Wu Zanzhou () (April 25, 1885 – October 2, 1949) was a military officer and politician in the

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...

. He belonged to the Beijing Government and

Zhili clique The Zhili clique () was one of several mutually hostile cliques or factions that split from the Beiyang clique during the Republic of China's Warlord Era. This fragmentation followed the death of Yuan Shikai, who was the only person capable of k ...

. In the end, he became an important politician in the Provisional Government of the Republic of China and the

Wang Jingwei regime The Wang Jingwei regime or the Wang Ching-wei regime is the common name of the Reorganized National Government of the Republic of China ( zh , t = 中華民國國民政府 , p = Zhōnghuá Mínguó Guómín Zhèngfǔ ), the government of the pup ...

. He was born in

Zhengding Zhengding (), originally Zhending (), is a county in southwestern Hebei Province, North China, located approximately south of Beijing. It is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Shijiazhuang, the capital of the province, and h ...

Zhili Zhili, alternately romanized as Chihli, was a northern administrative region of China since the 14th-century that lasted through the Ming dynasty and Qing dynasty until 1911, when the region was dissolved, converted to a province, and renamed ...

(

Hebei Hebei or , (; alternately Hopeh) is a northern province of China. Hebei is China's sixth most populous province, with over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. The province is 96% Han Chinese, 3% Manchu, 0.8% Hui, an ...

Biography

After graduating the

Baoding Military Academy Baoding Military Academy or Paoting Military Academy () was a military academy based in Baoding, during the late Qing dynasty and early Republic of China, in the first two decades of the 20th century. For a time, it was the most important military ...

, Wu Zanzhou went to study in Japan. After returning to China, he belonged to the Zhili clique of General

Sun Chuanfang Sun Chuanfang () (April 17, 1885 – November 13, 1935) a.k.a. the "Nanking Warlord" or leader of the "League of Five Provinces" was a Zhili clique warlord and protégé of the "Jade Marshal" Wu Peifu (1874–1939). Biography Sun Chuanfang ...

. When Sun intercepted the

National Revolutionary Army The National Revolutionary Army (NRA; ), sometimes shortened to Revolutionary Army () before 1928, and as National Army () after 1928, was the military arm of the Kuomintang (KMT, or the Chinese Nationalist Party) from 1925 until 1947 in China ...

which engaged in

Northern Expedition The Northern Expedition was a military campaign launched by the National Revolutionary Army (NRA) of the Kuomintang (KMT), also known as the "Chinese Nationalist Party", against the Beiyang government and other regional warlords in 1926. The ...

, Wu was appointed as the commander of the 6th Mixed Brigade of the 2nd Army,

Anguojun The National Pacification Army (NPA), also known as the Anguojun or Ankuochun (), was a warlord coalition led by Fengtian clique General Zhang Zuolin, and was the military arm of the Beiyang government of the Republic of China. The army was ...

(). In 1926, when Sun was defeated by the National Revolutionary Army, Wu escaped to

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 popul ...

. Later he came back to his hometown. In the era of the National Government, the National Revolutionary Army usually corrected taxes from Wu and occupied his house by several reasons, he held a grudge against them. In October 1937, Japanese Troops entered to Zhengding. At that time, Wu negotiated with

Kiyoshi Katsuki was a general in the Imperial Japanese Army in the Second Sino-Japanese War. Biography Katsuki was a native of Saga prefecture. He graduated from the 14th class of the Imperial Japanese Army Academy in 1902 and from the 24th class of the Army St ...

who was the commander of the 1st Army of the

Japanese Northern China Area Army The was an area army of the Imperial Japanese Army during the Second Sino-Japanese War. History The Japanese North China Area Army was formed on August 21, 1937 under the control of the Imperial General Headquarters. It was transferred to the ...

and had been his schoolmate in Japan. Wu concluded a cease-fire agreement with Katsuki. Later Wu became the president of the Local Preservation Council in Zhengding, and cooperated with Japan. In December of same year,

Wang Kemin Wang Kemin (; Wade-Giles: Wang K'o-min, May 4, 1879 – December 25, 1945) was a leading official in the Chinese republican movement and early Beiyang government, later noted for his role as in the collaborationist Provisional Government ...

established the Provisional Government of the Republic of China, in which Wu also participated. The following February, the Local Preservation Council was reformed to the Government of County, and Wu was appointed as governor. That autumn, he was promoted to Governor of the Southern Hebei Area Government (). In June 1939, when the Governor of Hebei Province

Gao Lingwei Gao Lingwei (; Hepburn: Kō Ryōi); (1870–1940) was a Chinese politician during the late Qing dynasty and the early Republic of China. A Tianjin native, he was appointed to Hubei where he held many offices relating to finance and education i ...

resigned his post, Wu succeeded him. In March 1940, the Wang Jingwei regime was established, Wu stayed in his former position, and was also a member of the Committee on North Chinese Political Affairs (). Until March 1943, he stayed on as governor of Hebei Province. After resigning as governor, he was appointed to be president of the Police High School, and was awarded the rank of lieutenant general. In 1945, he resigned his post, and became the president of the Tianjin Yongli Chemical Corporation (). After the Wang Jingwei regime collapsed, Wu was arrested by

Chiang Kai-shek Chiang Kai-shek (31 October 1887 – 5 April 1975), also known as Chiang Chung-cheng and Jiang Jieshi, was a Chinese Nationalist politician, revolutionary, and military leader who served as the leader of the Republic of China (ROC) from 1928 ...

's National Government, although it did not try his case. After the

People's Liberation Army The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the principal military force of the People's Republic of China and the armed wing of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The PLA consists of five service branches: the Ground Force, Navy, Air Force, ...

occupied the Beiping, he was put on trial in the People's Court. Because of the charge of treason and surrender to the enemy (namely

Hanjian In Chinese culture, the word ''hanjian'' () is a pejorative term for a traitor to the Han Chinese state and, to a lesser extent, Han ethnicity. The word ''hanjian'' is distinct from the general word for traitor, which could be used for any cou ...

), he was sentenced to life imprisonment. He died in prison of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

on October 2, 1949.

Alma mater

References

* Wu Zanzhou, the Fake Governor of Hebei Province ()
The Website of the Archive Bureau of the Zhengding County () * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wu, Zanzhou 1885 births 1949 deaths Chinese collaborators with Imperial Japan Chinese people of World War II Chinese people who died in prison custody Chinese prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment People of the Northern Expedition People from Zhengding County Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by the People's Republic of China Prisoners who died in Chinese detention