Fang Zhenwu
Encyclopedia
Fang Zhenwu (1885 – December 1941) was a Chinese military officer in the early twentieth century.
, Lu'an
, Anhui
province, in the Empire of China
. He took part in the Xinhai Revolution
of 1911 and joined the revolutionary New Army
in Shanghai
. However, after the defeat of Sun Yat-sen
in his revolt against Yuan Shikai
, Fang went into exile in Japan
, becoming a member of the Chinese Revolutionary Party
. In 1918, he returned to China per Sun’s orders as commander of a battalion in Sun’s rival government in Guangdong
and in 1921 relocated to Shanghai as a member of the inner circle of the new Kuomintang
government. However, the new Chinese government was soon rent with factionalism, and Fang sided with the northern Beiyang Government
, and eventually served in the Fengtian clique
army under Zhang Zongchang
until 1925, when he went over to the Nationalist army of General Feng Yuxiang
. He rose to be commander of the 3rd Army, and later of the 4th Army Group, as well as commander of Jinan
garrison before receiving the post of chairman of the government of Anhui province in 1929.
Due to his dissatisfaction with Chiang Kai-shek
, he was detained and removed from office in October 1929. Following the Japanese invasion of Jehol
in February 1933, Fang joined the Anti-Japanese National Salvation Movement. He organized the Movement's forces in China and led them north to confront the Japanese. On May 26, Fang united with Feng Yuxiang
at Zhangjiakou
and organized the Chahar People's Anti-Japanese Army
Alliance, being its commander of the North Route, fighting against Japanese in the east of Chahar
province. The army had some success, capturing Duolun
for a time from the Japanese and their collaborators.
However, the Chahar People’s Anti-Japanese Army was eventually beaten back by the Imperial Japanese Army
and dispersed by the forces of Chiang Kai-shek, who still wished to reach an agreement with Japan and make war on the Communist Party
and its Red Army
. Living in Guilin
for a time, Fang had to move to Hong Kong
in 1939 under threat by the Kuomintang
. He left when the Japanese occupied Hong Kong in 1941
, but was assassinated by an unidentified assassin on his way back to Guangdong with crowds of refugees in December 1941, near Zhongshan
, in Guangdong province, China.
Biography
Fang was born in 1885 in Shou CountyShou County
Shou County is a county in Anhui Province, People's Republic of China, under the jurisdiction of Lu'an City. It has population is 1,280,000 and its area is 2986 square kilometers...
, Lu'an
Lu'an
Lu'an , is a prefecture-level city in western Anhui Province, People's Republic of China, with a population of 5,612,590 inhabitants at 2010 census. Its built up area is home to 1,482,729 inhabitants spread out on 2 urban districts...
, Anhui
Anhui
Anhui is a province in the People's Republic of China. Located in eastern China across the basins of the Yangtze River and the Huai River, it borders Jiangsu to the east, Zhejiang to the southeast, Jiangxi to the south, Hubei to the southwest, Henan to the northwest, and Shandong for a tiny...
province, in the Empire of China
Late Imperial China
Late Imperial China refers to the period between the end of Mongol rule in 1368 and the establishment of the Republic of China in 1912 and includes the Ming and Qing Dynasties...
. He took part in the Xinhai Revolution
Xinhai Revolution
The Xinhai Revolution or Hsinhai Revolution, also known as Revolution of 1911 or the Chinese Revolution, was a revolution that overthrew China's last imperial dynasty, the Qing , and established the Republic of China...
of 1911 and joined the revolutionary New Army
New Army
The New Armies were the modernized Qing armies, trained and equipped according to Western standards...
in Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
. However, after the defeat of Sun Yat-sen
Sun Yat-sen
Sun Yat-sen was a Chinese doctor, revolutionary and political leader. As the foremost pioneer of Nationalist China, Sun is frequently referred to as the "Father of the Nation" , a view agreed upon by both the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China...
in his revolt against Yuan Shikai
Yuan Shikai
Yuan Shikai was an important Chinese general and politician famous for his influence during the late Qing Dynasty, his role in the events leading up to the abdication of the last Qing Emperor of China, his autocratic rule as the second President of the Republic of China , and his short-lived...
, Fang went into exile in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, becoming a member of the Chinese Revolutionary Party
Chinese Revolutionary Party
The Chinese Revolutionary Party was the short lived renaming of the Kuomintang between 1914 and 1919....
. In 1918, he returned to China per Sun’s orders as commander of a battalion in Sun’s rival government in Guangdong
Guangdong
Guangdong is a province on the South China Sea coast of the People's Republic of China. The province was previously often written with the alternative English name Kwangtung Province...
and in 1921 relocated to Shanghai as a member of the inner circle of the new Kuomintang
Kuomintang
The Kuomintang of China , sometimes romanized as Guomindang via the Pinyin transcription system or GMD for short, and translated as the Chinese Nationalist Party is a founding and ruling political party of the Republic of China . Its guiding ideology is the Three Principles of the People, espoused...
government. However, the new Chinese government was soon rent with factionalism, and Fang sided with the northern Beiyang Government
Beiyang Government
The Beiyang government or warlord government collectively refers to a series of military regimes that ruled from Beijing from 1912 to 1928 at Zhongnanhai. It was internationally recognized as the legitimate Government of the Republic of China. The name comes from the Beiyang Army which dominated...
