Zhang Zuolin

Chin. /jahng" zwaw"lin"/, Pinyin.

See Chang Tso-lin.

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or Chang Tso-lin

born March 19, 1875, Haicheng, Liaoning province, China

died June 4, 1928, Shengyang, Liaoning

Chinese warlord.

After fighting in the Sino-Japanese War (1894–95), Zhang organized a self-defense militia in his native district. By 1912 he was in command of a division, and he set out to dominate Manchuria (northeastern China), relying on the tacit support of the Japanese, to whom he granted concessions in Manchuria. In 1918 he became inspector general of Manchuria's three provinces, which he ruled as a virtually autonomous state. In 1920 he pushed south into China proper and in 1924 took Beijing, but his troops had to abandon their position in the face of Chiang Kai-shek's 1927 Northern Expedition. Zhang was killed by a bomb planted by Japanese extremists who hoped his death would provoke the Japanese into occupying Manchuria.

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▪ Chinese warlord

Wade-Giles romanization  Chang Tso-lin , courtesy name  Yuting , byname  Dashuai (“Great Marshal”) 

born March 19, 1875, Haicheng, Fengtian [now Liaoning] province, China

died , June 4, 1928, near Shenyang, Liaoning province

      Chinese soldier and later a warlord who dominated Manchuria (now Northeast China) and parts of North China between 1913 and 1928. He maintained his power with the tacit support of the Japanese; in return he granted them concessions in Manchuria.

      Born into a peasant family, Zhang Zuolin enlisted in the Chinese army and fought in the Sino-Japanese War of 1894–95. After the war he organized a self-defense militia in his native district, and in 1905 Zhang's growing military unit was organized into a regiment by the governor of Fengtian province. By 1912 Zhang had risen to the command of a division, in 1916 he became the military governor of Fengtian, and in 1918 he was appointed inspector general of Manchuria's three provinces. From then on he controlled Manchuria as a virtually autonomous state within the Chinese republic.

      In 1920 Zhang began to try to expand his power southward into North China proper. By 1924 his position was strong enough for him to extend his control to Beijing, then the capital of the Chinese republic, where he established himself, assuming the powers of a military dictator.

      Zhang's ambitions were threatened by the armies of the Nationalist Party (Kuomintang), which in 1927 advanced into North China under the leadership of Chiang Kai-shek in an attempt to complete the unification of the country. Disheartened by military reverses, Zhang Zuolin ordered his troops to abandon Beijing to the advancing Nationalists. On June 4, 1928, his train was destroyed by a bomb planted by Japanese extremists who hoped that his death would provoke the Japanese army into occupying Manchuria. Zhang was seriously wounded in the attack and died later that day. His son Zhang Xueliang succeeded in command of his forces.

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