Liu Zhennian (; 1898 in

Nangong Nangong () is a county-level city in the south of Hebei province, China. It is administered by the prefecture-level city A prefecture-level city () or prefectural city is an administrative division of the China, People's Republic of Chin ...

Hebei Hebei is a Provinces of China, province in North China. It is China's List of Chinese administrative divisions by population, sixth-most populous province, with a population of over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. It bor ...

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 ...

– 13 May 1935) was a Chinese military commander during the

Warlord Era The Warlord Era was the period in the history of the Republic of China between 1916 and 1928, when control of the country was divided between rival Warlord, military cliques of the Beiyang Army and other regional factions. It began after the de ...

and Nanjing decade in the

history of the Republic of China The history of the Republic of China began in 1912 with the end of the Qing dynasty, when the 1911 Revolution, Xinhai Revolution and the formation of the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China put an end to 2,000 years of imperial ...

. Liu graduated from the Baoding Military Academy and served as a regimental and brigade commander under the warlords

Li Jinglin Li Jinglin, also known as Li Fangchen (1885–1931) was a deputy inspector-general and later army general for the Fengtian clique during the Chinese warlord era. He hailed from Zaoqiang County, Hebei province, China. After his military career ...

, Chu Yupu, and

Zhang Zongchang Zhang Zongchang (; also romanized as Chang Tsung-chang; 1881 – 3 September 1932), courtesy name Xiaokun, was a Chinese warlord who ruled Shandong from 1925 to 1928. A member of the Fengtian clique, Zhang was notorious for his brutal and ruthl ...

. After the defeat of Zhang Zongchang, Liu switched sides and his forces were absorbed 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 captured and killed his former patron Chu Yupu on 4 September 1929. Subsequently, Liu was appointed commander of the 21st Division in 1930. Having eastern

Shandong Shandong is a coastal Provinces of China, province in East China. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower reaches of the Yellow River. It has served as a pivotal cultural ...

as his defense area, he became known as the "King of Shandong East" and was unpopular for levying heavy taxes. In autumn 1932, he was attacked and evicted from Shandong by its governor Han Fuju because Liu had refused to obey his orders. After his defeat,

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 ...

transferred him and his 21st Division south to

Wenzhou Wenzhou; Chinese postal romanization, historically known as Wenchow is a prefecture-level city in China's Zhejiang province. Wenzhou is located at the extreme southeast of Zhejiang, bordering Lishui, Zhejiang, Lishui to the west, Taizhou, Zheji ...

Zhejiang Province ) , 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 ...

at the end of 1932. There his troops, removed from their familiar surroundings, suffered from sickness and became mutinous. Despite his appeal to Chiang Kai-shek in January 1933, his Division was sent to participate in the Fourth Encirclement Campaign against Jiangxi Soviet in

Jiangxi Province ; Gan: ) , translit_lang1_type2 = , translit_lang1_info2 = , translit_lang1_type3 = , translit_lang1_info3 = , image_map = Jiangxi in China (+all claims hatched).svg , mapsize = 275px , map_caption = Location ...

. He soon resigned from the army, but was arrested in May by Li Duping for disobeying Chiang's order to attack the

Chinese Red Army The Chinese Red Army, formally the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army( zh, labels=no, t=中國工農紅軍) or just the Red Army( zh, labels=no, t=紅軍), was the military wing of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from 1928 to 1937. I ...

and was executed as a consequence in 1935.

References

brief biography from rulers.org
* (Chen Xianqing), ttp://www.2499cn.com/junfamulu.htm (The Republic of China warlord cliques discussed), 2007 revised edition Republic of China warlords from Hebei Politicians from Xingtai 1898 births 1935 deaths Executed Republic of China people {{China-mil-bio-stub