, and eventually served in the Fengtian clique
Fengtian clique
The Fengtian Clique was one of several mutually hostile cliques or factions that split from the Beiyang Clique in the Republic of China's warlord era. It was named for Fengtian Province and led by Zhang Zuolin...
army under Zhang Zongchang
Zhang Zongchang
Zhang Zongchang , nicknamed the "Dogmeat General" and "72-Cannon Chang" , was a Chinese warlord in Shandong in the early 20th century...
until 1925, when he went over to the Nationalist army of General Feng Yuxiang
Feng Yuxiang
Feng Yuxiang was a warlord and leader in Republican China. He was also known as the Christian General for his zeal to convert his troops and the Betrayal General for his penchant to break with the establishment. In 1911, he was an officer in the ranks of Yuan Shikai's Beiyang Army but joined...
. He rose to be commander of the 3rd Army, and later of the 4th Army Group, as well as commander of Jinan
Jinan
Jinan is the capital of Shandong province in Eastern China. The area of present-day Jinan has played an important role in the history of the region from the earliest beginnings of civilisation and has evolved into a major national administrative, economic, and transportation hub...
garrison before receiving the post of chairman of the government of Anhui province in 1929.
Due to his dissatisfaction with Chiang Kai-shek
Chiang Kai-shek
Chiang Kai-shek was a political and military leader of 20th century China. He is known as Jiǎng Jièshí or Jiǎng Zhōngzhèng in Mandarin....
, he was detained and removed from office in October 1929. Following the Japanese invasion of Jehol
Battle of Rehe
The Battle of Rehe was the second part of Operation Nekka, a campaign by which the Empire of Japan successfully captured the Inner Mongolian province of Rehe from the Chinese warlord Zhang Xueliang and annexed it to the new state of Manchukuo...
in February 1933, Fang joined the Anti-Japanese National Salvation Movement. He organized the Movement's forces in China and led them north to confront the Japanese. On May 26, Fang united with Feng Yuxiang
Feng Yuxiang
Feng Yuxiang was a warlord and leader in Republican China. He was also known as the Christian General for his zeal to convert his troops and the Betrayal General for his penchant to break with the establishment. In 1911, he was an officer in the ranks of Yuan Shikai's Beiyang Army but joined...
at Zhangjiakou
Zhangjiakou
Zhangjiakou, also known also by several other names, is a prefecture-level city in northwestern Hebei province of North China, adjacent to Beijing to the southeast. Its administrative area has a population of 4.35 million, and covers...
and organized the Chahar People's Anti-Japanese Army
Chahar People's Anti-Japanese Army
The Chahar People's Anti-Japanese Army consisted mostly of former Northwestern Army units under Feng Yuxiang, troops from Fang Zhenwu's Resisting Japan and Saving China Army, remnants of the provincial forces from Jehol, Anti-Japanese volunteers from Manchuria and local forces from Chahar and Suiyuan...
Alliance, being its commander of the North Route, fighting against Japanese in the east of Chahar
Chahar (province)
Chahar , also known as Chaha'er, Chakhar, or Qahar, was a province of China in existence from 1912 to 1936, mostly covering territory in what is part of eastern Inner Mongolia. It was named after the Chahar Mongolians....
province. The army had some success, capturing Duolun
Duolun
Dolon Nor , is a town and the county seat of Duolun County, Xilin Gol League in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous region, China. It is of historical importance because the remnants of Xanadu, the summer capital of Kubilai Khan and the following Mongol emperors of the Yuan Dynasty , are located some 17...
for a time from the Japanese and their collaborators.
However, the Chahar People’s Anti-Japanese Army was eventually beaten back by the Imperial Japanese Army
Imperial Japanese Army
-Foundation:During the Meiji Restoration, the military forces loyal to the Emperor were samurai drawn primarily from the loyalist feudal domains of Satsuma and Chōshū...
and dispersed by the forces of Chiang Kai-shek, who still wished to reach an agreement with Japan and make war on the Communist Party
Communist Party of China
The Communist Party of China , also known as the Chinese Communist Party , is the founding and ruling political party of the People's Republic of China...
and its Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
. Living in Guilin
Guilin
Guilin is a prefecture-level city in the northeast of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region of far southern China, sitting on the west bank of the Li River. Its name means "forest of Sweet Osmanthus", owing to the large number of fragrant Sweet Osmanthus trees located in the city...
for a time, Fang had to move to Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
in 1939 under threat by the Kuomintang
Kuomintang
The Kuomintang of China , sometimes romanized as Guomindang via the Pinyin transcription system or GMD for short, and translated as the Chinese Nationalist Party is a founding and ruling political party of the Republic of China . Its guiding ideology is the Three Principles of the People, espoused...
. He left when the Japanese occupied Hong Kong in 1941
Battle of Hong Kong
The Battle of Hong Kong took place during the Pacific campaign of World War II. It began on 8 December 1941 and ended on 25 December 1941 with Hong Kong, then a Crown colony, surrendering to the Empire of Japan.-Background:...
, but was assassinated by an unidentified assassin on his way back to Guangdong with crowds of refugees in December 1941, near Zhongshan
Zhongshan
Zhongshan , also spelled Chungshan and historically known as Xiangshan or Siangshan, is a prefecture-level city in the south of the Pearl River Delta in Guangdong province in southern China. Zhongshan, one of the few cities in China with an eponymous name, is named after Dr. Sun Yat-sen who was...
, in Guangdong province, China.