Zeng Sheng ( zh, 曾生, 19 December 1910 – 20 November 1995), born Zeng Zhensheng (), was a Chinese military officer and politician. His name is also spelt as Tsang Sang, Tsang Shang, Jung Sung and Chung Sung in various sources. Tsang is best known for commanding a guerilla force operating in

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

and

Guangdong ) means "wide" or "vast", and has been associated with the region since the creation of Guang Prefecture in AD 226. The name "''Guang''" ultimately came from Guangxin ( zh, labels=no, first=t, t= , s=广信), an outpost established in Han dynasty ...

during

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 ...

.Hong Kong Museum of Coastal Defence (2013)
Anti-Japanese War Heroes : An Exhibition on the Hong Kong Independent Battalion of the Dongjiang Column
/ref> Tsang was born to Hakka parents in

Guangdong province ) means "wide" or "vast", and has been associated with the region since the creation of Guang Prefecture in AD 226. The name "''Guang''" ultimately came from Guangxin ( zh, labels=no, first=t, t= , s=广信), an outpost established in Han dynasty ...

in a village which was then in Huiyang (Fuiyong) and is now a suburb of

Shenzhen Shenzhen is a prefecture-level city in the province of Guangdong, China. A Special economic zones of China, special economic zone, it is located on the east bank of the Pearl River (China), Pearl River estuary on the central coast of Guangdong ...

. His father had been a sailor before jumping ship in Australia and operated a grocery store in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

. Tsang Sang attended primary school in Huiyang and Hong Kong, before moving to Sydney to join his father in 1923. Tsang attended

Fort Street High School Fort Street High School (FSHS) is a Education in Australia#Government schools, New South Wales government run, Mixed-sex school, co-educational, Selective school (New South Wales), academically selective, secondary school, secondary day school, ...

, but returned to China with his father in 1928 to complete his secondary education at the affiliated high school of

Sun Yat-sen University Sun Yat-sen University (; SYSU) is a public university in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China. It is affiliated with the Ministry of Education, and co-funded by the Ministry of Education, SASTIND, and Guangdong Provincial Government. The university is p ...

Guangzhou Guangzhou, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Canton or Kwangchow, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guangdong Provinces of China, province in South China, southern China. Located on the Pearl River about nor ...

(Canton). He entered Sun Yat-sen University in 1933, where he joined a student organisation affiliated with the

Chinese Communist Party The Communist Party of China (CPC), also translated into English as Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Founded in 1921, the CCP emerged victorious in the ...

and became active in student politics. Trouble with the authorities led him to move to Hong Kong in 1936, where he briefly worked as a school teacher and on the

ocean liner An ocean liner is a type of passenger ship primarily used for transportation across seas or oceans. Ocean liners may also carry cargo or mail, and may sometimes be used for other purposes (such as for pleasure cruises or as hospital ships). The ...

RMS Empress of Japan RMS ''Empress of Japan'' may refer to the following ships: * , operated by Canadian Pacific Steamships 1891–1922. * , operated by Canadian Pacific Steamships 1930–1942. {{DEFAULTSORT:Empress Of Japan Ship names ...

, before resuming his studies at the end of the year. Tsang joined the Chinese Communist Party in 1936 and was given responsibility for political organisation amongst Hong Kong–based sailors, becoming secretary of the Hong Kong seamen's trade union in 1937. In 1938, after 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 ...

began an offensive in Guangdong, Tsang asked to return to China to organise a guerilla resistance force. The local resistance force in Huiyang commanded by Tsang was later combined with other forces to form the

East River Column The East River Column or Dongjiang Column ( zh, t=東江縱隊, s=东江纵队) was a unit of anti-Japanese Communist guerrillas that operated in Guangdong and Hong Kong during the Second Sino-Japanese War. They played a major role in Chinese resi ...

, which operated in Guangdong and Hong Kong during

with Tsang as its commander. Although Tsang's force had been formed with the assistance of 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 ...

-led regular army and co-operated with Allied operations (including the rescue of British prisoners-of-war and downed Allied airmen and assisting with

MI9 MI9, the British Directorate of Military Intelligence Section 9, was a secret department of the War Office between 1939 and 1945. During World War II it had two principal tasks: assisting in the escape of Allied prisoners of war (POWs) held b ...

operations in the New Territories), because of its Communist Party political affiliation it also experienced a number of armed conflicts with Kuomintang-affiliated regulars. Zengsheng

At the end of the war, the guerilla force participated in the renewed

Chinese Civil War The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led Nationalist government, government of the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China and the forces of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Armed conflict continued intermitt ...

on the Communist side. After the Communist victory in the civil war, Tsang was made a

rear admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...

in the

People's Liberation Army Navy The People's Liberation Army Navy, also known as the People's Navy, PLA Navy or simply Chinese Navy, is the naval warfare military branch, branch of the People's Liberation Army, the national military of the People's Republic of China. It i ...

in 1955, and played an instrumental role in the development of the South Sea Fleet of the PLA's naval force. He became

mayor of Guangzhou The mayor of Guangzhou, officially the Mayor of the Guangzhou Municipal People's Government, is the head of the Guangzhou Municipal People's Government. The mayor generally serves as the deputy secretary of the Guangzhou Municipal Committee of th ...

in 1960 and deputy governor of Guangdong province. He was jailed during the

Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a Social movement, sociopolitical movement in the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). It was launched by Mao Zedong in 1966 and lasted until his de ...

, but was released in 1974 and became vice-minister of transport, then

Transport Minister A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government a ...

. Tsang died in 1995 in Guangzhou.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zeng, Sheng 1910 births 1995 deaths 20th-century mayors of places in China Chinese military personnel of World War II Chinese Communist Party politicians from Guangdong Hakka generals 20th-century Chinese generals People educated at Fort Street High School Chinese emigrants to Australia Mayors of Guangzhou People from Huiyang People's Liberation Army Navy admirals Politicians from Huizhou