Zhang Ji (; 31 August 1882 – 15 December 1947), also known by his
courtesy name
A courtesy name (), also known as a style name, is a name bestowed upon one at adulthood in addition to one's given name. This practice is a tradition in the East Asian cultural sphere, including China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam.Ulrich Theobald ...
Pu Quan (), was a
Chinese anarchist and revolutionary who became a leading member of the right-wing faction of the
Kuomintang
The Kuomintang (KMT), also referred to as the Guomindang (GMD), the Nationalist Party of China (NPC) or the Chinese Nationalist Party (CNP), is a major political party in the Republic of China, initially on the Chinese mainland and in Tai ...
(Chinese Nationalist Party).
Zhang served as the first chairman of
Fu Jen Catholic University
Fu Jen Catholic University (FJU, FJCU or Fu Jen; or ) is a private Catholic university in Xinzhuang, New Taipei City, Taiwan. The university was founded in 1925 in Beijing at the request of Pope Pius XI and re-established in Taiwan in 1961 at ...
from June 1929 to December 1947.
輔仁大學 校史室 >>輔仁歷史軌跡
/ref>
Career
After a classical education in China, Zhang went to Japan in 1899, where he studied at Waseda University
, abbreviated as , is a private university, private research university in Shinjuku, Tokyo. Founded in 1882 as the ''Tōkyō Senmon Gakkō'' by Ōkuma Shigenobu, the school was formally renamed Waseda University in 1902.
The university has numerou ...
. In 1900, he joined other Chinese students in Tokyo to form the anti-Manchu
The Manchus (; ) are a Tungusic East Asian ethnic group native to Manchuria in Northeast Asia. They are an officially recognized ethnic minority in China and the people from whom Manchuria derives its name. The Later Jin (1616–1636) and ...
Qingnianhui (Youth society), and became friends with other revolutionaries, Zhang Binglin
Zhang Binglin (January 12, 1869 – June 14, 1936), also known by his art name Zhang Taiyan, was a Chinese philologist, textual critic, philosopher, and revolutionary.
His philological works include ''Wen Shi'' (文始 "The Origin of Writing"), t ...
and Zou Rong
Zou Rong (; 1885 – 1905) was a Han Chinese nationalist and revolutionary martyr of the anti-Manchu movement. He was born in Chongqing, Sichuan Province, his ancestors having moved there from Meizhou, Guangdong area. Zou was sent to Japan at ...
, and was attracted by Japanese radicals such as the journalist Shūsui Kōtoku. He was a contributor to Subao, the Shanghai journal which was a center of revolutionary activity and publication. When he went to Changsha
Changsha (; ; ; Changshanese pronunciation: (), Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is the capital and the largest city of Hunan Province of China. Changsha is the 17th most populous city in China with a population of over 10 million, an ...
, Hunan
Hunan (, ; ) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the South Central China region. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi to ...
to teach, he also became a comrade of Huang Xing
Huang Xing or Huang Hsing (; 25 October 1874 – 31 October 1916) was a Chinese revolutionary leader and politician, and the first commander-in-chief of the Republic of China. As one of the founders of the Kuomintang (KMT) and the Republic of ...
, another early revolutionary. In 1904 he published an influential essay, "Anarchism and the Spirit of the Anarchists." Inspired by his readings on the French Revolution and the spirit of Danton
Georges Jacques Danton (; 26 October 1759 – 5 April 1794) was a French lawyer and a leading figure in the French Revolution. He became a deputy to the Paris Commune, presided in the Cordeliers district, and visited the Jacobin club. In August ...
, Zhang defended terrorism and assassination:
:Terrorists have declared openly: "the end justifies the means." What this means is that whatever the means may be, if helps achieve my goals, I may use it. If my means may bring security to the people of the nation, even if it entails killing, I may use it. The theory of the anarchists is similar to this; hence they advocate assassination."
In 1905 Zhang was forced to return to Japan with a price on his head. There he joined Sun Yat-sen
Sun Yat-sen (; also known by several other names; 12 November 1866 – 12 March 1925)Singtao daily. Saturday edition. 23 October 2010. section A18. Sun Yat-sen Xinhai revolution 100th anniversary edition . was a Chinese politician who serve ...
's organization, Tongmenghui
The Tongmenghui of China (or T'ung-meng Hui, variously translated as Chinese United League, United League, Chinese Revolutionary Alliance, Chinese Alliance, United Allegiance Society, ) was a secret society and underground resistance movement ...
