Li Jizhun (1875–?), a Chinese general from the beginning of the Republic of China, leader of a Japanese puppet force in southeast Manchukuo from 1933 -1935. Li Jizhun, born in Hubei in 1875, became a general after serving in the Republican Army during the

Xinhai Revolution The 1911 Revolution, also known as the Xinhai Revolution or Hsinhai Revolution, ended China's last imperial dynasty, the Manchu-led Qing dynasty, and led to the establishment of the Republic of China. The revolution was the culmination of a ...

. During the Warlord Era little is known of his activities. In early 1933, following the

Japanese invasion of Manchuria The Empire of Japan's Kwantung Army invaded Manchuria on 18 September 1931, immediately following the Mukden Incident. At the war's end in February 1932, the Japanese established the puppet state of Manchukuo. Their occupation lasted until the ...

and the establishment of Manchukuo Li appeared in southeast Liaoning province at the head of several thousand men calling themselves the "National Salvation Army", and flying the old five-barred flag of the Chinese Republic. At first, Li's force was fighting the Anti-Japanese guerrillas, despite their claim to be ready to fight the Japanese. They then served with the Manchukuoan forces in the Japanese

Operation Nekka The defense of the Great Wall () (January 1 – May 31, 1933) was a campaign between the armies of Republic of China and Empire of Japan, which took place before the Second Sino-Japanese War officially commenced in 1937 and after the Japanese in ...

in 1933. After that they began to make trouble in the disputed area between Manchukuo and northern China with the intent to establish an "independent" government there with the help of the Japanese, and they captured some small towns. However, with the

Tanggu Truce The Tanggu Truce, sometimes called the , was a ceasefire that was signed between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan in Tanggu District, Tianjin, on May 31, 1933. It formally ended the Japanese invasion of Manchuria, which had begun ...

, and the establishment of the demilitarized zone, Li's army, now about 10,000 strong, was no longer wanted. The Japanese disbanded it, with only 2,000 of its men being recruited to serve in the demilitarized zone's Peace Preservation Corps. General Li disappeared. Reports at the time believed him to have retired to the Japanese Concession in

Tianjin Tianjin (; ; Mandarin: ), alternately romanized as Tientsin (), is a municipality and a coastal metropolis in Northern China on the shore of the Bohai Sea. It is one of the nine national central cities in Mainland China, with a total popu ...

Sources

*Jowett, Phillip J., Rays of the Rising Sun Vol 1., Helion & Co. Ltd. 2004. {{DEFAULTSORT:Li, Jizhun 1875 births Republic of China Army generals Chinese collaborators with Imperial Japan People of Manchukuo Year of death missing Generals from Hubei