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Biography of Yen Hsi-shan
Name: Yen Hsi-shan
Birth Date: 1883
Death Date: May 24, 1960
Place of Birth: Ho-pien, China
Nationality: Chinese
Gender: Male
Occupations: warlord
Yen Hsi-shan
The Chinese warlord Yen Hsi-shan (1883-1960) ruled Shansi Province in northwest China from 1911 to 1949. Because of his program of reforms, Shansi was dubbed the "model province."Yen Hsi-shan was born in the village of Ho-pien not far from the provincial capital of Taiyüan. His father was a small banker, an occupation in which Shansiers had traditionally been famous, and Yen served as apprentice while studying the classics. In 1901 the bank's failure forced Yen to leave home and enroll in the government-supported military college in Taiyüan. He continued his military education in Japan under a government scholarship; there he joined the revolutionary T'ung-meng hui, of which Sun Yat-sen was a prominent leader. Following his return home, Yen rose to the rank of colonel in the New Shansi Army.Hearing of the Wuchang revolt in October 1911, Yen declared Shansi independent of the Manchu government, but only the abdication of …showed first 150 words…
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…showed last 150 words…of August 1945, used Japanese troops against the Communists.Yen could not prevail against the Communist tide. In March 1949 he fled to Nanking, and on April 24 his army surrendered. In June, Yen became president of the Executive Yüan and minister of national defense. On December 8 he fled to Taiwan, where he served briefly as premier of the exiled Nationalist government. But Yen was nothing without Shansi. During the last decade of his life his political role was an advisory one only. He died on May 24, 1960. Further Reading A good, up-to-date biography of Yen Hsi-shan is Donald G. Gillin, Warlord: Yen Hsi-shan in Shansi Province, 1911-1949 (1967). Doak Barnett, China on the Eve of Communist Takeover (1961), deals with the period and the causes leading up to the takeover and includes extensive information on Yen as well as a short biography. Also useful is F.F. Liu, A Military History of Modern China (1956).
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