Zhang Xueliang (; June 3, 1901 – October 15, 2001), also known by the epithet "Young Marshal" in contrast to his father "Old Marshal" Zhang Zuolin, was a Chinese general. He is best known for his role in the Xi'an Incident in 1936, in which he arrested Chiang Kai-shek and forced him to form a Second United Front with the Chinese Communist Party against the Japanese.
In 1928, following the Japanese assassination of his father, Zhang assumed command of the Northeastern Army and leadership of the Fengtian clique. A progressive sympathetic to nationalist ideas, he pledged loyalty to the Nationalist government in the Northeast Flag Replacement, bringing an end to the Warlord Era. He used his military base to wield considerable influence in the politics of the Nanjing decade. He followed a policy of nonresistance to the Japanese invasions of Manchuria in 1931 and Rehe in 1933, the latter of which prompted Wang Jingwei's call for his resignation and provoked public outrage. He stepped down after the loss of Rehe.
In 1934, Zhang was again appointed as commander of the Northeastern Army to suppress the Communists, but he became disillusioned with Chiang's policy of "stabilizing China before resisting Japan," and orchestrated the Xi'an Incident with Yang Hucheng. In its aftermath, Chiang placed Zhang under house arrest, first on the mainland and then in Taiwan, for more than five decades until 1988, refraining from executing him due to the intervention of Madam Chiang. Zhang died of pneumonia in 2001, at the age of 100 in Honolulu, Hawaii.
Early life Zhang Xueliang was born in Haicheng, Liaoning province on June 3, 1901. Zhang was educated by private tutors and, unlike his father, the warlord Zhang Zuolin, he felt at ease in the company of westerners.
Zhang graduated from Fengtian Military Academy, was made a colonel in the Fengtian Army, and appointed the commander of his father's bodyguards in 1919. In 1921 he was sent to Japan to observe military maneuvers, where he developed a special interest in aircraft. Later, he developed an air corps for the Fengtian Army, which was widely used in the battles that took place within the Great Wall during the 1920s. In 1922, he was promoted to major general and commanded an army-sized force. Two years later, he was also made commander of the air units.
Some studies suggest that he joined the CCP in 1926 and became an underground member, with Chen Qiaonian as his introducer. This conclusion was provided by Chen Kongjun(Chen Entian), an independent scholar off CCP history.
Leader of the Northeast Change of Flag
Upon the death of his father in 1928, he succeeded him as the leader of the Northeast Peace Preservation Forces (popularly "Northeastern Army"), which controlled China's northeastern provinces of Heilongjiang, Fengtian, and Jilin. In December of the same year he proclaimed his allegiance to the Kuomintang (KMT; Chinese Nationalist Party).
Zhang sought to emphasize modernization in cities like Shenyang, establishing educational institutions and institutions to increase commerce.
Purge of Yang and Chang
Yang Yuting, a veteran general of the Fengtian clique, and Governor of Heilongjiang Province Chang Yinhuai, were dissatisfied with Zhang Xueliang inheriting the military and political power of the Three Northeastern Provinces. They believed that the young warlord indulged in drinking, women, and opium, lacking real talent and learning. His military achievements before the age of 24 were in fact the work of his deputy, Guo Songling. After the assassination of Zhang Zuolin, although Zhang Xueliang knew the Japanese were behind it, the 27-year-old Young Marshal was powerless to respond. Instead, he leaned toward cooperating with his former enemies and suppressed veteran contributors to the Fengtian clique.
Yang Yuting, considering himself a senior statesman, often spoke bluntly to Zhang and arrogantly flaunted his seniority, frequently ridiculing him—acts seen by many generals as disrespectful. Yang also pressured Zhang Xueliang into establishing the "Northeast Railway Supervisory Office" and appointed Chang Yinhuai to lead it.
On January 10, 1929, Zhang invited several generals including, Yang Yuting and Chang Yinhuai to his home ostensibly for a game of mahjong and had them arrested to face trial that night and then executed. After their execution, Zhang publicly listed their crimes, but simultaneously gave each of their families a condolence payment of 10,000 silver dollars, reflecting the factional struggles within the Fengtian clique. These executions allowed Zhang to replace leaders from his father's administration with those whom Zhang deemed more loyal.
This move shocked the entire Northeast Army. Although the generals professed absolute loyalty, the rift had been formed. To consolidate his authority and prove his capability, Zhang Xueliang sought a decisive victory to win the hearts of his troops.
Relationship with Japanese The Japanese believed that Zhang Xueliang, who was known as a womanizer and an opium addict, would be much more subject to Japanese influence than was his father. On this premise, an officer of the Japanese Kwantung Army therefore killed his father, Zhang Zuolin, by exploding a bomb above his train while it crossed under a railroad bridge. Surprisingly, the younger Zhang proved to be more independent and skilled than anyone had expected and declared his support for Chiang Kai-shek, leading to the reunification of China in 1928. With the assistance of Australian journalist William Henry Donald and Dr. Harry Willis Miller, he overcame his opium addiction in 1933 with the administering of Cantharidin auto-serum therapy.
