Liang Hongzhi; (; Wade-Giles: ''Liang Hung-chih''; Hepburn: ''Ryō Koushi'', 1882 - November 6, 1946) was a leading official in the

Anhui clique The Anhui clique () was a military and political organization, one of several mutually hostile cliques or factions that split from the Beiyang clique in the Republic of China's Warlord Era. It was named after Anhui province because several of it ...

of the

Beiyang Government The Beiyang government was the internationally recognized government of the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China between 1912 and 1928, based in Beijing. It was dominated by the generals of the Beiyang Army, giving it its name. B ...

, later noted for his role as in the collaborationist

Reformed Government of the Republic of China The Reformed Government of the Republic of China (; Japanese: ) was a puppet state created by Japan that existed in eastern China from 1938 to 1940 during the Second Sino-Japanese War. The regime had little authority or popular support, nor did ...

during World War II.

Biography

Liang was a native of Changle in

Fujian Fujian is a provinces of China, province in East China, southeastern China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its capital is Fuzhou and its largest prefe ...

province. From 1888 to 1890, he lived in Japan, where his father had been dispatched to by the government of

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 ...

China. In 1903, he passed the

Imperial examination The imperial examination was a civil service examination system in History of China#Imperial China, Imperial China administered for the purpose of selecting candidates for the Civil service#China, state bureaucracy. The concept of choosing bureau ...

and in 1905 was accepted to the predecessor to Beijing University. In 1908, he was sent as an official to Shandong province. After 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 ...

and the formation of 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 ...

, he was recruited to the nationalist government by

Yuan Shikai Yuan Shikai (; 16 September 18596 June 1916) was a Chinese general and statesman who served as the second provisional president and the first official president of the Republic of China, head of the Beiyang government from 1912 to 1916 and ...

. After the death of Yuan, he gave his allegiance to Duan Qirui,

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 ...

of the

, serving as secretary to Duan Zhigui. After the defeat of the Anhui clique in the Zhili–Anhui War, he fled to the Japanese concession 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 ...

. He returned to Beijing in November 1924 after the Beijing coup and put in charge of a provisional government after an agreement with

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 ...

and

Feng Yuxiang Feng Yuxiang (; ; 6 November 1882 – 1 September 1948), courtesy name Huanzhang (焕章), was a Chinese warlord and later general in the National Revolutionary Army. He served as Vice Premier of the Republic of China from 1928 to 1930. A ...

, but fled again in 1928 after the successes of Chiang Kai-shek's

Northern Expedition The Northern Expedition was a military campaign launched by the National Revolutionary Army (NRA) of the Kuomintang (KMT) against the Beiyang government and other regional warlords in 1926. The purpose of the campaign was to reunify China prop ...

. When a warrant for Liang's arrest was issued by the

Kuomintang The Kuomintang (KMT) is a major political party in the Republic of China (Taiwan). It was the one party state, sole ruling party of the country Republic of China (1912-1949), during its rule from 1927 to 1949 in Mainland China until Retreat ...

, he fled to

Dalian Dalian ( ) is a major sub-provincial port city in Liaoning province, People's Republic of China, and is Liaoning's second largest city (after the provincial capital Shenyang) and the third-most populous city of Northeast China (after Shenyang ...

in the

Kwantung Leased Territory The Kwantung Leased Territory () was a Concessions in China, leased territory of the Empire of Japan in the Liaodong Peninsula from 1905 to 1945. Japan first acquired Kwantung from the Qing dynasty, Qing Empire in perpetuity in 1895 in the Tre ...

under Japanese jurisdiction together with Duan Qirui. After the Manchurian Incident of 1931, Liang returned with Duan to Tianjin, and then to

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

and was with Duan when he died in 1937. After the

Second Sino-Japanese War The Second Sino-Japanese War was fought between the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China and the Empire of Japan between 1937 and 1945, following a period of war localized to Manchuria that started in 1931. It is considered part ...

broke out in 1937, 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 ...

quickly overran northern and portions of eastern China, and the Japanese

Imperial General Headquarters The was part of the Supreme War Council (Japan), Supreme War Council and was established in 1893 to coordinate efforts between the Imperial Japanese Army and Imperial Japanese Navy during wartime. In terms of function, it was approximately equi ...

authorized the creation of a collaborationist regimes as part of its overall strategy to establish an autonomous buffer zones between

North China North China () is a list of regions of China, geographical region of the People's Republic of China, consisting of five province-level divisions of China, provincial-level administrative divisions, namely the direct-administered municipalities ...

and Japanese-controlled

Manchukuo Manchukuo, officially known as the State of Manchuria prior to 1934 and the Empire of Great Manchuria thereafter, was a puppet state of the Empire of Japan in Northeast China that existed from 1932 until its dissolution in 1945. It was ostens ...

