Who's Who in China (3rd edition)/Chang Hsi-yuan

General Chang Hsi-yuan

張錫元字嘏民

General Chang Hsi-yuan was born at Miyun Hsien, Metropolitan District of Peking in 1870. He attended school and graduated from the Shanhaikuan Military College. Under the Ching Regime, he served in the army through various ranks and for a time was Commander of the 58th Regiment of the Honan Provincial Army. Afterwards he was promoted to be Commander of the Twenty-Ninth Mixed Brigade. After the establishment of the Republic in 1912, General Chang was appointed Commander of the Ninth Division of the Honan Army. In December 1912 he was made a Lieutenant General, and subsequently was appointed Commander of the First Brigade of the metropolitan defence force. This position he held until December 1917 when he was Commander of the Fourth Mixed Brigade of the National Army. At the same time he was appointed Defence Commissioner of Tung Kuan, of the boundary between Shensi and Honan. While at Tung Kuan, General Chang held concurrently the position of Assistant Commander of the Forces for the extermination of brigands in Shensi and also that of commander of troops for the preservation of order in the far west district. In May 1922, after the defeat of the Fengtien Forces by Chihli Troops he was appointed Tutung, Civil and Military Commissioner of the Charhar Special Area to succeed General Chang Ching-hui, a Fengtien General. In September 1922 General Chang was created a Chiang-chun with the title of "Hsi Wei." In October of the same year he was awarded the Third Order of Merit. In April 1923 the First Class Wenfu Decoration was conferred upon General Chang, the highest civil honor he had held previously being the First Class Tashou Chiaho Decoration. General Chang was confirmed as Tutung of Charhar in July 1924.