He was given the nickname "Hero of History" () by PRC historians because of his desire to reunite China and rid it of Japanese invaders; and was willing to pay the price and become "vice" leader of China (not because it was good that he was supporting the Kuomintang). In order to rid his command of Japanese influence, he had two prominent pro-Tokyo officials executed in front of the assembled guests at a dinner party in January 1929. In May 1929, relations between the Kuomintang Nanjing and the excessively strengthened Feng Yuxiang worsened. In addition, the Japanese government, dissatisfied with the pro-Kuomintang policy of Zhang Zuolin, and now his son, threatened to "take the most decisive measures to ensure that the Kuomintang flag never flies over Manchuria". The "Young Marshal" supported Nanjing, and Feng's troops were pushed back to the outlying provinces of Chahar and Suiyuan, and in July 1929, Japan officially recognized Kuomintang China.
Outside and inside conflicts
At the same time, Zhang Xueliang and Chiang Kai-shek held a personal meeting in Beiping, at which a decision was made on the armed seizure of the Chinese Eastern Railway or CER. By pushing Zhang Xueliang to take this step, Chiang Kai-shek sought to make the Young Marshal completely dependent on Nanjing and at the same time raise his prestige and get most of the profits from the operation of the CER at the disposal of Nanjing. Zhang Xueliang, in turn, believed that the capture of the CER would strengthen his position in the Northeast, allow him to personally manage the profits of the CER, and ensure his independence from Nanjing. As a result, on July 10, 1929, the Conflict on the CER began. However, the Red Army showed a higher combat capability, and the conflict ended with the signing of the Khabarovsk Protocol of December 22, 1929.
In 1930, when warlords Feng Yuxiang and Yan Xishan attempted to overthrow Chiang Kai-shek's Kuomintang government, Zhang stepped in to support the Nanjing-based government against the Northern warlords in exchange for control of the key railroads in Hebei and the customs revenues from the port city of Tianjin.
1930s
Mukden Incident A year later, in the September 18 Mukden Incident, Japanese troops attacked Zhang's forces in Shenyang in order to provoke a full-on war with China, which Chiang did not want to face until his forces were stronger. In accordance with this strategy, Zhang's armies withdrew from the front lines without significant engagements, leading to the effective Japanese occupation of Zhang's former northeastern domain. There has been speculation that Chiang Kai-Shek wrote a letter to Zhang asking him to pull his forces back, but Zhang later stated that he himself issued the orders. Apparently, Zhang was aware of how weak his forces were compared to the Japanese and wished to preserve his position by retaining a sizeable army. Nonetheless, this would still be in line with Chiang's overall strategic standings. At the time of the Mukden Incident, it was Zhang Xueliang himself who issued the "non-resistance order". Chiang Kai-shek, in fact, did not receive news of the "incident" until the evening of September 19, after he had arrived in Nanchang, learning of it around 9–10 PM via Shanghai sources. Zhang himself later admitted, "It was our Northeast Army that chose not to resist."
Further Retreat After retreating from Manchuria, Zhang and the Northeastern Army took up defensive positions along the Great Wall in Rehe. During this time, Zhang sponsored China's first participation in the Olympic Games.
The Japanese attacked Zhang again in 1933, and after a weak resistance, Zhang was denied reinforcements from the central government and had to retreat further south. He resigned his posts, underwent treatment for his opium addiction, and left for a year-long exile in Europe. When Zhang returned in January 1934, he sought to regain his position in charge of the Northeastern Army. However, this was strongly opposed by both the Japanese and some Nationalist leaders critical of his failure to stop the Japanese advance. Chiang therefore reassigned him to an anti-Communist force in Wuhan, alienating Zhang and the other leaders of the Northeastern Army. Over the next year, Zhang became a more outspoken critic of Chiang's policy of appeasement towards Japan. He continued to pressure Chiang to reappoint him as head of the Northeastern Army, with the hope that he could use the force to fight the Japanese. On October 2, 1935, Chiang granted Zhang's request, but only because he needed the Northeastern Army's support to crush the final Communist base at Yan'an.
War with Communists On January 6, 1934, Zhang Xueliang returned to China aboard the Conte Verde from Italy, disembarking in Hong Kong to visit Hu Hanmin en route. On February 1, Chiang Kai-shek arrived in Hangzhou from Nanjing to handle military affairs in Fujian; on the same day, Zhang also went to Hangzhou to pay respects to Chiang, expressing that he would "follow all orders from the central government". On February 7, the Nationalist Government specially appointed Zhang as Deputy Commander of the Bandit Suppression Headquarters for Henan, Hubei, and Anhui provinces. On February 9, Chiang flew from Hangzhou to Nanchang and summoned Zhang before departure to instruct him on anti-Communist operations in Henan, Hubei, and Anhui; upon arrival, Chiang immediately ordered forces in western Jiangxi to pursue and attack the Hunan–Jiangxi Red Army.
On March 1, Zhang assumed his post in Hankou as Deputy Commander of anti-Communist operations in Henan and Hubei, and established a field headquarters in Wuchang on March 5. In June, as Chiang was engaged in the Fifth Encirclement Campaign against the Red Army in Jiangxi, Zhang publicly advocated cooperation between the Nationalists and Communists to save the nation. On June 18, Zhang toured the Henan–Hubei border area, arriving in Huangchuan that day. On June 21, he convened a military meeting there to discuss anti-Communist operations, then proceeded to Shangcheng, and to Lihuang and Lu'an in western Anhui. On June 27, he returned to Wuhan.