Zhang Zuoxiang,(张作相) (1881 – 7 May 1949) was an important member of the

Fengtian clique The Fengtian clique () was one of several opposing military factions that constituted the early Republic of China during its Warlord Era. It was named after Fengtian Province (now Liaoning), and operated from a territorial base comprising the thr ...

and general in the

Fengtian Army The Fengtian clique () was one of several opposing military factions that constituted the early Republic of China during its Warlord Era. It was named after Fengtian Province (now Liaoning), and operated from a territorial base comprising the t ...

Zhang Zuoxiang was born in 1881 in

Jinzhou Jinzhou (, ), formerly Chinchow, is a coastal prefecture-level city in central-west Liaoning province, China. It is a geographically strategic city located in the Liaoxi Corridor, which connects most of the land transports between North Chin ...

, western Fengtian (now

Liaoning Liaoning () is a coastal 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 is the northernmost ...

), China. A loyal follower of

Zhang Zuolin Zhang Zuolin (; March 19, 1875 June 4, 1928), courtesy name Yuting (雨亭), nicknamed Zhang Laogang (張老疙瘩), was an influential Chinese bandit, soldier, and warlord during the Warlord Era in China. The warlord of Manchuria from 1916 to ...

, he was the commander of the 27th Regiment, 27th Division, of the Fengtian Defence Force from 1911-16 as Zhang Zuolin took control of Fengtian. He rose up through the ranks of the new Fengtian Army as commander of a brigade (1916–19), acting commander of 27th Division (1919, 1920) and Fengtian garrison commander (1919). From 1920-22 he was staff officer for the Military Governor of Fengtian, Zhang Zuolin himself. He soon was given significant commands of the Eastern Route Army in 1922 and the 3rd Detachment, Zhenwei Army from 1922-24. In April 1924 he was rewarded with the military governorship of

Jilin Jilin (; alternately romanized as Kirin or Chilin) is one of the three provinces of Northeast China. Its capital and largest city is Changchun. Jilin borders North Korea (Rasŏn, North Hamgyong, Ryanggang and Chagang) and Russia (Prim ...

province, which he retained until December 1928. He also held the civil governorship of the province in the same time, except for the time between December 1924 and June 1927. Zhang rose higher in command as General of the 4th Army, Zhenwei Army from 1924–25 and of the Northeastern Provinces Railway Route Army from 1925-26. By 1928 he was Deputy General Commander of the Northeastern Border Defence Command. He became the Chairman of the Jilin Provincial Government and oversaw the reorganization of the Jilin provincial Army. In 1931, 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 ...

, he was forced to retreat to

, where he became commanding general of the remnants of the Fengtian forces of the Northeastern Border Defence Command. After their defeat he became a member of the Peking Branch, National Military Council, in 1933. He was commander of the Chinese 6th Army Group (2nd Northern China Army Group) during the

Battle of Rehe The Battle of Rehe (, sometimes called the Battle of Jehol) was the second part of Operation Nekka, a campaign by which the Empire of Japan successfully captured the Inner Mongolian province of Rehe from the Chinese warlord Zhang Xueliang and an ...

. Following that defeat he resigned. In 1936 he was again appointed a member of the National Military Council and of the Political Board, Northeastern Field Headquarters, but was soon removed due to his links to

Zhang Xueliang Chang Hsüeh-liang (, June 3, 1901 – October 15, 2001), also romanized as Zhang Xueliang, nicknamed the "Young Marshal" (少帥), known in his later life as Peter H. L. Chang, was the effective ruler of Northeast China and much of northern ...

following the

Xi'an Incident The Xi'an Incident, previously romanized as the Sian Incident, was a political crisis that took place in Xi'an, Shaanxi in 1936. Chiang Kai-shek, leader of the Nationalist government of China, was detained by his subordinate generals Chang Hs ...

. During the

Chinese Civil War The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led government of the Republic of China and forces of the Chinese Communist Party, continuing intermittently since 1 August 1927 until 7 December 1949 with a Communist victory on m ...

in 1947 he was recalled and made a member of the Government Affairs Board, Northeastern Field Headquarters, becoming its Deputy Head in 1948. That same year he became Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Northeastern Bandit Suppression Headquarters, but was captured by 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, ...

. He died the next year on May 7 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 popul ...

Awards and decorations

Order of Rank and Merit Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of d ...

Order of the Golden Grain The Order of the Precious Brilliant Golden Grain (Order of Chia-Ho ()), more simply the Order of the Golden Grain, was an award of the Republic of China. The award consists of nine classes. Recipients * Francis Aglen * Albert I of Belgium * W ...

Order of Wen-Hu The Order of Wen-Hu (English – The Order of the Striped Tiger) was an award for military or naval service awarded by the Republic of China. It was issued in five classes. The badge showed a striped tiger in natural colours on a central meda ...

Sources

Rulers: Chinese Administrative divisions, Jilin

* Arthur Waldron
From War to Nationalism, Cambridge University Press, 1995
*

Rana Mitter Shantashil Rajyeswar Mitter (born 1969), known as Rana Mitter, is a British historian and political scientist of Indian origin who specialises in the history of republican China. He is Professor of the History and Politics of Modern China at t ...

THE MANCHURIAN MYTH: NATIONALISM, RESISTANCE, AND COLLABORATION IN MODERN CHINA, University of California Press, Berkeley, 2000
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zhang, Zuoxiang 1881 births 1949 deaths People from Jinzhou