Zhang Fakui
Encyclopedia
Zhang Fakui was a Chinese
Nationalist general who fought against northern warlords, the Imperial Japanese Army
and Chinese Communist forces in his military career. He served as commander-in-chief the 8th Army Group and commander-in-chief of NRA
ground force before retire in Hong Kong
in 1949.
province. He entered a private learning facility at a young age and went to Guangzhou
to became an apprentice before join the local militia. He entered elementary military academy in Guangdong in 1912 and then went to Wuhan
's military high school. He served as Dr. Sun Yat-Sen
's personal bodyguard and was appointed as a battalion commander of the newly created 4th corps of the National Revolutionary Army
. In 1923 he joined the campaign to dislodge Cantonese warlord Chen Jiongming
from power, he was promoted to regiment, brigade and division commander. During the Northern Expedition, He led the 4th corps defeated Wu Peifu
's warlord armies in Central China. The 4th corps became known as the Iron Army, Zhang was lauded by the public as hero of the iron army. When Chiang Kai-shek
unleashed his forces against the communists in the Shanghai Massacre on April 12, 1927, Zhang stayed with Wang Jingwei
's Wuhan government. He was awarded to command both 4th and 11th corps. In the same month both KMT governments launched separate campaigns against the northern warlords, Zhang again scored a major victory against Marshal Zhang Zuolin
's Fengtian clique
in Henan
province. He was then promoted as commander-in-chief of the 4th area army and prepared to attack Nanjing. When Wang Jingwei
and Chiang Kai Shek reconciled in July 1927 many communist officers under his command mutinied, resulting in the Nanchang Uprising
. Zhang's army defeated the communists and chased the mutineers across into Fujian
and then returned to his home province. While in Guangdong, he drove out the New Guangxi clique
and again supported Wang Jingwei
over Chiang Kai Shek. The remaining communists in his army used the confusion to launch the Guangzhou Uprising
, while Zhang immediately quelled with three divisions. However he was blamed for the fiasco and resigned his command. Before the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War
, he participated in a series of local conflicts into order to stop the growing influence of Chiang Kai Shek's Nationalist Government into his province and was an active member during the Central Plains War
against the Nanjing Government. In 1936, He and Chiang Kai Shek reconciled and he was appointed as commander-in-chief of Zhejiang
, Jiangxi
, Anhui
, Fujian
border regions, to eradicate communist activities in those places.
, Zhang Fakui commanded the 8th Army Group in the Battle of Shanghai
in 1937, 2nd Army Corps in the Battle of Wuhan
in 1938. He Commanded 4th War area from 1939 to 1944, defending Guangdong
and Guangxi
against the Japanese in South China, achieving a victory in the Battle of South Guangxi
. He then was appointed as commander in Chief of the Guilin War Zone during the Japanese Operation Ichigo. As Commander in Chief 2nd Front Army he accepted the surrender of the Japanese Twenty-Third Army
in Canton
at the end of the War.
There was a unique feature for the telephone conversations with Chiang Kai-Shek
, because Zhang was a Hakka
, and the two had difficulties in understanding each other: instead of simply hanging up the phone after giving out orders like he did to everyone else, during the conversation with Zhang, Chiang always asked Zhang if he understood what he had just said, and Chiang always waited until after Zhang gave an affirmative answer.
During the struggle against the Japanese, Zhang was among the first Army Corps commanders to ask the Chinese military to change its code because he discovered that Japanese could easily decode the Chinese code at the early stage of the war. After the war he was made Commander of the Order of the British Empire. His medal was presented by Governor of Hong Kong
Sir Mark Young
in May 1947. (The Straits Times, 3 May 1947)
Zhang was nicknamed Zhang Fei, after the historical Three Kingdoms figure.
, He was put in charge of Guangdong province and then named as one of President Chiang Kai Shek's military advisors. After the diastrous Huaihai Campaign
, Vice President Li Zongren
took over as acting President, Zhang was named as chief military administrator of Hainan
and commander-in-chief of Nationalist ground forces in March 1949.
