个月，停运一些货物，将难题留到三个月后”的提议获英国内阁通过。
郭泰祺▲
郭泰祺义愤填膺地以政府的名义向英国发出书面抗议：“八年来致力增进中、英友谊，所以对我政府报告，总以英国重道义决不负我为言，此次英方处置，使祺痛惜深于愤懑。”在之后的两个多月时间内，郭泰祺发动了强有力的外交攻势，为重新开放滇缅公路奔走。
8月初，郭泰祺首先解决了药品、急救车辆在滇缅公路的运输问题，随后要求将汽油纳入非禁运行列，并以日本在中国大肆搜捕英国侨民的事实，力证英国对日本绥靖所带来的危害。8月13日，郭泰祺会晤英国外长，义正辞言地陈述利害关系，提醒英国政府三个月期满后滇缅公路若延期开放，以后开禁会加倍困难。
10月4日，郭泰祺访问英国首相丘吉尔时，终于获得了丘吉尔重新开通滇缅公路的承诺。推动英国开放对中国抗战意义重大的军事补给线滇缅公路，郭泰祺功不可没。
郭泰祺 （邬海佳画）▲
GUO Taiqi
GUO Taiqi (1888-1952) has his ancestral family from Guangji in Hubei province. He also has a courtesy name of Baoyuan and style name of Fuchu. In 1904 he was sent to study in the United States and later entered University of Pennsylvania to study politics.
In 1911, he was awarded a scholarship to study Sociology in the Graduate School. In 1912 he returned to join the KMT and served as chief of foreign affairs in the governor’s office in Hubei province. In January 1919, he attended the Paris Peace Conference in the name of commissioner of the Chinese delegation. In 1921,when Sun Yat-sen took office of Extraordinary President, he served as presidential counselor and publicity director. In 1932 he served as chief representative of China to talk with the Japanese ones and signed “Shanghai Armistice Agreement”.
In the same year he served as minister stationed in Britain. In 1935 he was appointed as the first ambassador of China to the United Kingdom and the Chinese representative in the League of Nations. During the War of Resistance against Japanese Invasion, he repeatedly presented diplomatic notes to the League of Nations, asking it to take measures to stop the Japanese aggression and striving for international aid. In 1938, he was awarded honorary doctorate degree by Oxford University in Britain. In 1941 he returned to serve as the foreign minister and was transferred in December to serve as chairman of the foreign affairs committee of Legislative Yuan of the KMT government.
In February 1946, he was appointed as the Chinese chief representative in the Security Council in the United Nations (as its president from March to April) and also as member of the United Nations Atomic Energy Commission. In December 1947 he served as ambassador of China to Brazil. In 1949 he retired to live in seclusion in the United States.
Breaking through the Burma Road
During the War of Resistance, he served as ambassador plenipotentiary of China to Britain. With a broad connection and amiable image, he actively carried out public diplomacy and made full use of various opportunities to deliver speeches, declaring the position that “this war of China is for the independence and freedom of the nation. Before the enemy was forced to abandon its aggressive policy, there would be no peace at all”.
Burma Road was an important military supply line during the War of Resistance. On June 24, 1940, Japan requested throughformal diplomatic channels to the United Kingdom to stop the transport of arms and ammunition by means of the Burma Road as well as fuels, trucks, railway equipment and other materials. GUO was very concerned about the development of the situation. On June 28, he went to visit the British Foreign Office, pointed out to the British Foreign Minister that blind concession would only result in increasing disputes and hoped that the United Kingdom should present a practical guarantee to China on the Burma Road transport. On July 1, when visiting Butler, deputy minister of the British Foreign Office, he reaffirmed that the transport on Burma Road was related to the war in China and Britain’s own interests and expected British careful consideration.
With the repeated threats from Japan and repeated protests from China, the British government was left in a dilemma. On July 10, Sir Robert Craigie, British ambassador to Japan, made a proposal that “the road should be closed in the rainy season for three months and transport of some goods should be stopped so that the problem remained until after three months, and this proposal was approved by the British Cabinet.
In his indignation, he sent a written protest to the United Kingdom in the name of the government:“In the past eight years, I have made great efforts to promote the friendship between China and Britain. Therefore, my report to the Chinese government has always focused on the point that the Britain values justice and will never betray China. The position adopted by Britain this time has left me more in regret than in anger.” In the next two months, he launched a strong diplomatic push, running for the re-opening of the Burma Road. At the beginning of August, he first resolved the transport issue of medical drugs and emergency vehicles on the Burma Road. Later he requested that gasoline should be put into the list of non-prohibited items.
In addition, he took advantage of the fact that the British people in China were wantonly arrested by the Japan invaders in order to prove that the British appeasement to Japan would only result in dangers. On August 13, he contacted the British Foreign Minister and expressed sternly from a sense of justice the advantages and disadvantages of its decision, reminding the British government that, if the opening of the road was postponed at the expiry after three months, it would be doubly difficult to lift the ban.
On October 4, when he visited Winston Churchill, the British Prime Minister, he finally got a promise that the Burma Road would be re-opened. In promoting the Britain to re-open the Burma Road, a military supply line which was of great significance to the war in China, he contributed his bit.