Chang Tso-lin

Chang Tso-lin

(jäng tsō`-lĭn`), 1873–1928, Chinese general. Chang was of humble birth. As the leader of a unit of Manchurian militia he assisted (1904–5) the Japanese in the Russo-Japanese War. He held various military posts under the Chinese republic. From his appointment (1918) as inspector general of Manchuria until his death he controlled Manchuria, and from 1920 he constantly warred to extend his rule southward, joining in a three-way struggle with Wu P'ei-fuWu P'ei-fu
, 1874–1939, Chinese general and political leader. He had a distinguished military career under the Ch'ing dynasty and was an important figure in the republic. For the most part Wu supported Yüan Shih-k'ai during his presidency.
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 and Feng Yü-hsiangFeng Yü-hsiang
, 1882–1948, Chinese general. He held various military positions under the Ch'ing dynasty. Feng's conversion to Methodism in 1914 gained him the sobriquet the Christian General.
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 for control of the Beijing government. His Fengtien army occupied the Beijing-Tianjin area (1926) until driven out by the Northern ExpeditionNorthern Expedition,
in modern Chinese history, the military campaign by which the Kuomintang party overthrew the warlord-backed Beijing government and established a new government at Nanjing.
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 (1926). Chang died when the train in which he was retreating to Shenyang before the Kuomintang army was bombed (for reasons still unclear) by officers of the Japanese army in Manchuria. His son, Chang Hsüeh-liangChang Hsüeh-liang
or Zhang Xueliang
, 1898–2001, Chinese warlord, son of Chang Tso-lin. On the death (1928) of his father, he succeeded as military governor of Manchuria. He was then known as Chang Hsiao-liang but later changed his name.
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, succeeded to control of Manchuria.

Chang Tso-Lin

 

Born 1876; died June 21, 1928, in Mukden. Chinese general and head of the Fengt’ien clique of warlords.

During the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–05, Chang was head of one of the Hung hu-tzu bands, which aided the Japanese in Manchuria. In 1906 he and his band were incorporated into the Chinese Army, and Chang was soon appointed a division commander. He became de facto ruler of Manchuria during the Hsinhai Revolution of 1911–13 and, after the death of Yüan Shih-k’ai in 1916, absolute dictator; he was supported by the Japanese.

In 1926 and 1927, as commander in chief of an army that united the forces of various warlords of Central and North China, Chang fought against the revolutionary army of the Canton (later Wuhan) government. In April 1927, on his orders, police raided the Soviet embassy in Peking; 25 Chinese Communists, led by Li Tachao, were arrested and executed. In 1928, Chang attempted to align himself with the USA. Chang was killed in a train explosion planned by Japanese intelligence.