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With the fall of the Qing Dynasty, regions of China fell under spheres of influence, whether the newborn republic, regional warlords, or foreign powers. Japan, with her rapidly growing industrial sector, eyed Manchuria for its natural resources, especially coal and oil. However, Japan also worried that Manchuria would declare support for Chiang Kaishek of the Nationalist Party-controlled China. Japan sought for the former Emperor Puyi in hopes of gathering support from the Manchurians. At the same time, Japan contacted Zhang Xueliang, son of a recently assassinated warlord governor of Manchuria (at the hands of the Japanese military). Zhang was an opium addict, and Japan thought he would be easily manipulated as a puppet. However, Zhang proved to be more independent than originally thought; he declared Manchuria's loyalty for Chiang. In 1929, he executed pro-Japanese officials at a dinner party to show his determination. He also opposed Russian military built-up and Russian influence in Manchuria.

In 1930, warlords Feng Yu-hsiang and Yen Hsi-shan attempted to overthrow Chiang's government. Zhang Xueliang led his men in support of Chiang, fighting against the warlords. He led his men to hold the railroads and the city of Tianjin. In the following year, on 18 September 1931, Japan sent its army into Manchuria and installed Puyi as first the puppet Chief Executive of Manchukuo on 10 November 1931. Zhang withdrew from Manchuria without significant attempts of confrontation. He traveled to Europe briefly before returning to China to lead Nationalist forces in fighting the Communists in Hebei, Henan, and Anhui. On 6 Apr 1936, Nationalist General Zhang Xueliang met with Communist leader Zhou Enlai to negotiate an end of the Chinese civil war. On 12 Dec 1936, Zhang and General Yang Hu-cheng kidnapped Chiang (Xi'an Incident) and forced him to temporarily ally with the Communists to fight against the Japanese. Chiang nominally agreed to the temporary alliance, but continued to strike at the Communists whenever opportunities were presented. As one of the conditions for the alliance, however, Zhang was arrested for his insurrection.

After the Nationalists lost the civil war in 1949, Zhang retreated to Taiwan with the Nationalist Republic of China, and continue to stay under house arrest. He was pardoned in 1990 by President Chiang Chingkuo, the son of Chiang Kaishek, and moved to Honolulu, Hawaii, United States. He passed away in Hawaii to pneumonia, leaving the legacy of being history's longest-serving political prisoner.

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Visitor Submitted Comments

1. Anonymous says:
   23 May 2007 09:55:28 AM
   
   Was Zhang Xueliang a communist? Or communist sympathiser?
2. C. Peter Chen says:
   23 May 2007 10:17:08 AM
   
   No, Zhang Xueliang was not a communist sympathizer and remained a staunch Nationalist supporter until (or perhaps after) the Xian Incident. He only opposed Chiang Kaishek's focus on the Communists because he felt the Japanese invasion was a greater threat to China than the civil war. After his release from being a political prisoner in 1990, Zhang emigrated to Hawaii and refused to partake in anything that might suggest any support to either one of the two Chinas, therefore still showing no evidence that he was a communist sympathizer.
3. Anonymous says:
   16 Nov 2007 09:24:25 PM
   
   ..... and also showing no evidence that he was opposed to the communists.
   
   

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