. The Provisional Government of the Republic of China based in Beijing was formed on December 14, 1937, with Wang Kemin as its president of the five provinces of northern China. The

based in

Nanjing Nanjing or Nanking is the capital of Jiangsu, a province in East China. The city, which is located in the southwestern corner of the province, has 11 districts, an administrative area of , and a population of 9,423,400. Situated in the Yang ...

was subsequently created on 28 March 1938 in eastern China and Liang was recruited to take the post of chairman. The Reformed Government of the Republic of China was assigned nominal control of the provinces of

Jiangsu Jiangsu is a coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province in East China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with its capital in Nanjing. Jiangsu is the List of Chinese administra ...

Zhejiang ) , translit_lang1_type2 = , translit_lang1_info2 = ( Hangzhounese) ( Ningbonese) (Wenzhounese) , image_skyline = 玉甑峰全貌 - panoramio.jpg , image_caption = View of the Yandang Mountains , image_map = Zhejiang i ...

and

Anhui Anhui is an inland Provinces of China, province located in East China. Its provincial capital and largest city is Hefei. The province is located across the basins of the Yangtze and Huai rivers, bordering Jiangsu and Zhejiang to the east, Jiang ...

as well as the two municipalities of

and

. However, its activities were carefully prescribed and overseen by “advisors” provided by the Japanese

China Expeditionary Army The was a general army of the Imperial Japanese Army from 1939 to 1945. The China Expeditionary Army was established in September 1939 from the merger of the Central China Expeditionary Army and Japanese Northern China Area Army, and was ...

. The failure of the Japanese to give any real authority to the Reformed Government discredited it in the eyes of the local inhabitants, and made its existence of only limited propaganda utility to the Japanese authorities.Black, World War Two: A Military History, page 34 The Reformed Government was, along with the Provisional Government of the Republic of China, merged into

Wang Jingwei Wang Zhaoming (4 May 188310 November 1944), widely known by his pen name Wang Jingwei, was a Chinese politician who was president of the Reorganized National Government of the Republic of China, a puppet state of the Empire of Japan. He was in ...

's Nanjing Nationalist Government on March 30, 1940. In the new regime, Liang held only ceremonial posts, including the nominal governorship of

Province and chairman of the

Legislative Yuan The Legislative Yuan () is the unicameral legislature of the Republic of China (Taiwan) located in Taipei. The Legislative Yuan is composed of 113 members, who are directly elected for four-year terms by people of the Taiwan Area through a ...

, retiring before the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Liang was arrested by the government of the

after the

surrender of Japan The surrender of the Empire of Japan in World War II was Hirohito surrender broadcast, announced by Emperor Hirohito on 15 August and formally Japanese Instrument of Surrender, signed on 2 September 1945, End of World War II in Asia, ending ...

and tried 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 ...

Suzhou Suzhou is a major prefecture-level city in southern Jiangsu province, China. As part of the Yangtze Delta megalopolis, it is a major economic center and focal point of trade and commerce. Founded in 514 BC, Suzhou rapidly grew in size by the ...

. He was sentenced to death and executed by

firing squad Firing may refer to: * Dismissal (employment), sudden loss of employment by termination * Firemaking, the act of starting a fire * Burning; see combustion * Shooting, specifically the discharge of firearms * Execution by firing squad, a method of ...

in Shanghai on November 6, 1946.

References

* * David P. Barrett and Larry N. Shyu, eds.; ''Chinese Collaboration with Japan, 1932-1945: The Limits of Accommodation'' Stanford University Press 2001 * John H. Boyle, ''China and Japan at War, 1937–1945: The Politics of Collaboration'' (Harvard University Press, 1972). * James C. Hsiung and Steven I. Levine, eds., ''China's Bitter Victory: The War with Japan, 1937–1945'' (Armonk, N.Y.: M. E. Sharpe, 1992) * Ch'i Hsi-sheng, ''Nationalist China at War: Military Defeats and Political Collapse, 1937–1945'' (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1982). * Frederick W. Mote, ''Japanese-Sponsored Governments in China, 1937–1945'' (Stanford University Press, 1954). *Howard L Boorman and Richard C. Howard, eds.; ''Biographical Dictionary of Republican China, Volume I: AI - CH'U'', Columbia University Press, 1967.

External links

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Liang, Hongzhi 1882 births 1946 deaths Politicians from Fuzhou Writers from Fuzhou Poets from Fujian World War II political leaders Republic of China politicians from Fujian Executed Kuomintang collaborators with Imperial Japan Chinese scholars Chinese newspaper editors Governors of Jiangsu Executed Republic of China people People executed by the Republic of China by firing squad 20th-century executions by China Executed people from Fujian Heads of government who were later imprisoned Imperial University of Peking alumni Inmates of Tilanqiao Prison

Biography

See also

References

External links

Notes