Wan Fulin (; 20 November 1880 – 15 July 1951) was the military governor of

Heilongjiang Heilongjiang () formerly romanized as Heilungkiang, is a province in northeast China. The standard one-character abbreviation for the province is (). It was formerly romanized as "Heilungkiang". It is the northernmost and easternmost province ...

province from 1928 and part 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 ...

. On December 29, 1928, he along with

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 ...

, son of the late

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 ...

, together with Zhang Zuoxiang fought against Japanese threats and coercion declared in a public wire that the four provinces of Fengtian (Liaoning),

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 ...

, Heilongjiang and

Rehe Rehe (), also romanized as Jehol, was a former Chinese special administrative region and province. Administration Rehe was north of the Great Wall, west of Manchuria, and east of Mongolia. Its capital and largest city was Chengde. The second ...

would change the flag to that of 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 obey the National Government. During 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 ...

he was in

Peking } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

, cut off from his province of Heilongjiang by the Japanese invasion of Liaoning and Jilin provinces. Zhang Xueliang promoted

Ma Zhanshan Ma Zhanshan (Ma Chan-shan; ; November 30, 1885 – November 29, 1950) was a Chinese general who initially opposed the Imperial Japanese Army in the invasion of Manchuria, briefly defected to Manchukuo, and then rebelled and fought against the ...

Governor of Heilongjiang Province in his place. After the Northeastern Army retreated from the Japanese-occupied Northeast he commanded its 32nd Corps, including the 139th Division at Lengkou Pass during the

Defense of the Great Wall The defense of the Great Wall () (January 1 – May 31, 1933) was a campaign between the armies of Republic of China and Empire of Japan, which took place before the Second Sino-Japanese War officially commenced in 1937 and after the Japanese inv ...

in 1933. Afterwards, he commanded the 53rd Corps, retained in Northern China while most of the Northeastern Army was sent to Northwestern China to fight the Communists. After the

Marco Polo Bridge Incident The Marco Polo Bridge Incident, also known as the Lugou Bridge Incident () or the July 7 Incident (), was a July 1937 battle between China's National Revolutionary Army and the Imperial Japanese Army. Since the Japanese invasion of Manchuria ...

he sent a brigade to reinforce 29th Corps during the

Battle of Beiping-Tianjin A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

. His 53rd Corps also fought in the Peking–Hankow Railway Operation and

Tianjin–Pukou Railway Operation The Tientsin–Pukow Railway Operation ( ja, 津浦線作戦; early August to mid November, 1937) was a follow up operation to the Battle of Beiping-Tianjin of the Japanese army in North China at the beginning of the Second Sino-Japanese War, foug ...

. He commanded the 26th Army in the

Battle of Wuhan The Battle of Wuhan (武漢之戰), popularly known to the Chinese as the Defense of Wuhan, and to the Japanese as the Capture of Wuhan, was a large-scale battle of the Second Sino-Japanese War. Engagements took place across vast areas of Anhui ...

. During the war, he was chairman of the Liaoning province government in exile. From 1942 to 1945, he was a member of the

National Military Council The Military Affairs Commission (MAC) of the National Government, chaired by Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek during the Second Sino-Japanese War and World War II, directed the command of the National Revolutionary Army of the Republic of China. ...

. He died in 1951 in Taichung county. Career * Jun 1928 - Aug 1928 Military governor Heilongjiang province * Jan 1929 - Oct 1931 Chairman of the Heilongjiang province government * Nov 1931 - 1933 Commanded 32nd Corps of Northeastern Army * 1935 - 1938 General Officer Commanding 53rd Corps * Jul 1937 - Aug 1945 Chairman of the Liaoning (Fengtian) province government * 1937 Deputy Commander in Chief 20th Army Group * 1937 Deputy Commander in Chief 1st Army Group * 1938 General Commanding Officer 26th Army * 1942 - 1945 Member of the National Military Council

Sources

* Hsu Long-hsuen and Chang Ming-kai, History of The Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) 2nd Ed., 1971. Translated by Wen Ha-hsiung, Chung Wu Publishing; 33, 140th Lane, Tung-hwa Street, Taipei, Taiwan Republic of China.
The Generals of WWII: Generals of China; Wan Fulin
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wan, Fulin National Revolutionary Army generals from Jilin 1880 births 1951 deaths Republic of China politicians from Jilin Politicians from Changchun Taiwanese people from Jilin