. Based in Guangxi
, Zhang established the Viet Nam Cach Menh Dong Minh Hoi meaning "Viet Nam Revolutionary League" in 1942, which was assisted by the Viet Nam Quoc Dan Dang to serve the KMT's aims. The Chinese Yunnan provincial army, under the KMT, occupied northern Vietnam after the Japanese surrender in 1945, the VNQDD tagging alone, opposing Ho Chi Minh
's communist party. The Viet Nam Revolutionary League was a union of various Vietnamese nationalist groups, run by the pro Chinese Viet Nam Quoc Dan Dang. Its stated goal was for unity with China under the Three Principles of the People
, created by KMT founder Dr. Sun and opposition to Vietnamese and French Imperialists. The Revolutionary League was controlled by Nguyen Hai Than. General Zhang shrewdly blocked the Communists of Vietnam, and Ho Chi Minh from entering the league, as his main goal was Chinese influence in Indo China. The KMT utilized these Vietnamese nationalists during World War II against Japanese forces.
Zhang worked with Nguyen Hai Than, a Viet Nam Quoc Dan Dang member, against French Imperialists and Communists in Indo China. General Chang Fa-kuei planned to lead a Chinese army invasion of Tonkin
in Indo China to Free Vietnam from French control, and to get Chiang Kai-shek's support.
and Taiwan's leader Chiang Ching-kuo
sent their condolence letters to express their sorrow.
Republic of China Army
The ROC Army's current operational strength includes 3 armies, 5 corps. As of 2005, the Army's 35 brigades include 25 infantry brigades, 5 armoured brigades and 3 mechanized infantry brigades...
Nationalist general who fought against northern warlords, 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 Chinese Communist forces in his military career. He served as commander-in-chief the 8th Army Group and commander-in-chief of NRA
NRA
NRA is an abbreviation that may mean:* National regulatory authorities , government agencies tasked with regulating and supervising sections of public service and economy...
ground force before retire in 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 1949.
Early life and career
Zhang Fakui was born in 1896 in Shixing County, GuangdongGuangdong
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...
province. He entered a private learning facility at a young age and went to Guangzhou
Guangzhou
Guangzhou , known historically as Canton or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of the Guangdong province in the People's Republic of China. Located in southern China on the Pearl River, about north-northwest of Hong Kong, Guangzhou is a key national transportation hub and trading port...
to became an apprentice before join the local militia. He entered elementary military academy in Guangdong in 1912 and then went to Wuhan
Wuhan
Wuhan is the capital of Hubei province, People's Republic of China, and is the most populous city in Central China. It lies at the east of the Jianghan Plain, and the intersection of the middle reaches of the Yangtze and Han rivers...
's military high school. He served as Dr. 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...
's personal bodyguard and was appointed as a battalion commander of the newly created 4th corps of the National Revolutionary Army
National Revolutionary Army
The National Revolutionary Army , pre-1928 sometimes shortened to 革命軍 or Revolutionary Army and between 1928-1947 as 國軍 or National Army was the Military Arm of the Kuomintang from 1925 until 1947, as well as the national army of the Republic of China during the KMT's period of party rule...
. In 1923 he joined the campaign to dislodge Cantonese warlord Chen Jiongming
Chen Jiongming
Chen Jiongming was a revolutionary figure in the early periods of the Republic of China. Chen Jiongming was born in 1878 at Haifeng, Guangdong, China....
from power, he was promoted to regiment, brigade and division commander. During the Northern Expedition, He led the 4th corps defeated Wu Peifu
Wu Peifu
Wu Peifu or Wu P'ei-fu , was a major figure in the struggles between the warlords who dominated Republican China from 1916 to 1927.- Early career :...
's warlord armies in Central China. The 4th corps became known as the Iron Army, Zhang was lauded by the public as hero of the iron army. When 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....
unleashed his forces against the communists in the Shanghai Massacre on April 12, 1927, Zhang stayed with Wang Jingwei
Wang Jingwei
Wang Jingwei , alternate name Wang Zhaoming, was a Chinese politician. He was initially known as a member of the left wing of the Kuomintang , but later became increasingly anti-Communist after his efforts to collaborate with the CCP ended in political failure...
's Wuhan government. He was awarded to command both 4th and 11th corps. In the same month both KMT governments launched separate campaigns against the northern warlords, Zhang again scored a major victory against Marshal Zhang Zuolin
Zhang Zuolin
Zhang Zuolin was the warlord of Manchuria from 1916 to 1928 . He successfully invaded China proper in October 1924 in the Second Zhili-Fengtian War. He gained control of Peking, including China's internationally recognized government, in April 1926...
