Chang Ch'ün

For the city, see Changchun.

Zhang Qun
Chang Ch'ün, around 1930
Secretary General to the President
In office 18 May 1954 – 29 May 1972
Premier of the Republic of China
In office 23 April 1947 – 28 May 1948
Governor of Sichuan Province
In office 15 November 1940 – 14 May 1947
Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office 12 December 1935 – 4 March 1937
Governor of Hubei Province
In office 7 July 1933 – 17 December 1935
Mayor of Shanghai
In office 1 April 1929 – 6 January 1932
Personal details
Born	9 May 1889(1889-05-09) Huayang District, Sichuan, Qing Empire
Died	14 December 1990(1990-12-14) (aged 101) Taipei, Republic of China
Political party	Kuomintang
Alma mater	Baoding Military Academy

Chang Ch'ün or Chang Chun (張群; pinyin: Zhāng Qún; also known as Zhang Yuejun 張岳軍; May 9, 1889 - December 14, 1990) was premier of the Republic of China and prominent member of the Kuomintang. He later became secretary general to the President of the Republic from 1954 to 1972 and senior advisor to Presidents Chiang Kai-shek, Yen Chia-kan, Chiang Ching-kuo and Lee Teng-hui.

Biography

Born in the Huayang district of Sichuan, in 1906 he was admitted to the national military academy in Paoting in north China. The next year, he was selected to go to Japan to study at the Shimbu Gakko, a military school. Together with his classmate, Chiang Kai-shek (蔣中正 / 蔣介石), he joined the T'ung-meng-hui the same year.^[1] After completing their preparatory studies, they both served in the Takada regiment of the Niigata army before returning to China to serve under Sun Yat-sen in the revolution which would overthrow the Qing monarchy in 1911. During this period, a lifelong friendship between the two men and Huang Fu (黄郛) was formed and the three became sworn, or blood, brothers. Chang married Ma Yu-ying (馬育英) in 1913; because their first child was born in 1917, he later claimed to have practiced family planning long before it became popular!

When Yuan Shikai (袁世凱) attempted to restore the monarchy, Chang fled to Japan and finished his military training in 1915. Then, after a period in the Netherlands East Indies where he taught in an overseas Chinese school, he returned to China to participate in Yuan's overthrow.

With the restoration of the Republic, Chang held several posts. Becoming a major general at age 28, he later became member of the Kuomintang's Central Executive Committee, mayor of Shanghai and president of Tongji University, governor of Hubei province and foreign minister. In the KMT, he led the Political Science Clique (政學系), which included military men such as Huang Fu (黄郛) and Xiong Shihui (熊式輝), intellectuals, like Yang Yongtai (楊永泰) and Wang Chonghui (王寵惠), and bankers and industrialists, including Wu Dingchang (吳鼎昌) and Zhang Jiaoao (張嘉璈). During World War II, he served as secretary general of the National Security Council and governor of Sichuan province.

Zhou Enlai (left) and Chang Ch'ün (right) in 1946.

In 1946, Chang, representing the national government, was a member of the Committee of Three along with General George Marshall, then head of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Chinese Communist Party representative Zhou Enlai (周恩來), which had been established in Nanjing in January, 1946 to effect a Kuomingtang-Chinese Communist Party truce and head off civil war. Marshall's prestige and active mediation helped to bring about a temporary cease-fire and plans for a political-military settlement.

In 1947, Chang headed the first coalition government as president of the Executive Yuan, a position also known as premier of the Republic of China.^[2] His platform was to prepare China for constitutional government, land reform and price control. After the transfer of the capital from Nanking to Taipei, he became chief of staff and secretary general to the president in 1954. Among his duties were planning the government's foreign policy and representing the president in Africa and Europe, including the Second Vatican Council and Japan.^[3][4] In 1972, he played a large role in the difficult negotiations regarding Japan's switch of diplomatic recognition to the People's Republic of China. His last official position was chairman of the Presidium of the Kuomintang's Central Advisory Committee.^[5]

A member of the board of the National Palace Museum, he was a renowned calligrapher, friend of great artists such as Chang Dai-chien (張大千; pinyin: Zhang Daqian), Huang Jun-bi and Lan Yin-ting, and a keen art collector. He died at the age of 101, of heart and kidney failure, at Veterans General Hospital in Taipei, on December 14, 1990.^[6]

Chang's wife, Ma Yu-ying (馬育英; pinyin: Ma Yuying), died in 1974. He is survived by his daughter, Mrs. Yalan Chang Lew (劉張亞蘭; pinyin: Liu Zhang Yalan), widow of Ambassador Yu-Tang Daniel Lew (劉毓棠; pinyin: Liu Yutang), and sons Dr. Philip Chi-cheng Chang (張繼正; pinyin: Zhang Jizheng), former communications minister 1969-72, chairman of the Council for Economic Planning and Development 1973-76, finance minister 1978-81 and governor of the Central Bank of China 1984-89, and Dr. Theodore Chi-chung Chang (張繼忠; pinyin: Zhang Jizhong), vice president of the Truth Theological Seminary and pastor emeritus of the Mandarin Baptist Church of Pasadena, California.

External links

• Photo of Chang Ch'ün when mayor of Shanghai, around 1930
• Photo taken in 1945: US Ambassador Patrick J. Hurley, Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國), President Chiang Kai-shek, Chang Ch'ün, Foreign Minister Wang Shijie (王世杰) and Mao Zedong (毛澤東) from left to right
• Photo taken in 1946 of Chang Ch'ün signing an agreement, flanked by General George C. Marshall, head of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff (right), and Chinese Communist Party Representative Zhou Enlai (周恩来)
• Video of Premier Chang arriving in Taipei in October, 1947
• Video of Premier Chang presiding over the celebrations of Taiwan's Retrocession Day, October 25, 1947
• Photo of Premier Chang arriving at the National Assembly's first meeting in 1948
• 長江萬里圖 The 65-foot long painting, Yangtze River by Chang Dai-chien, commissioned for Chang Ch'ün's 80th birthday, on display at the National History Museum in Taipei in 1967
• Video of Secretary General Chang presiding over the transfer of the premiership in 1972
• Photo taken in 1978 of the Three Changs: Chang Ch'ün (right) with General Chang Hsueh-liang (left) and painter Chang Dai-chien (center)
• Photo of 101-year-old Chang Ch'ün with Chang Hsueh-liang in 1990
• Video taken at Chang Hsueh-liang's 90th birthday celebration, hosted by Chang Ch'ün on June 1, 1990

References

1. ^ Photo of Chang Ch'ün (left) with Chiang Kai-shek as cadets in Japan, 1910
2. ^ China: Hao Hao, Time Magazine on Chang's appointment as premier, April 28, 1947
3. ^ 張群特使訪日專輯 Newscast of Chang Ch'ün's visit to Japan, where he met with the Emperor, Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi and others in 1957
4. ^ Biographical Dictionary of Republican China, Volume 1: Ai-Ch'u. Howard L. Boorman, Editor; Richard C. Howard, Associate Editor. New York: Columbia University Press, 1966, pp. 47-52
5. ^ In 1989, at age 100, Chang was honored by President Chiang Ching-kuo with the Order of Chung Cheng
6. ^ Chang Chun Is Dead; Taiwan Aide Was 101, The New York Times, December 16, 1990

Preceded by Chiang Kai-shek

Premier of the Republic of China 1947–1948

Succeeded by Wong Wen-hao

Persondata
Name	Chang, Chun
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	May 9, 1889
Place of birth	Huayang District, Sichuan, Qing Empire
Date of death	December 14, 1990
Place of death	Taipei, Republic of China