Xia Tonghe is a descendant of the Tunpu people. His ancestors came to Guizhou from Nanjing, Jiangsu Province with the border guards in the early Ming Dynasty (1389), and later settled in Gaochangbao, Majiang County. It has been more than 600 years. Xia Tonghe was born in 1874 into a scholarly official family. His father Xia Yuan successively held official positions in Yunnan, Sichuan and other places. Xia Tonghe traveled to various places with his father since he was a child, and he was well-informed. The rich soil of the southwest led to his initial growth. At this time in China, the Westernization Movement to promote modernization was in full swing, and various new ideas slowly but unstoppably began to penetrate every corner of the huge empire. However, the imperial examination was still the only choice for all scholars, and Xia Tonghe was no exception. In the 19th year of Guangxu (1893), Xia Tonghe took part in the Guizhou Provincial Examination in Guiyang. The examiner was Liu Fuyao, the number one scholar in Guangxi. In the provincial unified examination, which is held only once every three years, Xia Tonghe ranked 29th. The admission quota for this examination is 50, and those who pass the exam can be awarded official positions. In March of the 24th year of the reign of Emperor Guangxu (1898), Xia Tonghe came to Beijing to take part in the joint examination. The examiner was Sun Jia Nai, the Minister of Household Affairs. He was also a top scholar and the founder of the Capital University, the predecessor of Peking University. The joint examination is held in the second year after the provincial examination. Scholars from all over the country gather in the capital. The upcoming joint examination will give them the opportunity to enter the core circle of national politics and realize the ideal of scholars "contributing to the world." In this examination, 346 tribute scholars were admitted from thousands of candidates, and Xia Tonghe was the 134th. They are the imperial examination elites who have been selected at all levels. They will have the opportunity to step into the Forbidden City to take the examination of the current emperor. Therefore, they will become the disciples of the emperor who are envied by everyone. In the early morning of April 24, the 24th year of Guangxu (June 9, 1898), Xia Tonghe came to the Baohe Hall in the Forbidden City to participate in the palace examination. Emperor Guangxu, who was brewing a revolution, asked him to "seek talents and practice martial arts." Xia Tonghe gave logical and thorough answers to four questions. When night fell, Xia Tonghe stood up, handed in his answer sheet, and walked out of Baohe Hall. The Forbidden City seems very quiet at this time, but the future of both the country and individuals has become more unpredictable like the dark night that is gradually sinking. Two days after the imperial examination (June 11), Emperor Guangxu categorically issued the "Edict to Determine the Country", and the "1898 Reform" movement that shocked China and the world began. Kang Youwei, a Jinshi, and Liang Qichao, who were both elites in the imperial examination, were the main force in this reform movement. What they are trying to accomplish is to achieve bourgeois changes in China. On June 12, all the tributes gathered outside the East Chang'an Gate. The reform did not affect the established procedures. According to the practice of the Qing Dynasty, the examiner sent the top ten examination papers to the hands of Emperor Guangxu. Emperor Guangxu, who had just announced the reform on the previous day, "handpicked" Xia Tonghe as the first Jinshi (number one scholar) in the Wuxu Branch. Reforms were advancing after the imperial rankings were determined, but the title of No. 1 Scholar was still the highest honor for scholars of that era. After winning the championship, Xia Tonghe was immediately awarded the post of editor and entered the Hanlin Academy. The Hanlin Academy is the country's highest academic institution and a reserve base for officials. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, almost all important officials of the imperial court came from the Hanlin Academy. Entering the Hanlin Academy means entering the official career and entering the core circle of national politics. For the number one scholar who was born in the extraordinary year of the Reform Movement of 1898, Xia Tonghe was destined to have extraordinary experiences in this extraordinary world.
Xia Tonghe, a native of Gaojian, Majiang County, passed the Qing Dynasty Wuxu Branch Examination in 1898 and became one of the only two literary champions in Guizhou history. In 1904, Xia Tonghe went to Japan to study and entered the first class of the accelerated course of law and politics at Hosei University to study law and politics. He was the first person in Chinese history to obtain the dual status of number one scholar and international student. During his stay in Japan, Xia Tonghe studied hard and achieved excellent results. The full text of his examination article "On Financial Policy of the Qing Dynasty" was published in Japan's "Legal News". At the same time, Xia Tonghe also completed the compilation of the book "Administrative Law", which is one of the earliest books introducing the modern administrative legal system in China. He was the organizer of the Guangdong School of Law and Politics, the predecessor of Sun Yat-sen University. This school was the earliest specialized school to implement legal and political education in China and trained many figures active on the Chinese political stage. In November 1905, Xia Tonghe became the supervisor (i.e. president) of Guangdong Law and Politics School (the predecessor of today's Sun Yat-sen University). In 1913, Xia Tonghe was a member of the House of Representatives when the first Congress was established. From September 8, 1917, he was appointed director of the Jiangxi Provincial Department of Industry until he resigned on June 28, 1919. He passed away in the 14th year of the Republic of China (1925).
