Zhang Qun

Zhang Qun (Chang Chun)
張群

In 1929, when mayor of Shanghai
Secretary General to the President
In office
18 May 1954 – 29 May 1972
Premier of the Republic of China
In office
23 April 1947 – 28 May 1948
President Chiang Kai-shek
Vice Premier Wang Yunwu
Ku Meng-yu
Preceded by Chiang Kai-shek
Succeeded by Weng Wenhao
Governor of Sichuan Province
In office
15 November 1940 – 14 May 1947
Vice Premier of the Republic of China
In office
1 January 1938 – 11 December 1939
President Lin Sen
Premier H. H. Kung
Preceded by H. H. Kung
Succeeded by H. H. Kung
Foreign Minister of the Republic of China
In office
12 December 1935 – 4 March 1937
Preceded by Wang Jingwei
Succeeded by Wang Ch'ung-hui
Governor of Hubei Province
In office
7 July 1933 – 17 December 1935
Mayor of Shanghai
In office
1 April 1929 – 6 January 1932
Personal details
Born (1889-05-09)9 May 1889
Huayang County, Sichuan, Qing Empire
Died 14 December 1990(1990-12-14) (aged 101)
Taipei, Taiwan
Nationality  Republic of China
Political party Kuomintang
Alma mater Baoding Military Academy
Zhang Qun
Traditional Chinese 張群
Simplified Chinese 张群

Zhang Qun or Chang Chun (Chinese: 張群; May 9, 1889 – December 14, 1990), also known as Zhang Yuejun (張岳軍), was premier of the Republic of China and a prominent member of the Kuomintang. He served as secretary general to the President of the Republic from 1954 to 1972 and senior advisor to Presidents Chiang Kai-shek, Yen Chia-kan, Chiang Ching-kuo, and Lee Teng-hui. Under the influence of his wife, Ma Yu-ying, he became a Christian in the 1930s.[1]

Biography

Born in the Huayang County (now part of Shuangliu County), Sichuan province, Chang was admitted in 1906 to the Baoding Military Academy, just southwest of Beijing. The next year, he was selected to go to Japan to study at the Tokyo Shimbu Gakko, a preparatory military school, where he specialized in artillery. Together with his classmate, Chiang Kai-shek, he joined the T'ung-meng-hui the same year. After completing their preparatory studies, they both served in the Takada regiment of the Imperial Japanese Army’s 13th Field Artillery Bridage, stationed in Niigata Prefecture before returning to China to serve under Sun Yat-sen in the Xinhai Revolution which would overthrow the Qing monarchy in 1911. During this period, a lifelong friendship between the two men and Huang Fu was formed and the three became sworn, or blood, brothers. Chang married Ma Yu-ying (馬育英) in 1913; because their first child was born in 1917, he later claimed to have practiced family planning long before it became popular.

Kuomintang-Chinese Communist Party summit of 1945: from left, US Ambassador Patrick J. Hurley, Chiang Ching-kuo, President Chiang Kai-shek, Chang Chun, Foreign Minister Wang Shijie (王世杰) and Mao Zedong

When Yuan Shikai attempted to restore the monarchy, Chang fled to Japan, finished his military training at the Imperial Japanese Army Academy in 1915, and then went to the Netherlands East Indies, where he taught in an overseas Chinese school. Returning to China to participate in Yuan's overthrow, he served as adjutant-general to Cen Chunxuan, president of the southern provinces, which repudiated Yuan's regime. With the restoration of the Republic, Chang held several posts. Becoming a major general of the National Revolutionary Army at age 28, he later became a member of the Kuomintang's Central Executive Committee, mayor of Shanghai and president of Tongji University, governor of Hubei province and foreign minister. In the KMT, he led the Political Science Clique (政學系), which included military men such as Huang Fu and Xiong Shihui (熊式輝), intellectuals, such as Yang Yongtai (楊永泰) and Wang Ch'ung-hui, and bankers and industrialists, including Wu Dingchang (吳鼎昌) and Chang Kia-ngau. During World War II, he served as secretary general of the National Security Council and governor of Sichuan province.

Committee of Three, from left, Nationalist representative Chang, General George Marshall and Communist representative Zhou Enlai.

In 1946, Chang, representing the national government, was a member of the Committee of Three (also known as the Marshall Mission) along with General George C. Marshall, then head of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Chinese Communist Party representative Zhou Enlai, which had been established in Nanjing in January, 1946 to effect a Kuomintang-Chinese Communist Party truce and head off civil war. The Marshall Mission helped to bring about a temporary cease-fire and but its plans for a political-military settlement did not succeed.[1]

In 1947, Chang headed the first coalition government as president of the Executive Yuan, a position also known as premier of the Republic of China.[2]

Special Envoy Chang on his way to visit Emperor Hirohito in Tokyo, 1957

His platform was to prepare China for constitutional government, land reform and price control. Despite his long ties with Chiang Kai-shek, he could not bring about the political reforms he favored. [1] After the transfer of the capital from Nanjing to Taipei, he became chief of staff and secretary general to the president in 1954. Among his duties were planning the government's foreign policy and representing the president in Japan, Africa and Europe, including the Second Vatican Council in 1965.

Pope Paul VI receives Special Envoy Chang in 1965

In 1972, he played a large role in the difficult negotiations regarding Japan's switch of diplomatic recognition to the People's Republic of China. His last official position was chairman of the Presidium of the Kuomintang's Central Advisory Committee. [1]

A member of the board of the National Palace Museum, Chang was a renowned calligrapher, keen art collector, friend of great artists such as Chang Dai-chien, Huang Jun-bi and Lan Yin-ting, and recipient of honorary doctorates from several universities, including the University of Illinois, Seoul National University, St. John's University (New York), Sungkyunkwan University and Soochow University (Taiwan). He died at the age of 101, of heart and kidney failure, at Veterans General Hospital in Taipei, on December 14, 1990.[3]

From left: Mrs. Chi-cheng Chang, Ambassador Yu-tang Lew, Mrs. Sylvia Philips, Dr. Chang, Royal Philips Electronics Chairman Frits Philips and Mrs. Yalan Lew in 1976

Chang's wife, Ma Yu-ying (馬育英; pinyin: Ma Yuying), died in 1974. His daughter, Mrs. Yalan Chang Lew (劉張亞蘭; pinyin: Liu Zhang Yalan), widow of Ambassador Yu-Tang Daniel Lew (劉毓棠; pinyin: Liu Yutang), died on July 14, 2014 at age 97 in Seattle, WA, as did his son, Dr. Philip Chi-cheng Chang (張繼正; pinyin: Zhang Jizheng), who died on October 24, 2015 at age 96 in Taipei. He was former communications minister 1969-72, chairman of the Council for Economic Planning and Development 1973-76, finance minister 1978-81 and governor of the Central Bank of China 1984-89. Chang is survived by his second son, Dr. Theodore Chi-chong Chang (張繼忠; pinyin: Zhang Jizhong), vice president of the Truth Theological Seminary and pastor emeritus of the Mandarin Baptist Church of Pasadena, California.

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External links

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Biographical Dictionary of Republican China, Volume 1: Ai-Ch'u. Howard L. Boorman, Editor; Richard C. Howard, Associate Editor. New York: Columbia University Press, 1966, pp. 47-52
  2. ↑ China: Hao Hao, Time Magazine on Chang's appointment as premier, April 28, 1947
  3. ↑ Chang Chun Is Dead; Taiwan Aide Was 101, The New York Times, December 16, 1990
Political offices
Preceded by
Chiang Kai-shek		 Premier of the Republic of China
1947–1948 		Succeeded by
Wong Wen-hao
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