The First Marvelous Person in China: The Biography of Zhang Jingjiang: The Biography of Zhang Jingjiang

Author: Pan Rongkun
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-01-01
Features: Sun Yat-sen called him "a wonder of China," Chiang Kai-shek called him "the mentor," Chen Guofu called him the nation's "financial manager," and Mao Zedong called him "a person with economic vision." Without him, there would have been no early success of the Xinhai Revolution, and without him, there would have been no rapid rise of Chiang Kai-shek within the Kuomintang. He is the protagonist of this book, Zhang Jingjiang. He is a legendary figure, one of the "Four Great Financiers" of the Jiang-Zhe financial circle in the early 20th century, and one of the "Four Founding Fathers" of the Kuomintang. Sun Yat-sen called him "Second Elder," "a wonder of China"; Chiang Kai-shek called him "the revolutionary mentor," Chen Guofu called him the "financial manager of the party-state"; Mao Zedong called him "a person with economic vision." In his youth, Zhang saved a burning house with chivalry, losing both his legs in the process. At the age of 25, he went to Paris with Sun Baoqi to establish the Tongyun Company, founded the World Society, and launched the weekly newspaper New Century to promote revolutionary achievements around the world. In the spring of 1906, he met Sun Yat-sen at sea and began participating in the anti-Qing struggle, offering strategic advice to Sun Yat-sen and contributing his entire fortune to revolutionary funds. After the failure of the "Second Revolution," Zhang supported Sun Yat-sen in establishing the Chinese Revolutionary Party and served as its finance minister. Sun Yat-sen once inscribed "Loyal Heart and Heroic Bones" for him, calling him a "saint of the revolution." After 1914, Zhang returned to China to establish the Shanghai Stock Exchange and Commodity Trading Exchange. Chiang Kai-shek lived at Zhang's home for a long time, acting as a matchmaker for him and Chen Jieru, with whom he later married. Zhang provided substantial funds to Chiang and offered him numerous pieces of advice, even traveling to Guangzhou to plead with Sun Yat-sen, enabling Chiang to seize the position of commander-in-chief of the Huangpu Military Academy. After Sun Yat-sen's death, he rallied the troops and stabilized the crisis, serving as the chairman of the Central Executive Committee of the Kuomintang and acting as its president, tirelessly working to help Chiang Kai-shek seize supreme power in politics, military, and government, offering strategic advice. He also served as the director of the Construction Committee of the Republic of China and the chairman of the Zhejiang Provincial Government. He advocated following the path of capitalist countries like Britain and the United States, vigorously developing national industries, and made significant contributions to the development of power, transportation, and telecommunications. He also organized the West Lake Expo, the largest in China. In November 1930, he had a falling out with Chiang Kai-shek and resigned, retiring to Hangzhou. In 1938, he settled in New York, U.S., dedicating himself to world peace movements. He passed away in 1950. This book reveals, through a wealth of previously unknown historical materials, Zhang's deep bond with Sun Yat-sen and his complex relationship with Chiang Kai-shek.