His calligraphy is famous, and his calligraphy has been preserved in various forms such as couplets, fans, plaques, etc. His ink writing includes the door couplet inscribed for the former residence of Qiu Fengjia in Chaozhou, "Malaysia is at the far end of the West, and the dragon is lying in the South Sea". Relics include Xia Zhuangyuan Street in Guiyang, the "Zhuangyuan Di" in his hometown, etc.
After the founding of the Republic of China, the Guangdong Legal and Political School was renamed as the Guangdong Public Legal and Political College. Chen Rong, a former teacher of the Legal and Political School, became the principal, while Xia Tonghe first returned to Guizhou, and was later elected as a member of the House of Representatives from Guizhou and went north. Came to Beijing. As the first bourgeois member of parliament in Chinese history, Xia Tonghe first joined the Kuomintang and was the earliest member of the Kuomintang. At that time, various parties in Congress launched fierce competition to compete for more parliamentary seats and seek more rights. In order to avoid disputes, Xia Tonghe left the Kuomintang and in May 1913 initiated the establishment of the Chao Ran Senator Society, an independent party organization. It "balances party opinions with an impartial spirit and maintains state justice as its purpose." In July of the same year, he was elected as a member of the Rules Committee of the Constitution Drafting Committee, and was later elected as one of the six directors of the Drafting Committee. Among this group of young committee members with an average age of only thirty-three, Xia Tonghe was the person with the highest reputation in the past, but he was not conservative. During the drafting period of the constitution, which lasted more than three months, Xia Tonghe proposed many Have a healthy and spiritual perspective. For example, on the presidential election issue, he proposed an American-style presidential election method in which the people organize an election agency to elect the president after the people's primary election. While Xia Tonghe was conscientiously participating in the drafting of the constitution, Wang Tianpei, a native of Tianzhu, Guizhou, who was studying at the Baoding Military Academy at the time, invited two companions to come to Beijing. They were so energetic that they vented their dissatisfaction with Yuan Shikai without scruples. In the end, they were criticized for their excessive rhetoric. And was arrested. After Xia Tonghe heard about this incident, he immediately generously tried to rescue Wang Tianpei. After he was released from prison, Wang Tianpei was sent back to Baoding Military Academy by Xia Tonghe. After graduating from the military academy, Wang Tianpei fought on the battlefield all the way, made great achievements in battle, and grew into a famous Northern Expedition general. After Yuan Shikai dissolved the parliament in 1914, Xia Tonghe successively served as a minister of the Political Affairs Hall, a member of the Governor's Experimental Committee, a senior advisor to the Hunan Governor's Office, the director of the Preparatory Division of the Hunan National Taxation Department, and a minister of the Legal Affairs Bureau. From 1917 to 1919, Xia Tonghe served as the first director of the Industrial Department of Jiangxi Province. He assisted Chen Guangyuan, the governor of Jiangxi, known as one of the "Three Governors of the Yangtze River", and made certain contributions to maintaining local peace, and was awarded the second-class Grand Prize by the President. Shou Jiahe Chapter. In early 1919, Jiangxi Provincial Senate President Li Shengduo planned to organize the Xianju Company to mortgage the Chengmenshan Iron Mine in Jiujiang to the Japanese for loans. This matter aroused great dissatisfaction among members of Congress. They believed that the mine belonged to Jiangxi Province and were firmly opposed to mortgage loans and private mining. At that time, "Shenbao" and "Republic of China Daily" all conducted follow-up reports. During the negotiation process of this case, Xia Tonghe, the provincial industry director who is the leader of the mining department, inevitably became the target of investigation and questioning by the parliamentarians. In fact, the root cause of the Chengmenshan iron ore mortgage loan was insufficient military spending, and its complexity was far beyond the control of an industrial director. However, as a person with good legal literacy, Xia Tonghe went to the parliament twice Accepted questioning and tendered his resignation twice. At that time, due to social unrest and warlord fighting, the parliament could not play much role and was mostly ignored. As an administrative official, Xia Tonghe was able to respect the parliament, accept parliamentary inquiries and finally resign, which reflects his magnanimity as a legal person. As a result, this case has become one of the most important cases in the history of Jiangxi Parliament as a successful representative of the role of parliament. In June 1919, Xia Tonghe resigned as director of the Industrial Department of Jiangxi Province and returned to Beijing. In his later years, he devoted himself to Buddhism. From 1919 to 1921, Xia Tonghe organized dozens of wealthy households in Beijing to purchase nearly ten hectares of land for Guangji Temple, one of the famous eight inner temples in Beijing, to support monks in the temple and perform Buddhist services. Used it to solve the financial problem of the temple, allowing the temple to continue to flourish. In 1925, Xia Tonghe suffered a heart attack. After treatment, he died at his residence in Pichai Hutong, Beijing.