's 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...
in Henan
Henan
Henan , is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the central part of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is "豫" , named after Yuzhou , a Han Dynasty state that included parts of Henan...
province. He was then promoted as commander-in-chief of the 4th area army and prepared to attack Nanjing. When Wang Jingwei
Wang Jingwei
Wang Jingwei , alternate name Wang Zhaoming, was a Chinese politician. He was initially known as a member of the left wing of the Kuomintang , but later became increasingly anti-Communist after his efforts to collaborate with the CCP ended in political failure...
and Chiang Kai Shek reconciled in July 1927 many communist officers under his command mutinied, resulting in the Nanchang Uprising
Nanchang Uprising
The Nanchang Uprising was the first major Kuomintang-Communist engagement of the Chinese Civil War, in order to counter the anti-communist purges by the Nationalist Party of China....
. Zhang's army defeated the communists and chased the mutineers across into Fujian
Fujian
' , formerly romanised as Fukien or Huguing or Foukien, is a province on the southeast coast of mainland China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, and Guangdong to the south. Taiwan lies to the east, across the Taiwan Strait...
and then returned to his home province. While in Guangdong, he drove out the New Guangxi clique
New Guangxi clique
After the founding of the Republic of China, Guangxi served as the base for one of the most powerful warlord cliques of China: the Old Guangxi clique. Led by Lu Rongting and others, the clique was able to take control of neighbouring Hunan and Guangdong provinces as well...
and again supported Wang Jingwei
Wang Jingwei
Wang Jingwei , alternate name Wang Zhaoming, was a Chinese politician. He was initially known as a member of the left wing of the Kuomintang , but later became increasingly anti-Communist after his efforts to collaborate with the CCP ended in political failure...
over Chiang Kai Shek. The remaining communists in his army used the confusion to launch the Guangzhou Uprising
Guangzhou Uprising
The Guangzhou Uprising of 1927 was a failed communist uprising in the city of Guangzhou in southern China.On December 11 1927, red guard citizens, directed by communist political leaders, took over Guangzhou . The uprising occurred despite the strong objections of communist military commanders...
, while Zhang immediately quelled with three divisions. However he was blamed for the fiasco and resigned his command. Before the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War
Second Sino-Japanese War
The Second Sino-Japanese War was a military conflict fought primarily between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. From 1937 to 1941, China fought Japan with some economic help from Germany , the Soviet Union and the United States...
, he participated in a series of local conflicts into order to stop the growing influence of Chiang Kai Shek's Nationalist Government into his province and was an active member during the Central Plains War
Central Plains War
Central Plains War was a civil war within the factionalised Kuomintang that broke out in 1930. It was fought between the forces of Chiang Kai-shek and the coalition of three military commanders who had previously allied with Chiang: Yan Xishan, Feng Yuxiang, and Li Zongren...
against the Nanjing Government. In 1936, He and Chiang Kai Shek reconciled and he was appointed as commander-in-chief of Zhejiang
Zhejiang
Zhejiang is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. The word Zhejiang was the old name of the Qiantang River, which passes through Hangzhou, the provincial capital...
, Jiangxi
Jiangxi
' is a southern province in the People's Republic of China. Spanning from the banks of the Yangtze River in the north into hillier areas in the south, it shares a border with Anhui to the north, Zhejiang to the northeast, Fujian to the east, Guangdong to the south, Hunan to the west, and Hubei to...
, 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...
, Fujian
Fujian
' , formerly romanised as Fukien or Huguing or Foukien, is a province on the southeast coast of mainland China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, and Guangdong to the south. Taiwan lies to the east, across the Taiwan Strait...
border regions, to eradicate communist activities in those places.
Second Sino-Japanese War
During the Second Sino-Japanese WarSecond Sino-Japanese War
The Second Sino-Japanese War was a military conflict fought primarily between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. From 1937 to 1941, China fought Japan with some economic help from Germany , the Soviet Union and the United States...
