Zhang Xueming

Zhang Xueming (simplified Chinese: 張学铭; traditional Chinese: 張學铭; pinyin: Zhāng Xuémíng; Wade–Giles: Chang Hsueh-ming, 1908 - April 9, 1983) was a Chinese soldier and politician. He served as the mayor of Tianjin in 1931, during the Japanese invasion of Manchuria, before being forced into exile. After the Second World War, Zhang defected from the Kuomintang and joined the Communist forces during the Chinese Civil War.

Zhang Xueming
張學铭
Zhang Xueming in 1931
Mayor of Tientsin
In office
April 1931  December 6, 1931
Succeeded byChou Lung-kuang
Personal details
Born1908
Haicheng, Fengtian, Qing Dynasty
DiedApril 9, 1983 (aged 7475)
Beijing, People's Republic of China
Citizenship Republic of China
 People's Republic of China
NationalityChinese
Spouse(s)Mrs. Yao
Zhu Luo Jun
ChildrenZhang Lue (daughter)
Zhang Yuanchong (son)
Zhang Pengju (son)
ParentsZhang Zuolin (father)
RelativesZhang Xueliang (brother)
EducationJapanese Infantry Training School
OccupationPolitician, soldier
Military service
Allegiance Fengtian Clique
 Republic of China
 People's Republic of China
Branch/service Fengtian Army
National Revolutionary Army
 People's Liberation Army Ground Force
Years of service1928-31
1945-49
RankLieutenant general
Battles/warsJapanese invasion of Manchuria
Chinese Civil War

Biography

Zhang Xueming was the second son of Zhang Zuolin; like his father, Xueming was also born in Haicheng. Xueming was a full brother of the famed "Young Marshal", Chang Hsüeh-liang (Zhang Xueliang).

In 1928, Zhang studied at the Japanese Infantry Training School, returning in 1929, when he began to work for the Fengtian Army. By October 1930, during the Central Plains War, he, with the support of Chiang Kai-shek and the recommendation of Kuomintang (KMT) elder Wu Tiecheng, became the police chief in Tianjin. In April 1931, he became the mayor of Tianjin.

Within a few months, amid the backdrop of the Japanese invasion of Manchuria, Tianjin was wracked with disorder and riot, which was not helped by the presence of the Tianjin concessions, which included, among the four major concessions,[1] a concession to Japan, which just happened to be the one closest to the areas of the city inhabited by the Chinese. Given the significant disorder, Zhang was forced to declare martial law again and again.[2]

November 1931 proved a critical month for him: numerous riots, disorders, and fighting broke out, on the ninth, the eleventh, and the twenty-sixth; time and again, the Japanese shelled the city. On the ninth, the Japanese fomented a mob that attacked Chinese police, shelled the city, and left four dead.[3] The clash of the eleventh included declarations of martial law as far as Beijing and Shanghai, the seizure of Nankai University by armed rebels, the shelling of schools by the Japanese, and calls for war;[4] the clean-up lasted until the fifteenth, during which Zhang offered money and pardons to all those who surrendered their arms.[5] Finally, on the evening of November 26, rioters and irregulars, including Chinese gendarmes, likely under the command of Mayor Zhang, attacked the Japanese and Italian concessions, prompting shells from both, protests from the Japanese, and martial law in all the concessions;[6] the fighting raged for days before ending by agreement on the 30th,[7] leaving at least eighteen dead.[8] After protests from the Japanese minister, the Nanjing government reacted with compromise and concessions, forcing the resignation of Zhang Xueming on December 6. He then left China to study abroad.

After initially living in Europe and Hong Kong before and during the Second World War, the Pacific War and the fall of Hong Kong forced Zhang to return to the mainland, returning to Nanjing. The Wang Jingwei regime was forced to accept him, and even appointed him onto their military commission in 1943.

Zhang Xueming's activities were not fully investigated at the end of the war, and so he was appointed a lieutenant general in the National Revolutionary Army. Though accounts differ, he either surrendered to the Communists[9] or soon turned on the KMT; regardless, during the Chinese Civil War, he was reported to command a garrison of 50,000 communist troops in Manchuria.[10] (The Communists had promised an independent Manchuria run by the Zhang family, which never came to fruition.[11])

In 1949, as the fall of the Republic's hold on the mainland neared, Zhang stayed put in Tianjin. Under the tutelage and care of Zhou Enlai, he was spared reprisals; indeed, in 1959, he was invited to attend the third national session of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, most probably as a member of the Revolutionary Committee of the Chinese Kuomintang.[9]

Later, he became the director of the Tianjin People's Park, deputy director of the Municipal Engineering Bureau, deputy director of the Tianjin chapter of the Revolutionary Committee of the Chinese Kuomintang, and, ultimately, a member of the Central Committee of that group.

He died on April 9, 1983, in Beijing, at the age of 75.

