Jiang Guangnai (; 17 December 1888 – 8 June 1967) was a general and statesman 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 ...

and the People's Republic of

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

, and was born in

Dongguan Dongguan (; ) is a prefecture-level city in central Guangdong Province, China. An important industrial city in the Pearl River Delta, Dongguan borders the provincial capital of Guangzhou to the north, Huizhou to the northeast, Shenzhen to the s ...

Guangdong Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...

Defense of Shanghai

He became a bodyguard to

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 ...

and, in 1932, was promoted to general and Commander in Chief of the 19th Route Army, leading it in the successful defense of

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...

against

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

invasion in the January 28 incident.

Fujian Incident

After the cease-fire was brokered, the 19th Army was reassigned 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 ...

to suppress

Chinese Communist The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victorious in the Chinese Civil ...

insurrection in

Fujian Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its capi ...

. It won some battles against the Communists but then negotiated peace with them. Jiang Guangnai joined an insurrection that, on 22 November 1933, established a new

People's Revolutionary Government of the Republic of China The Fujian People's Government (or spelled as the Fukien People's Government) is the common name for the People's Revolutionary Government of the Republic of China (1933–1934) (), also known as the Fujian People's Government (), was a s ...

(), free from the control of Chiang's Nanjing government. The new Fujian government was not supported by other warlords or by all elements of the communists and was quickly crushed by Chiang's armies in January 1934. Jiang escaped with his family to

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

and the rest of the army was disbanded and reassigned into other units of the National Revolutionary Army.

World War II

During

WWII World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

from 1939 to 1944 he returned to become Deputy Commander in Chief of the 4th War Area and in 1945 Deputy Commander in Chief of the 7th War Area.

Later years

After the Communist victory, Mao assigned Jiang to be Minister of Textiles of the new People's Republic of

from 1950. Most high-ranking officials struggled with the

Red Guards Red Guards () were a mass student-led paramilitary social movement mobilized and guided by Chairman Mao Zedong in 1966 through 1967, during the first phase of the Cultural Revolution, which he had instituted.Teiwes According to a Red Guard lead ...

during the

Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his death in 1976. Its stated goal ...

. Jiang, however, was saved by

Zhou Enlai Zhou Enlai (; 5 March 1898 – 8 January 1976) was a Chinese statesman and military officer who served as the first Premier of the People's Republic of China, premier of the People's Republic of China from 1 October 1949 until his death on 8 J ...

. Zhou carefully and cleverly arranged for Jiang to join him and

Mao Zedong Mao Zedong pronounced ; also romanised traditionally as Mao Tse-tung. (26 December 1893 – 9 September 1976), also known as Chairman Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary who was the founder of the People's Republic of China (PRC) ...

Tiananmen The Tiananmen (also Tian'anmen (天安门), Tienanmen, T’ien-an Men; ), or the Gate of Heaven-Sent Pacification, is a monumental gate in the city center of Beijing, China, the front gate of the Imperial City of Beijing, located near the ci ...

to inspect the Red Guards, some of whom had just stormed Jiang's home the previous day. During the inspection Jiang was positioned almost next to Mao. Zhou personally walked over to Jiang in front of the Red Guards, asking him how he was doing after the "visit" by the Red Guards the day before. In front of Mao, Jiang was quick to reply that the Red Guards were still relatively civilized. After that, they did not bother Jiang again. He died in 1967 in Beijing.

Legacy

Zhang Guangnai's residence in Dongguan is now a museum. After his death, his daughter, Jiang Dinggui 蒋定桂 (b. 1947) became a worker in a textile factory, and features on the 5-jiao renminbi note issued in 1972.

KTLA KTLA (channel 5) is a television station in Los Angeles, California, United States, serving as the West Coast flagship of The CW. It is the largest directly owned property of the network's majority owner, Nexstar Media Group, and is the seco ...

television reporter Liberté Chan is a descendant of Jiang Guangnai.

References

External links

Mention of chiang

Listing of Jiang's success against Japan

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jiang, Guangnai 1888 births 1967 deaths Chinese military personnel of World War II National Revolutionary Army generals from Guangdong Republic of China warlords from Guangdong People of the Northern Expedition People of the Central Plains War Politicians from Dongguan People's Republic of China politicians from Guangdong Government ministers of the People's Republic of China Republic of China people who surrendered to the Chinese Communist Party