Zhang Hongfan () (1238–1280) was a

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...

military general of the Mongol Empire. As commander of the Mongol army and navy, he annihilated the

Southern Song The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the rest ...

by crushing the last Song resistance at the

Battle of Yamen The naval Battle of Yamen () (also known as the Naval Battle of Mount Ya; ) took place on 19 March 1279 and is considered to be the last stand of the Song dynasty against the invading Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. Although outnumbered 10:1, the Yua ...

in 1279, where he is said to have captured 8000 enemy vessels. He is also known for capturing the Song loyalist

Wen Tianxiang Wen Tianxiang (; June 6, 1236 – January 9, 1283), noble title Duke of Xin (), was a Chinese poet and politician in the last years of the Southern Song dynasty. For his resistance to Kublai Khan's invasion of the Southern Song dynasty, and for ...

(1236–1283). Zhang was born in Dingxing, in present-day Hebei province. Dingxing had been part of the

Liao empire The Liao dynasty (; Khitan: ''Mos Jælud''; ), also known as the Khitan Empire (Khitan: ''Mos diau-d kitai huldʒi gur''), officially the Great Liao (), was an imperial dynasty of China that existed between 916 and 1125, ruled by the Yelü ...

and Jin empire and was part of the Mongol empire at the time of his birth. His father, Zhang Rou, led local forces defending against the Mongols in the dying days of the Jin Dynasty, but switched his allegiance to the Mongols in 1218 and was later ennobled by the Yuan Dynasty. Although some later books and retellings claim that Zhang was a traitor who turned against the Song Dynasty, this is not historically accurate, since Zhang's place of birth had not been part of the Song empire and his family had served the Jin, then the Mongols. Some historians claim that Zhang was related to

Zhang Shijie Zhang Shijie () was a Chinese admiral, military general, and politician during the Mongol invasion of China. Zhang was born to a prosperous family in present-day Hebei (part of the Liao empire, then Jin empire). After the fall of the Jin to t ...

, the Song general who lost the

against the Mongols before dying in a storm, as Zhang Shijie's family was also from present day Hebei under Jin rule. Deng Guangjian, a fellow townsman of

, was tutor to Zhang Hongfan's family after he was rescued from attempting to drown himself at the

. In his biography of Wen Tianxiang, Deng Guangjian describes Zhang Hongfan as courteous and friendly towards Wen after his capture. On his deathbed, Zhang had also pleaded with the Yuan Emperor Kublai Khan to spare the life of Wen Tianxiang. Aside from these descriptions in Wen's biography, Deng also wrote a preface to Zhang's various collected writings.

References

1238 births 1280 deaths Generals from Hebei Song dynasty generals Yuan dynasty generals {{China-history-stub