Zang Shiyi - Biography

Biography

Zang was born in Shenyang county of Liaoning Province in 1884. He traveled to Japan on a scholarship, and graduated from the cavalry school of the Imperial Japanese Army Academy. On his return to China, he was appointed Chief of staff for the Kuomintang Army in Kirin Province. He participated in the Zhili–Anhui War in 1920. Together with Yan Yuting, he subsequently became Chief of staff of the business administration section of the Kuomintang Army headquarters in Nanjing. After the death of Manchurian warlord Zhang Zuolin, Zang supported the Chinese reunification (1928) movement, and was appointed governor of Liaoning Province in 1930.

After the Mukden Incident, Zang initially refused to cooperate with the Imperial Japanese Army and was imprisoned. However, he later decided to defect, and was re-appointed governor of Liaoning Province (renamed Fengtien Province) on 16 December 1931. He was part of the North Eastern Administrative Committee or Self-Government Guiding Board that made plans for a new State of Manchukuo to be established in February 1932.

In 1932, Zang was re-appointed governor of Fengtian Province of Manchukuo, a position he retained after the administrative reorganization of the provinces of Manchukuo from four provinces to ten in October 1934. In March, 1935, he was Emperor Puyi's first choice to replace Zheng Xiaoxu as Prime Minister of Manchukuo, (although Zhang Jinghui was appointed instead at the insistence of the Japanese Kwantung Army leadership). From 21 May 1935, Zang served in the largely ceremonial role as Speaker of the Manchukuo Senate – a post which he held until August 1945. He later also served as Vice Minister for Home Affairs.

In 1940, Zang was appointed ambassador to the Reorganized National Government of China headed by Wang Jingwei.

Following the Soviet invasion of Manchuria, he declared an emergency session of the Manchukuo legislature to promulgated the abdication of Emperor Puyi on 17 August 1945, effective 18 August, and attempted to open negotiation with the Soviet Red Army. However, the Manchukuo capital of Hsinking fell to the Red Army on 20 August 1945, and Zang was captured on 30 August. He was initially held in custody in Siberia, but was extradited to the People's Republic of China in 1950, where he died of illness in captivity at the Fushun War Criminals Management Centre on 13 November 1956.