Personal life

Zhang had a daughter with his first wife, Mrs. Yao, Zhang Lu E; the marriage would end in divorce.

As Zhang left China to go into exile, he encountered a group of secondary school students; one of whom, Zhu Luo Jun, became his second wife. With her, he also had two sons: his eldest son, Zhang Yuan Chong, was a businessman in Hong Kong; the second son, Zhang Pengju (张鹏举), worked at the Tianjin Municipal Engineering Bureau.

After the war, Zhang Xueming lived in the former British concession in Tianjin, on Hong Kong Road (now No. 50 South Road Mu).

References

  1. ""NEW YORK" OF NORTH CHINA.; City of Tientsin Contains Four Foreign Concessions". The New York Times. 1931-11-27. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-09-26.
  2. "OUR TROOPS ON GUARD.; 600 Men of Fifteenth Infantry Are Stationed in Tientsin". The New York Times. 1931-11-27. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-09-26.
  3. "TIENTSIN IS SHELLED BY JAPANESE GUNS; OUR TROOPS STAND BY; Chinese Riot All Night Near Nipponese Concession, Attacking Police. IGNORE WARNINGS TO LEAVE Machine Guns and Finally the Artillery Are Used to Compel Withdrawal. 15TH INFANTRY CALLED OUT American and Other Foreign Troops Get Ready to Defend Their Nationals if Necessary. Manchurian Developments. FOUR KILLED IN SHELLING. Mob Attacks Chinese Police. Our Troops Sanding By. TIENTSIN IS SHELLED BY JAPANESE GUNS Many Reported Killed. Fifteenth Long in China". The New York Times. 1931-11-09. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-09-26.
  4. "University Seized by Tientsin Rebels; Scenes in Manchuria, Where Japanese and Chinese Are Clashing". The New York Times. 1931-11-12. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-09-26.
  5. "POLICE REPLACE ARMY IN TIENTSIN PATROL; Japanese Ship Declines to Land 1,000 Cases of "Food" When Arms Are Suspected". The New York Times. 1931-11-15. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-09-26.
  6. Byas, Hugh (1931-11-27). "HEAVY FIGHTING IS RAGING IN TIENTSIN; JAPANESE AND ITALIANS SHELL CHINESE AFTER ATTACKS ON FOREIGN CONCESSIONS; FOREIGN OFFICERS CONFER All Concessions Under Martial Law--Tokyo Refuses Troops. CHINESE PLEAD FOR PEACE Civilian Authorities Vainly Seek Truce as the City Is Thrown Into Confusion by Battle. CLASH ON NEAR MUKDEN Japanese Soldiers Battle "Bandits" Ten Miles From City--Chinese Advance Reported. Italian Concession Involved. No Chinese Soldiers in fight. AREA OF NEW FIGHTING IN CHINA. Fresh Conflicts Reported in China as League Moves to Stop Clashes Chinese Blame Japanese. Chinese Advance Reported. Cabinet Refuses More Troops. Chang Orders Caution. Clash On Near Mukden. Nanking Sends Protest. Legation Reports Moves". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-09-27.
  7. "TIENTSIN FIGHTING ENDS BY AGREEMENT; Chinese Move Troops to Another Area After the Japanese Threaten Attack. FOREIGNERS SEEK SAFETY Transport Leaves Dairen With Relief Force From Japan-- China Sends Protest. Foreigners Leave Native City. Fighting Began Last Thursday. TIENTSIN FIGHTING ENDS BY AGREEMENT". The New York Times. 1931-11-30. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-09-27.
  8. "TIENTSIN CLASHES SPREAD; Paris Hears American and Other Foreign Troops Are Involved. CONCESSION GUARD DRAFTED All Japanese Males Between 16 and 45 Are Called--Navy Sending Ships. CHINESE DEFY ULTIMATUM Ordered to Retire by Noon, They Encircle Quarter and Heavy Firing Is Resumed. Foreigners Reported Killed. 18 FOREIGNERS DIE IN TIENTSIN FIGHT Attack on Concession Feared. The Beginning of the Battle. Japanese General Explains. Foreign Troops Rumored Involved. Details of Armored Train Fight. Twenty Chinese Casualties". The New York Times. 1931-11-28. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-09-27.
  9. Boorman, Howard L.; Cheng, Joseph Kai Huan; Krompart, Janet, eds. (1967). "Chang Tso-lin". Biographical Dictionary of Republican China. p. 122.
  10. Durden, Tillman (1945-11-21). "CHINESE REDS CUT MAJOR RAIL LINE; Communists Reported Making Big Gains in Manchuria While Government Is Delayed Marshal's Brothers Involved No Arrangement for Flights Reds Said to Employ Draft". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-04-26.
  11. Lary, Diana (2015-03-02). China's Civil War: A Social History, 1945–1949. Cambridge University Press. p. 60. ISBN 9781316240304.
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