Zhang Decheng (; also

romanized In linguistics, romanization is the conversion of text from a different writing system to the Roman (Latin) script, or a system for doing so. Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written text, and transcription, ...

as Chang De-Cheng; 1846 – late-July 1900) was a Chinese nationalist and leader of the Society of Righteous and Harmonious Fists during the

Boxer Uprising The Boxer Rebellion, also known as the Boxer Uprising, was an anti-foreign, anti-imperialist, and anti-Christian uprising in North China between 1899 and 1901, towards the end of the Qing dynasty, by the Society of Righteous and Harmonious ...

Biography

Born in either Zhaozhang or Goucun village (part of modern-day

Gaobeidian Gaobeidian () is a county-level city in central Hebei province, People's Republic of China. It is under the administration of Baoding Prefecture-level city. Gaobeidian has 4 subdistricts, 6 towns, and 4 townships, and a total of 442 villages. I ...

) in

Zhili Province Zhili, alternately romanized as Chihli, was a northern administrative region of China since the 14th century that lasted through the Ming dynasty and Qing dynasty until 1911, when the region was dissolved, converted to a province, and renamed ...

, Zhang would spend much of his life working as a boatman along the Daqing,

Ziya Ziya () is a Turkish given name for males and females, it is of Arabic origin, in Turkish ''Ziya'' means ''light''. * Ziya Doğan, Turkish football manager * Ziya Gökalp, Turkish sociologist * Nazmi Ziya Güran, Turkish impressionist painter * Z ...

, and other rivers in Zhili. As time went on and foreign contacts in Northern China increased, particularly the actions of Western missionaries, Zhang and other similar-minded individuals would set out to "destroy foreigners". Though the Fists of Harmony and Justice did exist during the mid-1890s, they proved only to be a minor inconvenience to any official Qing or foreign affairs due to the group's small size, lack of influence, and mostly local actions taken by bands of around 50 men each. In 1899, a compatriot of Zhang, Zhao Sandu set out to establish order in the Fists of Harmony and Justice's ranks during a conference at the Yaoli Yaowang Temple in Wangkou. Both Zhang Decheng and Cao Futian would develop the creation of the First Heavenly Regiment, along with the structure of their organization, which was as follows: Though a central structure for the organization was formed, the Boxers still relied on a system of small groups of men under local leaders, which were to be replaced (in some capacity) by the new First Heavenly Regiment. To acquire more members for the newly-created group, Zhang began trying to convince Boxer followers that he had magical abilities. He supposedly hid a knife in the ground somewhere in

Tianjin Tianjin is a direct-administered municipality in North China, northern China on the shore of the Bohai Sea. It is one of the National Central City, nine national central cities, with a total population of 13,866,009 inhabitants at the time of the ...

, and then claimed that the place was "dangerous". His followers then dug up the area and found the knife, and were convinced that Zhang did indeed possess supernatural powers. In early 1900, he proclaimed himself "Number One Boxer" and said he had a mandate from the gods. He led at that time several thousand followers. In early June 1900, Zhang Decheng went to see the

Viceroy of Zhili The Viceroy of Zhili, officially in Chinese as the Governor-General of the Directly Subordinate Province and Other Local Areas, in Charge of Military Affairs, Food and Wages, Management of Rivers and Governor Affairs, was one of eight regional ...

, Yulu. He presented himself to him as the founder of the Boxer movement, and the viceroy promised to provide the Boxers with money and equipment. For many, he was considered the supreme Boxer leader.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zhang, Decheng Chinese nationalists Qing dynasty rebels 19th-century Chinese people Chinese people of the Boxer Rebellion 1846 births 1900 deaths