Zhang Xueliang lived for 101 years, his life experience is very rich, he spanned the three eras of the Qing Dynasty, the Republic of China and New China, he himself is a complete history book. In Zhang Xueliang's life, he dealt with two men more, one was his father Zhang Zuolin and the other was Chiang Kai-shek.
Zhang Zuolin was born into poverty, relying on the green forest to strengthen his strength, gradually mastered the three eastern provinces, and became the "King of the Northeast". Zhang Zuolin has 8 sons, Zhang Xueliang is the eldest son, and is naturally particularly loved by Zhang Zuolin. After Zhang Zuolin was eliminated by the Japanese army in 1928, Zhang Xueliang naturally became his successor and controlled the fate of the three eastern provinces.
After Zhang Zuolin's death, Zhang Xueliang began to have frequent contacts with Chiang Kai-shek, and under the pressure of Japan's step by step, Zhang Xueliang chose "Northeast Yizhi" and submitted to the Nationalist government led by Chiang Kai-shek, helping Chiang Kai-shek achieve nominal reunification of the whole country, and Zhang Xueliang was appointed by Chiang Kai-shek as deputy commander-in-chief of the country.
In the "918 Incident", Zhang Xueliang withdrew from the three eastern provinces with the Kwantung Army, and the Japanese army occupied all of the northeast region. In the next 5 years, Zhang Xueliang was saddled with the insult of not resisting the general. This state of affairs lasted until the "Xi'an Incident" in 1936, when Zhang Xueliang was known as a "national hero and a hero throughout the ages" for forcing Chiang Kai-shek to unite with the Communists to resist Japan.
After the "Xi'an Incident", Zhang Xueliang's fate underwent a fundamental change, and since then he has almost disappeared from the stage of history. Without Song Meiling's vigorous protection, Zhang Xueliang's life may have ended at this time. However, no matter what, Zhang Xueliang survived, and lived very well, he not only sent Chiang Kai-shek, but also sent away Chiang Kai-shek's son. So, longevity is really important.
In 1990, Zhang Xueliang's life ushered in a turning point, and this year he was informed to be free. At this moment, Zhang Xueliang waited for 54 years, he did not think too much, let alone hold a celebration banquet, but quietly took his wife to the United States. Obviously, Zhang Xueliang wanted the world to forget him.
However, Zhang Xueliang was an important historical figure after all, and almost no one of his contemporaries was gone, and the news of his regaining his freedom soon spread all over the world, and many radio media wanted to interview him to understand and preserve the real historical materials.
After careful consideration, Zhang Xueliang agreed to a radio station to interview him. When the reporter asked, "How do you evaluate your father Zhang Zuolin and Chiang Kai-shek?" “
Zhang Xueliang pondered for a moment and said, "My father has great talent, but he does not have a general idea. Chiang Kai-shek has a big plan, but not a great talent," he continued, adding that his father Zhang Zuolin's measurements were very large, but there was no big plan. Chiang Kai-shek planned well, but he did not have enough talent, and the measurement was relatively small. If the two of them can unite together, let alone conquer China, it is also possible to conquer the world.
In addition, Zhang Xueliang also answered many questions, as an important personal experience of history, his oral history is especially important for later generations to study that period of history.