Zhao Hengti (; 12 January 1880 – 23 November 1971), was a general and

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 ...

Hunan Hunan is an inland Provinces of China, province in Central China. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the Administrative divisions of China, province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi to the east, Gu ...

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 ...

of early

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 ...

Biography

Zhao was a native of

Hengyang Hengyang (; ) is the second largest city of Hunan Province, China. It straddles the Xiang River about south of the provincial capital of Changsha. As of the 2020 Chinese census, Its total population was 6,645,243 inhabitants, of whom 1,290,71 ...

in Hunan Province. He was sent to

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

in 1904 to study at the Tokyo Shimbu Gakko, a military preparatory school, by the

Qing government The Qing dynasty (1644–1912) was the last imperial dynasty of China. The early Qing emperors adopted the bureaucratic structures and institutions from the preceding Ming dynasty but split rule between the Han and Manchus with some positions als ...

, and while in Tokyo became associated with the pro-revolutionary

Tongmenghui The Tongmenghui of China was a secret society and underground resistance movement founded by Sun Yat-sen, Song Jiaoren, and others in Tokyo, Empire of Japan, on 20 August 1905, with the goal of overthrowing China's Qing dynasty. It was formed ...

. In 1908 he continued his training at the

Imperial Japanese Army Academy The was the principal officer's training school for the Imperial Japanese Army. The programme consisted of a junior course for graduates of local army cadet schools and for those who had completed four years of middle school, and a senior course f ...

, graduating from the sixth class with a specialty in artillery. His classmates included

Tang Jiyao Tang Jiyao () (August 14, 1883 – May 23, 1927) was a Chinese general and warlord of Yunnan during the Warlord Era of early Republican China. He was military governor of Yunnan from 1913–1927. Life Tang was born in Huize county in 188 ...

Yan Xishan Yan Xishan (; 8 October 1883 – 22 July 1960; also romanized as Yen Hsi-shan) was a Chinese warlord who served in the government of the Republic of China from June 1949 to March 1950 as its last premier in mainland China and first premi ...

Cheng Qian Cheng Qian (; 31 March 1882 – 5 April 1968) was a Chinese army officer and politician who held important military and political positions in both the Republic of China and the People's Republic of China.Wolfgang Bartke, ''Who was Who in the Peop ...

and Li Liejun. Zhao returned to China in 1909, subsequently serving under Gen.

Cai E Cai E (; 18 December 1882 – 8 November 1916) was a Chinese revolutionary leader and general. He was born Cai Genyin () in Shaoyang, Hunan, and his courtesy name was Songpo (). Cai eventually became an influential warlord in Yunnan ( Yunn ...

and Gen. Li Quanhong in

Guangxi Guangxi,; officially the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the China, People's Republic of China, located in South China and bordering Vietnam (Hà Giang Province, Hà Giang, Cao Bằn ...

Province during 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 ...

, which overthrew the imperial government. Made an army commander in Hunan Province, he supported

Sun Yat-sen Sun Yat-senUsually known as Sun Zhongshan () in Chinese; also known by Names of Sun Yat-sen, several other names. (; 12 November 186612 March 1925) was a Chinese physician, revolutionary, statesman, and political philosopher who founded the Republ ...

's unsuccessful attempt to overthrow President

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 ...

in the 1913 Second Revolution. Afterwards he was sentenced to ten years in prison, but was freed by Yuan in 1915 and restored to his position as commander of the 1st Division of the Hunan Army in 1916. In 1922 Zhao was made commander of the New Xiang Army 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 ...

. He also implemented the Constitution of Hunan Province as a provincial constitution of Hunan. Although a trusted subordinate of

Tan Yankai Tan Yankai (; ; 25 January 1880 – 22 September 1930) was a Chinese politician who briefly served as its head of state and premier. Biography Tan Yankai was born on 25 January 1880 in Hangzhou during the waning decades of the Qing dynasty. ...

, he went to war with Tan with the support of

Wu Peifu Wu Peifu (also spelled Wu P'ei-fu) (; April 22, 1874 – December 4, 1939) was a Chinese warlord and major figure in the Warlord Era in China from 1916 to 1927. Early career Born in Shandong Province in eastern China, Wu initially rece ...

and forced Tan's resignation from the governorship of Hunan on 25 November 1920. Zhao then became the military governor of Hunan from 26 November 1920 to 11 March 1926. He was also the civil governor at the same time, except between November 1920 and 6 April 1921. As with

Chen Jiongming Chen Jiongming ( zh, t=陳炯明, p=Chén Jiǒngmíng, w=Ch'en Chiung-ming; 18 January 187822 September 1933) was a Chinese statesman, military leader, revolutionary, and a key figure in the Federalism in China, federalist movement during the W ...

, Zhao was an advocate of a federalist constitution, but

Mao Zedong Mao Zedong pronounced ; traditionally Romanization of Chinese, romanised as Mao Tse-tung. (26December 18939September 1976) was a Chinese politician, revolutionary, and political theorist who founded the People's Republic of China (PRC) in ...

thought his motive was to retain his own power rather than improve the governance of his country.

, Editors: Stuart R. Schram, Nancy Jane Hodes
Mao's Road to Power: The pre-Marxist period, 1912-1920, M.E. Sharpe, (October 1992)
/ref> After a conflict with Zhao, Tang Shengzhi was driven south into the arms of Chiang Kai-shek, who gave him command of the

Eighth Route Army The Eighth Route Army (), officially titled as the List of Army Groups of the National Revolutionary Army, 18th Group Army, was a Field army, group army nominally under the banner of the National Revolutionary Army (NRA) of the Republic of Ch ...

of the

National Revolutionary Army The National Revolutionary Army (NRA; zh, labels=no, t=國民革命軍) served as the military arm of the Kuomintang, Chinese Nationalist Party (Kuomintang, or KMT) from 1924 until 1947. From 1928, it functioned as the regular army, de facto ...

. On 11 March Tang's troops deposed Zhao and replaced him as the military and civil governor of Hunan as part of the opening campaign of the

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 ...

. Zhao withdrew from politics and the military soon afterwards, but came out of retirement to head the Provisional Hunan Assembly during 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 ...

in 1939. He joined other Kuomintang leaders in exile in

Taiwan 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 ...

in 1949, and was appointed a senior adviser to President Chiang Kai-shek. He died in

Taipei , nickname = The City of Azaleas , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Taiwan#Asia#Pacific Ocean#Earth , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country ...

in 1972 at the age of 91.

References

Sources

Rulers: Chinese Administrative divisions, Hunan
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zhao Hengti 1880 births 1971 deaths Politicians from Hengyang Tongmenghui members People of the 1911 Revolution Republic of China warlords from Hunan Senior advisors to President Chiang Kai-shek Kuomintang politicians in Taiwan Chinese Civil War refugees Taiwanese people from Hunan National Wuhan University alumni