Zhang Zuolin

Who was Zhang Zuolin?

Zhang Zuolin . 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. The economy of Manchuria, the basis of Zhang's power, was overtaxed by his adventurism and collapsed in the winter of 1927-1928. Zhang was defeated by the Nationalist Kuomintang under Chiang Kai-shek in May 1928. He was killed by a bomb planted by a Japanese Kwantung Army officer on 4 June 1928. Although Zhang had been Japan's proxy in China, Japanese militarists were infuriated by his failure to stop the advance of the Nationalists.

Zhang was fiercely anti-Republican and supported the restoration of the Qing dynasty. His nicknames include the "Old Marshal" (大帥, P: Dàshuài, W: Ta-shuai), "Rain Marshal" (雨帥, P: Yǔshuài, W: Yü-shuai) and "Mukden Tiger". The American press referred to him as "Marshal Chang Tso-lin, Tuchun of Manchuria."