Zang Shiyi

Zang Shiyi

Zang Shiyi ( Chinese  臧 式 毅 , Pinyin Zāng Shìyì , W.-G. Tsang Shih-yi ; Zì 奉 久 , Fèngjiŭ , Feng-chiŭ ; * October 1884 in Mukden , Empire of China ; † November 13, 1956 in Fushun , People's Republic of China ) was a Chinese and Manchurian general and politician.

Life

Zang was born in 1884 in the Mukden District of Fengtian Province . He later went to Japan for training , where he graduated from the Army Cavalry School at the Army Officer School . After returning to China, he became chief of staff of the government forces in Kirin Province . In 1920 he fought in the Zhili Anhui War and then held the post of chief of staff at the army headquarters in Nanjing together with Yan Yuting . After the death of the warlord Zhang Zuolin in Manchuria, he supported the Chinese reunification that had been planned and carried out by Zhang's son Xueliang , by placing the Manchurian areas under his control of the Kuomintang government. In gratitude for his support, Zang became governor of Fengtian Province in 1930.

When the Japanese army began to occupy Manchuria after the Mukden incident , Zang refused to cooperate with them. He was therefore imprisoned for the time being after the Japanese conquered Fengtian. A short time later, however, he decided to collaborate and was reinstated as governor on December 16, 1931. He was a member of the self-government committee that was supposed to prepare Manchuria for independence from China. In February 1932, the Japanese puppet state of Manchukuo was finally proclaimed.

After an initial redistribution of the provinces in Manchukuo in 1932, Zang remained governor of Fengtian. He held this post when the number of provinces increased from four to ten in 1934. In March 1935, he was Emperor Kangde's first choice when it came to finding a successor to Zheng Xiaoxu as Prime Minister of Manchukuo. However, the leadership of the Japanese Kwantung Army pushed through its candidate, Zhang Jinghui , against the will of the emperor. As a replacement for this, Zang was spokesman for the Senate of Manchukuo from May 21, 1935 until the surrender of Japan and the defeat of Manchukuo by the Soviet Union in August 1945, which was a more ceremonial role. During this time he was also deputy interior minister for a time.

In 1940 he became Manchukuo's ambassador to the Reorganized Government of the Republic of China established by Japan .

When the Soviet Union invaded Manchukuo, Zang called an emergency session of parliament on August 17, during which he announced Kangde's abdication on August 18 and announced that he would negotiate with the Soviet Union. These negotiations failed and Zang was captured by the Red Army on August 30th . He was imprisoned in Siberia until 1950 before being deported to the People's Republic of China, where he died in Fushun War Crimes Prison in 1956 after illness .

literature

• Rana Mitter: The Manchurian Myth: Nationalism, Resistance and Collaboration in Modern China. University of California Press, 2000, ISBN 0-520-22111-7 .
• Shinichi Yamamuro: Manchuria under Japanese Domination. University of Pennsylvania Press, 2005, ISBN 0-8122-3912-1 .

Japanese name: As is common in Japan, the family name comes before the first name in this article . Thus, Zang is the family name, Shiyi the first name.