(Revolutionary Society) and was made editor of its journal, Minbao (People's journal). He ridiculed Sun's rival, Liang Qichao
Liang Qichao (Chinese: 梁啓超 ; Wade–Giles, Wade-Giles: ''Liang2 Chʻi3-chʻao1''; Yale romanization of Cantonese, Yale: ''Lèuhng Kái-chīu'') (February 23, 1873 – January 19, 1929) was a Chinese politician, social and political act ...
, calling him a "horse's fart." He and Liu Shipei
Liu Shipei (; 24 June 1884 – 20 December 1919) was a philologist, Chinese anarchist, and revolutionary activist. While he and his wife, He Zhen were in exile in Japan he became a fervent nationalist. He then saw the doctrines of anarchism as ...
were influenced by Japanese radicals and became the Tokyo counterpart to the Paris anarchists.
The years 1908–1911 Zhang spent in Paris, Geneva, and London. In Paris he was introduced to Li Shizeng
Li Shizeng (; 29 May 1881 – 30 September 1973), born Li Yuying, was an educator, promoter of anarchist doctrines, political activist, and member of the Chinese Nationalist Party in early Republican China.
After coming to Paris in 1902, Li to ...
and Wu Zhihui
Wu Jingheng (), commonly known by his courtesy name Wu Zhihui (Woo Chih-hui, ; 1865–1953), also known as Wu Shi-Fee, was a Chinese linguist and philosopher who was the chairman of the 1912–13 Commission on the Unification of Pronunciatio ...
, heads of a group of anarchists. He spent the summer of 1908 in a rural anarchist commune in the north of France, the Colonie d'Aiglemont, where he milked cows and discussed anarchism with activists from many nations. He returned to China when he heard news of the Revolution of 1911
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 ...
, and briefly was a member of Jiang Kanghu
Jiang Kanghu (; Hepburn: ''Kō Kōko''), who preferred to be known in English as Kiang Kang-hu, (July 18, 1883 – December 7, 1954), was a politician and activist in the Republic of China. His former name was "Shaoquan" () and he also wro ...
's Socialist Party of China, but soon rejoined Sun Yat-sen. However, Zhang and Sun had a brief falling out when Zhang opposed Sun's plan to reorganize his political party to demand personal loyalty to him. After several years of travel in Europe, the United States and Japan, Zhang became Sun's director of party affairs for North China in 1920.
In the 1920s Zhang held high posts in the Kuomintang
The Kuomintang (KMT), also referred to as the Guomindang (GMD), the Nationalist Party of China (NPC) or the Chinese Nationalist Party (CNP), is a major political party in the Republic of China, initially on the Chinese mainland and in Tai ...
and opposed the influence of the Chinese Communist Party
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victoriou ...
, which Sun had invited to become members of his party. After Sun's death in 1925, Zhang was elected to the State Council, and became associated with the group known as the Western Hills clique which convened in November 1925 to oppose communist influence. In the early 1930s Nationalist leaders several times sent Zhang to negotiate with fractious provincial forces. In a famous incident in 1935, Zhang and Hu Hanmin
Hu Hanmin (; born in Panyu, Guangdong, Qing dynasty, China, 9 December 1879 – Kwangtung, Republic of China, 12 May 1936) was a Chinese philosopher and politician who was one of the early conservative right factional leaders in the Kuomintang ...
saved Wang Jingwei
Wang Jingwei (4 May 1883 – 10 November 1944), born as Wang Zhaoming and widely known by his pen name Jingwei, was a Chinese politician. He was initially a member of the left wing of the Kuomintang, leading a government in Wuhan in oppositi ...
from assassination by leaping to shield him from a bomb. After the outbreak of war in 1937, Zhang concerned himself with gathering and editing materials for party history. In 1945 he continued to travel on party errands and in 1947 became director of the ''Guoshiguan'' (national history institute).
Zhang died in Nanjing, at the age of 66, on 15 December 1947.
References
Citations
Sources
* "Chang Chi,"
*
* At The Anarchist Library
Free Download
. The online version is unpaginated.
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zhang, Ji
Chinese anti-communists
Chinese revolutionaries
Chinese anarchists
Members of the Kuomintang
Tongmenghui members
1882 births
1947 deaths