, Zhang Fakui commanded the 8th Army Group in the Battle of Shanghai
Battle of Shanghai
The Battle of Shanghai, known in Chinese as Battle of Songhu, was the first of the twenty-two major engagements fought between the National Revolutionary Army of the Republic of China and the Imperial Japanese Army of the Empire of Japan during the Second Sino-Japanese War...
in 1937, 2nd Army Corps in the Battle of Wuhan
Battle of Wuhan
The Battle of Wuhan, popularly known to the Chinese as the Defence of Wuhan, and to the Japanese as the Capture of Wuhan, was a large-scale battle of the Second Sino-Japanese War...
in 1938. He Commanded 4th War area from 1939 to 1944, defending 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 Guangxi
Guangxi
Guangxi, formerly romanized Kwangsi, is a province of southern China along its border with Vietnam. In 1958, it became the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China, a region with special privileges created specifically for the Zhuang people.Guangxi's location, in...
against the Japanese in South China, achieving a victory in the Battle of South Guangxi
Battle of South Guangxi
The Battle of South Guangxi , was one of the 22 major engagements between the National Revolutionary Army and Imperial Japanese Army during the Second Sino-Japanese War.In November 1939, the Japanese landed on the coast of Guangxi and captured Nanning...
. He then was appointed as commander in Chief of the Guilin War Zone during the Japanese Operation Ichigo. As Commander in Chief 2nd Front Army he accepted the surrender of the Japanese Twenty-Third Army
Japanese Twenty-Third Army
The was an army of the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II.-History:The Japanese 23rd Army was formed on June 26, 1941 under the Imperial General Headquarters. It was transferred to the control of the China Expeditionary Army on August 12 of the same year...
in Canton
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...
at the end of the War.
There was a unique feature for the telephone conversations 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....
, because Zhang was a Hakka
Hakka people
The Hakka , sometimes Hakka Han, are Han Chinese who speak the Hakka language and have links to the provincial areas of Guangdong, Jiangxi, Guangxi, Sichuan, Hunan and Fujian in China....
, and the two had difficulties in understanding each other: instead of simply hanging up the phone after giving out orders like he did to everyone else, during the conversation with Zhang, Chiang always asked Zhang if he understood what he had just said, and Chiang always waited until after Zhang gave an affirmative answer.
During the struggle against the Japanese, Zhang was among the first Army Corps commanders to ask the Chinese military to change its code because he discovered that Japanese could easily decode the Chinese code at the early stage of the war. After the war he was made Commander of the Order of the British Empire. His medal was presented by Governor of Hong Kong
Governor of Hong Kong
The Governor of Hong Kong was the head of the government of Hong Kong during British rule from 1843 to 1997. The governor's roles were defined in the Hong Kong Letters Patent and Royal Instructions...
Sir Mark Young
Mark Aitchison Young
Sir Mark Aitchison Young, GCMG was a British administrator who became the Governor of Hong Kong during the years immediately before and after the Japanese occupation of the territory.-Early life, service in war:...
in May 1947. (The Straits Times, 3 May 1947)
Zhang was nicknamed Zhang Fei, after the historical Three Kingdoms figure.
Chinese Civil War
After the Second Sino-Japanese WarSecond Sino-Japanese War
The Second Sino-Japanese War was a military conflict fought primarily between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. From 1937 to 1941, China fought Japan with some economic help from Germany , the Soviet Union and the United States...
, He was put in charge of Guangdong province and then named as one of President Chiang Kai Shek's military advisors. After the diastrous Huaihai Campaign
Huaihai Campaign
Huaihai Campaign or Battle of Hsupeng was a military action during 1948 and 1949 that was the determining battle of the Chinese Civil War. It was one of the few conventional battles of the war. 550,000 troops of the Republic of China were surrounded in Xuzhou and destroyed by the communist...
, Vice President Li Zongren
Li Zongren
Li Zongren or Li Tsung-jen , courtesy name Delin , was a prominent Guangxi warlord and Kuomintang military commander during the Northern Expedition, Second Sino-Japanese War and Chinese Civil War...
took over as acting President, Zhang was named as chief military administrator of Hainan
Hainan
Hainan is the smallest province of the People's Republic of China . Although the province comprises some two hundred islands scattered among three archipelagos off the southern coast, of its land mass is Hainan Island , from which the province takes its name...
and commander-in-chief of Nationalist ground forces in March 1949.
Viet Nam Quoc Dan Dang
Zhang Fakui was instrumental in the Kuomintang support of Vietnamese revolutionary organizations and parties against the French Imperialist occupation of Indo China. He assisted the Viet Nam Quoc Dan DangViet Nam Quoc Dan Dang
The Việt Nam Quốc Dân Đảng , also known as the Việt Quốc and the Vietnamese Kuomintang, is the Vietnamese Nationalist Party, a revolutionary socialist political party that sought independence from French colonial rule in Vietnam during the early 20th century...
