Zhang Yanqing (; Hepburn: ''Chō Enkei''; 1898–1951), was a

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

in the early

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 ...

who subsequently collaborated with the Japanese imperialists and became the Foreign Minister of

Manchukuo Manchukuo, officially the State of Manchuria prior to 1934 and the Empire of (Great) Manchuria after 1934, was a puppet state of the Empire of Japan in Northeast China, Manchuria from 1932 until 1945. It was founded as a republic in 1932 afte ...

, Japan's puppet state. His father

Zhang Zhidong Zhang Zhidong () (4 September 18375 October 1909) was a Chinese politician who lived during the late Qing dynasty. Along with Zeng Guofan, Li Hongzhang and Zuo Zongtang, Zhang Zhidong was one of the four most famous officials of the late Qing ...

was an important official in the later days of the

Qing Empire The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

, while his brother

Zhang Renli Zhang may refer to: Chinese culture, etc. * Zhang (surname) (張/张), common Chinese surname ** Zhang (surname 章), a rarer Chinese surname * Zhang County (漳县), of Dingxi, Gansu * Zhang River (漳河), a river flowing mainly in Henan * ''Zha ...

was an official in the

Reorganized National Government of China 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 ...

, another Japan's puppet state, making the two brothers as Japanese collaborators.

Biography

Zhang studied foreign languages at

Tsingtao Qingdao (, also spelled Tsingtao; , Mandarin: ) is a major city in eastern Shandong Province. The city's name in Chinese characters literally means " azure island". Located on China's Yellow Sea coast, it is a major nodal city of the One Belt ...

, and went to Japan to study at the Gakushuin Peer’s School in 1920. After his return to China in 1922, Zhang was appointed mayor of

Wafangdian Wafangdian (), formerly Fuhsien (Fuxian) or Fu County (), is one of the two "northern county-level city, county-level cities", the other being Zhuanghe, under the administration of Dalian, located in the south of Liaoning province, China. The ci ...

Liaoning Province Liaoning () is a coastal provinces of China, province in Northeast China that is the smallest, southernmost, and most populous province in the region. With its capital at Shenyang, it is located on the northern shore of the Yellow Sea, and i ...

, and in 1924 was promoted to governor of

Zhengding County 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 ...

in Hebei Province, and in 1925 was again promoted to governor of Tianjin under the

Beiyang Government The Beiyang government (), officially the Republic of China (), sometimes spelled Peiyang Government, refers to the government of the Republic of China which sat in its capital Peking (Beijing) between 1912 and 1928. It was internationally r ...

. In 1926, Tianjin was elevated to the status of a special province, and Zhang added the post of Chief of Police of Hebei Province to his list of positions. The following year, he also became a councilor to the Transportation Ministry and Vice Chairman of the Defense Council of Kirin Province in

Manchuria Manchuria is an exonym (derived from the endo demonym " Manchu") for a historical and geographic region in Northeast Asia encompassing the entirety of present-day Northeast China (Inner Manchuria) and parts of the Russian Far East (Outer Manc ...

. In 1931, he moved to

Changchun Changchun (, ; ), also romanized as Ch'angch'un, is the capital and largest city of Jilin Province, People's Republic of China. Lying in the center of the Songliao Plain, Changchun is administered as a , comprising 7 districts, 1 county and 3 c ...

where he chaired the Economic Development Department of the government of Kirin Province. Following the

Mukden Incident The Mukden Incident, or Manchurian Incident, known in Chinese as the 9.18 Incident (九・一八), was a false flag event staged by Japanese military personnel as a pretext for the 1931 Japanese invasion of Manchuria. On September 18, 1931, L ...

in September 1931 and, Zhang assisted

Xi Qia Aisin-Gioro Xiqia (Aisin-Gioro Hsi-hsia; ; 1883–1950), commonly known as Xi Qia or Xi Xia (Hsi Hsia; ; Hepburn: ''Ki Kō''), was a general in command of the Kirin Provincial Army of the Republic of China, who defected to the Japanese during t ...

in issuing a proclamation declaring Kirin Province to be independent of the Republic of China, and assisted the

Imperial Japanese Army The was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945. It was controlled by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office and the Ministry of the Army, both of which were nominally subordinate to the Emperor o ...

achieve a bloodless occupation of Kirin City. After the proclamation of the State of

he participated in the Manchukuo Senate, speaking out strongly in favor of a

monarchy A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state for life or until abdication. The political legitimacy and authority of the monarch may vary from restricted and largely symbolic (constitutional monarchy) ...

, and thus opposing proposals by

Zang Shiyi Zang Shiyi ( Hepburn: ''Zō Shikiki''; October 1884 – November 13, 1956) was a Chinese general and Governor of Liaoning Province at the time of the invasion of Manchuria in 1932. Biography Zang was born in Shenyang county of Liaoning Provin ...

that Manchukuo become a

republic A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...

. In March 1932, he accepted the cabinet-level post of Industry Minister of the Empire of Manchukuo. He became one of the directors of the

Concordia Association The Concordia Association ( Japanese Shinjitai: 満州国協和会, Hepburn: ''Manshū-koku Kyōwakai'') was a political party in Manchukuo. Established to promote the ideals of Pan-Asianism and the creation of a multi-ethnic nation-state and ...

in July 1932. In May 1935, he replaced Xie Jishi as Foreign Minister, a post which he held until May 1937. Following the collapse of Manchukuo, Zhang fled to Japan with the help of some associates of Mitsuru Toyama. He died in Japan in 1951 at the age of 54.

References

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External links

Chinese site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zhang, Yanqing Government ministers of Manchukuo Politicians from Cangzhou Republic of China warlords from Hebei Chinese police officers Chinese collaborators with Imperial Japan 1898 births 1951 deaths