Who's Who in China (3rd edition)/Chiang Teng-sien

General Chiang Teng-sien

姜登選

General Chiang Teng-Sien is a native of Chihli, North China. He was born in the district of Nan-Kung Hsien in the province of Chihli. His early years were spent in the family school of his village under a private tutor. At the age of 16 he was admitted to the public high middle school of his district and at the age of 20 he received the first Chinese literary degree (A. B.) by competitive examinations. He entered in the following year into the Lien-Chiu College in his province to further his literary education. At the age of 22 he went to Japan, and first joined Tung Wen and next Chen-Wu. From the latter he was transferred to the department of General Staff in Tokio and registered in the surveyor's course. After the completion of his course he joined the Japanese special military training school for officers until he graduated there. Almost immediatedly after his return to China in the 34th year of Kwan-Hsu (1908 and at that time he was just 28 years old) he went to Szechuen at the request of the then Viceroy Shao R-sun who had a high admiration of his training as a soldier. He was then entrusted with the work in building up a new army for the said province, first in charge of the engineering division and the chief of the staff to the provincial Mixed Brigade. Later he was appointed as assistant director to the General Staff of the Supervision Bureau for military training and in the meantime he occupied the post as president of the preparatory, school of Army. At the time (1911) when the military government was established in Chengtu, Szechuen, General Chiang was made as head of the Department of the General Staff and in the winter of the same year he was transferred to the post as Commander-in-Chief of the Szechuen forces. Not till the Republic of China was fully established, he resigned his last mentioned post and returned to his native home. In the 2nd year of the Republic (1913) he went to Hai Lung Kiang and was appointed as chief of the staff to the then military governor Chiu Chin-Ian. In the fifth year (1916 he was asked by the Central government to go to Kwangtung to close up the Bureau of Military Affairs and to settle the disputes between the generals Lung Tsi-Kwan and Lo Yiong-Ding. Soon after this he was appointed as Commander-in-Chief of the forces at Chang-chow, near "Tiger Gate," the most important point in the Canton river in Kwangtung. In the fall of 1922, he joined the Mukden forces at Shankaikwan after the latter had been defeated by the Chihli troops. He immediatedly assumed the commandership in directing the Fengtien forces to withdraw from Shanhaikwan without incurring any more loss. As a result of his being so acute as a military leader, he was immediately recognized and trusted by Marshal Chang. Before the end of that year, a Bureau for reorganising and re-equipping the armies of Three Eastern Provinces was established and General Chiang was made as chief assistant-supervisor with full power in the matters pertaining to the military nature, while Marshal Chang himself was only a nominal supervisor of the said Bureau. It has been agreed by Peking and Mukden that General Chiang will soon come to Kiangsu to act as super-Commander of all the Fengtien troops in the south. It is hoped that no more trouble will occur between Kiangsu and Chekiang as he is highly respected by both Marshal Lu of Nanking and Governor Sun of Hangchow.