Zhang Xun
張勳
3rd Prime Minister of the Imperial Cabinet
In office
1 July 1917 – 12 July 1917
MonarchXuantong Emperor
Preceded byYuan Shikai (1912)
Succeeded byPosition abolished
Personal details
Born(1854-09-16)16 September 1854
Fengxin County, Yichun, Jiangxi, Qing Empire
Died11 September 1923(1923-09-11) (aged 68)
Tianjin, Zhili, Republic of China
Political partyRoyalist Party[a]
NicknameQueue General
Military service
Allegiance Qing dynasty
Republic of China
Empire of China
Branch/service Beiyang Army
Years of service1884–1917
RankGeneral officer
Field marshal
Battles/warsBoxer Rebellion
Xinhai Revolution
Second Revolution
National Protection War
Manchu Restoration

Zhang Xun (Chinese: 張勳; pinyin: Zhāng Xūn; Wade–Giles: Chang1 Hsün1; September 16, 1854 – September 11, 1923), courtesy name Shaoxuan (少軒), art name Songshoulaoren (松壽老人), nickname Bianshuai (辮帥, lit. 'marshal with queue'), was a Chinese general and Qing loyalist who attempted to restore the abdicated emperor Puyi in the Manchu Restoration of 1917. He also supported Yuan Shikai during his time as president.[3]

Biography

He was born on September 16, 1854, in Chitian village, Fengxin county, Jiangxi.[3]

Zhang served as a military escort for Empress Dowager Cixi during the Boxer Uprising. He later served as a subordinate of General Yuan Shikai in the Beiyang Army. He fought for the Qing at Nanjing in 1911, and then after the fall of the Qing, he remained loyal to Yuan Shikai. Despite serving as a general in the new Republic, he refused to cut his queue, as a symbol of his loyalty to the Qing. He was called the "Queue General". He seized Nanjing from the KMT in 1913, defeating the Second Revolution. Despite allowing his troops to savagely loot the city, Zhang was named a field marshal by Yuan.[3]

Zhang Xun as seen after his failed restoration

Between 1 July 1917 and 12 July 1917, Zhang Xun proclaimed himself Prime Minister of the Imperial Cabinet by entering Beijing to reinstate the deposed Puyi as Emperor of the Qing dynasty. However, Zhang Xun's proclamation in July 1917 was never recognized by the Government of the Chinese Republic, most of the Chinese people, or any foreign countries. Other generals loyal to the Republic subsequently thwarted Zhang and forced Puyi to abdicate again. Zhang then took refuge in the Dutch legation and never participated in politics again.[3]

He died on September 11, 1923.[3]

Notes

  1. ^ According to Madeleine Chi, Zhang was an "active member" of the Royalist Party,[1] while Phil Billingsley only reports that "rumor had it" that Zhang was affiliated with the party.[2]

References

  1. ^ Chi (1970), p. 127.
  2. ^ Billingsley (1988), p. 57.
  3. ^ a b c d e Aisin-Gioro, Pu Yi (1964,1987, 2002). 我的前半生 [The First Half of My Life; From Emperor to Citizen: The Autobiography of Aisin-Gioro Pu Yi]. Foreign Languages Press. ISBN 978-7-119-00772-4.
Political offices Preceded byYuan Shikai (1912) Prime Minister of the Imperial Cabinet 1 July 1917 – 12 July 1917 Succeeded byPosition abolished
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