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Zhang Xun

Prince Zhongyong of the First Rank[1] Zhang Xun
張勳
3rd Prime Minister of the Imperial Cabinet
In office 1 July – 12 July 1917
Monarch	Xuantong Emperor
Preceded by	Yuan Shikai (1912)
Succeeded by	Position abolished
Personal details
Born	(1854-09-16)16 September 1854 Fengxin County, Yichun, Jiangxi, Qing Empire
Died	11 September 1923(1923-09-11) (aged 68) Tianjin, Zhili, Republic of China
Political party	Royalist Party[a]
Nickname	Queue General
Military service
Allegiance	Qing dynasty Republic of China Empire of China
Branch/service	Beiyang Army
Years of service	1884–1917
Rank	General officer Field marshal
Battles/wars	Boxer Rebellion Xinhai Revolution Second Revolution National Protection War Manchu Restoration

Zhang Xun (Chinese: 張勳; pinyin: Zhāng Xūn; Wade–Giles: Chang¹ Hsün¹; September 16, 1854 – September 11, 1923), courtesy name Shaoxuan (少軒), art name Songshou Laoren (松壽老人), nickname Bianshuai (辮帥, lit. 'marshal with queue'), was a Chinese general and Qing loyalist who attempted to restore the abdicated emperor Puyi in the Manchu Restoration of 1917. He also supported Yuan Shikai during his time as president.^[4]

He was born on September 16, 1854, in Chitian village, Fengxin county, Jiangxi.^[4]

Zhang served as a military escort for Empress Dowager Cixi during the Boxer Uprising. He later served as a subordinate of General Yuan Shikai in the Beiyang Army. He fought for the Qing at Nanjing in 1911, and then after the fall of the Qing, he remained loyal to Yuan Shikai. Despite serving as a general in the new Republic, he refused to cut his queue, as a symbol of his loyalty to the Qing. He was called the "Queue General". He seized Nanjing from the KMT in 1913, defeating the Second Revolution. Despite allowing his troops to savagely loot the city, Zhang was named a field marshal by Yuan.^[4]

Between 1 July 1917 and 12 July 1917, Zhang Xun proclaimed himself Prime Minister of the Imperial Cabinet by entering Beijingtoreinstate the deposed PuyiasEmperor of the Qing dynasty. However, Zhang Xun's proclamation in July 1917 was never recognized by the Government of the Chinese Republic, most of the Chinese people, or any foreign countries. Other generals loyal to the Republic subsequently thwarted Zhang and forced Puyi to abdicate again. Zhang then took refuge in the Dutch legation and never participated in politics again.^[4]

He died on September 11, 1923.^[4]

• Billingsley, Phil (1988). Bandits in Republican China. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press. ISBN 9780804714068.
• Chi, Madeleine (1970). China Diplomacy, 1914-1918. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. ISBN 9780674118256.