. Based in Guangxi
Guangxi
Guangxi, formerly romanized Kwangsi, is a province of southern China along its border with Vietnam. In 1958, it became the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China, a region with special privileges created specifically for the Zhuang people.Guangxi's location, in...
, Zhang established the Viet Nam Cach Menh Dong Minh Hoi meaning "Viet Nam Revolutionary League" in 1942, which was assisted by the Viet Nam Quoc Dan Dang to serve the KMT's aims. The Chinese Yunnan provincial army, under the KMT, occupied northern Vietnam after the Japanese surrender in 1945, the VNQDD tagging alone, opposing Ho Chi Minh
Ho Chi Minh
Hồ Chí Minh , born Nguyễn Sinh Cung and also known as Nguyễn Ái Quốc, was a Vietnamese Marxist-Leninist revolutionary leader who was prime minister and president of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam...
's communist party. The Viet Nam Revolutionary League was a union of various Vietnamese nationalist groups, run by the pro Chinese Viet Nam Quoc Dan Dang. Its stated goal was for unity with China under the Three Principles of the People
Three Principles of the People
The Three Principles of the People, also translated as Three People's Principles, or collectively San-min Doctrine, is a political philosophy developed by Sun Yat-sen as part of a philosophy to make China a free, prosperous, and powerful nation...
, created by KMT founder Dr. Sun and opposition to Vietnamese and French Imperialists. The Revolutionary League was controlled by Nguyen Hai Than. General Zhang shrewdly blocked the Communists of Vietnam, and Ho Chi Minh from entering the league, as his main goal was Chinese influence in Indo China. The KMT utilized these Vietnamese nationalists during World War II against Japanese forces.
Zhang worked with Nguyen Hai Than, a Viet Nam Quoc Dan Dang member, against French Imperialists and Communists in Indo China. General Chang Fa-kuei planned to lead a Chinese army invasion of Tonkin
Tonkin
Tonkin , also spelled Tongkin, Tonquin or Tongking, is the northernmost part of Vietnam, south of China's Yunnan and Guangxi Provinces, east of northern Laos, and west of the Gulf of Tonkin. Locally, it is known as Bắc Kỳ, meaning "Northern Region"...
in Indo China to Free Vietnam from French control, and to get Chiang Kai-shek's support.
Retirement in Hong Kong
In June 1949, Zhang resigned and moved to Hong Kong. He had built schools back in his native village. He was the organizer of the First World Hakka Congress in Hong Kong and died there in 1980. Despite numerous pleas from both Taiwan and the mainland, he never visited both places, his old subordinate communist leader Ye JianyingYe Jianying
Ye Jianying was a Chinese communist general and the chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress from 1978 to 1983.-Biography:...
and Taiwan's leader Chiang Ching-kuo
Chiang Ching-kuo
Chiang Ching-kuo , Kuomintang politician and leader, was the son of President Chiang Kai-shek and held numerous posts in the government of the Republic of China...
sent their condolence letters to express their sorrow.
Military career
- 1926 General Officer Commanding IV Corps
- 1926 - 1927 General Officer Commanding 12th Division
- 1927 Retired
- 1936 - 1937 Commander in Chief Zhejiang-Fujian-Anhui-Jiangxi Border Area
- 1937 - 1938 Commander in Chief 8th Army Group
- 1937 Commander in Chief Right Wing 3rd War Area
- 1938 Commander in Chief 2nd Army Corps, Battle of Wuhan
- 1939 - 1944 Commander in Chief 4th War Area
- 1944 Commander in Chief Guilin War Zone
- 1944 - 1945 Commander in Chief 2nd Front Army
Sources
- http://www.generals.dk/general/Chang_Fa-Kuei/_/China.html
- Hsu Long-hsuen and Chang Ming-kai, History of The Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) 2nd Ed., 1971. Translated by Wen Ha-hsiung, Chung Wu Publishing; 33, 140th Lane, Tung-hwa Street, TaipeiTaipeiTaipei City is the capital of the Republic of China and the central city of the largest metropolitan area of Taiwan. Situated at the northern tip of the island, Taipei is located on the Tamsui River, and is about 25 km southwest of Keelung, its port on the Pacific Ocean...
, TaiwanTaiwanTaiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
Republic of ChinaRepublic of ChinaThe Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan , is a unitary sovereign state located in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China currently governs the island of Taiwan , which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other minor...
.