Zhang Haipeng (, Hepburn: ''Chō Kaihō''; 1867–1949), was a Chinese

Northeastern Army The Northeastern Army, also known as the Fengtian Army (see #Terminology, terminology), was a Chinese army that existed from 1911 to 1937. General Zhang Zuolin developed it as an independent fighting force during the Warlord Era. He used the a ...

general, who went over to the Japanese during the Invasion of Manchuria and became a general in the

Manchukuo Imperial Army The Manchukuo Imperial Army ( zh, s=滿洲國軍, p=Mǎnzhōuguó jūn) was the army of Manchukuo, a puppet state established by the Empire of Japan in Manchuria. Established in 1932, it was primarily involved in counterinsurgency operations agai ...

of the State of Manchuria.

Biography

Zhang was a member of the

Honghuzi Honghuzi () were armed Chinese robbers and bandits who operated in the areas of the eastern Russia-China borderland during the second half of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century. Their activities extended over southeastern ...

irregular cavalry forces of the Manchurian

warlord Warlords are individuals who exercise military, Economy, economic, and Politics, political control over a region, often one State collapse, without a strong central or national government, typically through informal control over Militia, local ...

Feng Delin during the

First Sino-Japanese War The First Sino-Japanese War (25 July 189417 April 1895), or the First China–Japan War, was a conflict between the Qing dynasty of China and the Empire of Japan primarily over influence in Joseon, Korea. In Chinese it is commonly known as th ...

. These forces were recruited as mercenaries by the Japanese during the

Russo-Japanese War The Russo-Japanese War (8 February 1904 – 5 September 1905) was fought between the Russian Empire and the Empire of Japan over rival imperial ambitions in Manchuria and the Korean Empire. The major land battles of the war were fought on the ...

from 1904 to 1905. He subsequently studied at the Northeast Military Academy built by Gen.

Zhao Erxun Zhao Erxun (23 May 1844 – 3 September 1927), courtesy name Cishan, art name Wubu, was a Chinese political and military officeholder who lived in the late Qing dynasty. He served in numerous high-ranking positions under the Qing government, i ...

. Following the

Xinhai Revolution The 1911 Revolution, also known as the Xinhai Revolution or Hsinhai Revolution, ended China's last imperial dynasty, the Qing dynasty, and led to the establishment of the Republic of China (ROC). The revolution was the culmination of a decade ...

, he was assigned command of an infantry regiment under the

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

; however, he supported

Zhang Xun Zhang Xun (; September 16, 1854 – September 11, 1923), courtesy name Shaoxuan (), art name Songshou Laoren (), nickname Bianshuai (, ), was a Chinese general and Qing loyalist who attempted to restore the abdicated emperor Puyi in the Manch ...

's abortive attempt to restore the

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...

in 1917. He afterwards joined forces with Manchurian warlord

Zhang Zuolin Zhang Zuolin; courtesy name Yuting ( zh, c=雨亭, p=Yǔtíng, labels=no) and nicknamed Zhang Laogang ( zh, c=張老疙瘩, p=Zhāng Lǎo Gēda, labels=no) (March 19, 1875June 4, 1928) was a Chinese warlord who ruled Manchuria from 1916 to 1928 ...

. In 1923 he was appointed a commissioner of the

Chinese Eastern Railway The Chinese Eastern Railway or CER (, , or , ''Kitaysko-Vostochnaya Zheleznaya Doroga'' or ''KVZhD''), is the historical name for a railway system in Northeast China (also known as Manchuria). The Russian Empire constructed the line from 1897 ...

and participated in the

First Zhili–Fengtian War The First Zhili–Fengtian War (First Chihli-Fengtien War; ) was a 1922 conflict in the Republic of China's Warlord Era between the Zhili and Fengtian cliques for control of Beijing. The war led to the defeat of the Fengtian clique and the ex ...

