conference in Peking in 1914. Mr. An represented the Metropolitan General Chamber of Commerce and was subsequently elected general secretary of the Association's Peking office. Since the establishment of the Directorate General of the Metropolitan Municipal Affairs, after the establishment of the Republic, Mr. An served as a member of the committee on Municipal Affairs. In 1914 he held the position of vice-president of the Panama Exhibition Commission in Peking. In February 1918 Mr. An was elected president of the Metropolitan General Chamber of Commerce and in August 1918 he was elected a member of the Shun-Chih (Metropolitan and Chihli) Provincial Assembly. In December 1918 he played an important part in the association for the Promotion of Internal Peace, being Chief-in-Charge of the General Affairs Department. In May 1919 when public sentiment against the pro-Japanese Anfu party developed into a nationwide boycott of Japanese goods, Mr. An acted as leader of the industrial and commercial interests participating. In 1922 he represented the Metropolitan District at the Customs Tariff Revision Conference in Shanghai. The Pao Hua silver enamel ware invented by Mr. An has largely supplanted Japanese cloisonne in Peking. At present Japanese cloisonne has pratically disappeared from the Peking market. There are now in Peking a large number of Poa Hua Silver Enamel Ware factories most of which were founded by the inventor himself. President Feng Kuo-chang conferred upon Mr. An the Fifth Order of Chiaho in May 1919; President Hsu Shih-chang. the Fourth Order of Chiaho in January 1920 and the Third Order of Chiaho in February 1922; and President Li Yuan-hung, the Second Order of Chiaho in March 1923. Besides, Mr. An has received the Second Class Medal of the Ministry of Finance which he has helped to tide over many financial crises in Peking. He also has received the Second Class Medal of the Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce to which department he has been an Advisor for several years; and that of the Second Class Medal of the Ministry of Justice to which he has rendered assistance in the improvement of industrial establishments in connection with the Peking penitentiaries. Mr. An held the presidency of the Metropolitan General Chamber of Commerce for a time, being relieved in 1924.