. in early 1931 his forces were involved in the suppression of the Gada Meiren uprising. In early October 1931, shortly after the Mukden Incident at

Taonan Taonan (), formerly Tao'an County (), is a county-level city of 100,000 in the northwest of Jilin province in Northeast China. It is under the administration of Baicheng prefecture-level city. Administrative Divisions There are 6 subdistricts ...

in the northwest of Liaobei province, Zhang—who was commander of the 2nd Provincial Defense Brigade—took command of the local forces including the Xing'an Reclamation Army and declared the district independent of China, in return for a shipment of a large quantity of military supplies by the

Imperial Japanese Army The Imperial Japanese Army (IJA; , ''Dai-Nippon Teikoku Rikugun'', "Army of the Greater Japanese Empire") was the principal ground force of the Empire of Japan from 1871 to 1945. It played a central role in Japan’s rapid modernization during th ...

. Zhang followed up his political move by leading the men of the Xing'an Reclamation Army north to attack Gen. Ma Zhanshan, the newly appointed governor of

Heilongjiang Heilongjiang is a province in northeast China. It is the northernmost and easternmost province of the country and contains China's northernmost point (in Mohe City along the Amur) and easternmost point (at the confluence of the Amur and Us ...

province. Soon after Zhang advanced upon Ma's capital at

Qiqihar Qiqihar (also spelled Tsitsihar) is the second-largest city in the Heilongjiang province of China, in the west central part of the province. The built-up (or metro) area made up of Longsha, Tiefeng and Jianhua districts had 959,787 inhabitants, w ...

, Ma offered to surrender it. Encouraged by Japanese

Kwantung Army The Kwantung Army (Japanese language, Japanese: 関東軍, ''Kantō-gun'') was a Armies of the Imperial Japanese Army, general army of the Imperial Japanese Army from 1919 to 1945. The Kwantung Army was formed in 1906 as a security force for th ...

Gen. Shigeru Honjō, Zhang advanced cautiously to accept Ma's surrender. However, Zhang's advance guard was attacked by Ma's troops in the Resistance at Nenjiang Bridge and it was routed. Following the establishment of the State of Manchukuo in March 1932, Zhang was reappointed to command his old force, which was now renamed the Taoliao Army. He led Manchukouan troops against the

Anti-Japanese Volunteer Armies After the Japanese invasion of Manchuria, and until 1933, large volunteer armies waged war against Japanese and Manchukuo forces over much of Northeast China. Due to Chiang Kai-shek's policy of non-resistance, the Japanese were soon able to ...

during the

Pacification of Manchukuo The Pacification of Manchukuo was a Japanese counterinsurgency campaign to suppress any armed resistance to the newly established puppet state of Manchukuo from various anti-Japanese volunteer armies in occupied Manchuria and later the Co ...

and in the Japanese invasion of Rehe in

Operation Nekka The defense of the Great Wall ( zh, t=長城抗戰, s=长城抗战, p=Chángchéng Kàngzhàn) (January 1 – May 31, 1933) was a battle, campaign between the armies of Nationalist government, Republic of China and Empire of Japan, which took pla ...

. Afterwards he was appointed to command the newly organized Rehe Guard Army, which became the 5th District Army "Chengde" after the 1934 reorganization of the Manchukuoan Army. From March 1933 to November 1934 he was Governor of Rehe Province. He was promoted to full general in the Manchukuo Army in 1936. In 1941 he went into retirement. After the collapse of Manchukuo in 1945, Chang went into hiding 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 ...

, but was discovered, tried and executed for

treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state (polity), state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to Coup d'état, overthrow its government, spy ...

by the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

in 1949 in Beijing.

Sources

Boycott, Bloodshed & Puppetry From TIME magazine Oct. 26, 1931
* Jowett, Phillip J., ''Rays of the Rising Sun Vol 1.'', Helion & Co. Ltd. 2004. *{{Cite book, url=http://www.wehoo.net/book/wlwh/a30012/A0170.htm%5B%5D, title=China's Anti-Japanese War Combat Operations, last=Rugui, first=Guo, publisher=Jiangsu People's Publishing House, year=2005, isbn=7-214-03034-9 1867 births 1949 deaths Republic of China Army generals Executed Chinese collaborators with Imperial Japan People from Yingkou Generals from Liaoning Generals of Manchukuo People executed by China by firearm