During the Republic of China period, Feng Yuxiang's Northwest Army was strong, not only had many soldiers, reaching 400,000 people at the most, but also General Guang, the more famous ones were the Five Tiger Generals and the Thirteen taibao, all of whom were able to recruit good warriors.
The man I want to talk about today is called Zhang Zhijiang, who ranks first among Feng Yuxiang's Five Tiger Generals and is also recognized as the second person in the Northwest Army.
However, Zhang Zhijiang's military achievements are not low, but he is a pivotal figure in promoting Chinese martial arts, and is known as the first person in Chinese martial arts to go to the international sports world.
Zhang Zhijiang was born in 1882 in Yanshan County, Hebei Province, and after the outbreak of the Xinhai Revolution, he and Feng Yuxiang met each other, shared similar spirits, and became friends. Later, Feng Yuxiang gradually developed in the army, and Zhang Zhijiang also became Feng Yuxiang's right and left arm.
In 1926, after Feng Yuxiang sent a telegram to the wilderness, he handed over the Northwest Army to Zhang Zhijiang, who became the de facto ruler of the Northwest Army.
However, after all, his ability was far worse than Feng Yuxiang's, and although everyone respected him, he could not control the Northwest Army very well.
Later, Wu Peifu and Zhang Zuolin jointly attacked the Northwest Army, Zhang Zhijiang's command was ineffective, coupled with internal differences, the troops were beaten to pieces, Zhang Zhijiang because of day and night work, coupled with mental exhaustion, and finally suffered a stroke, went to Nanjing to recuperate, and has since faded out of the military circles.
During his recuperation in Nanjing, Zhang Zhijiang's treatment effect was not good, and later, his guard Yu Guodong taught him to play tai chi and practiced, and his illness actually improved. Originally fond of martial arts, he believed that Chinese martial arts were national treasures and must be vigorously inherited and carried forward, so he suggested to the Nanjing government that martial arts be changed to national arts and establish corresponding organizations.
Soon after, the Chuo Kokushokan was established. During this period, the Nationalist government wanted him to be the minister of military affairs, but Zhang Zhijiang resolutely refused to do it, and repeatedly wrote letters saying that he wanted to be the director of the Guoshu Museum, and finally, he finally became the director of the museum as he wished, and began to spare no effort to promote Chinese martial arts.
With the efforts of Zhang Zhijiang, in addition to the establishment of the main museum in Nanjing, the Guoshuguan should also set up branch libraries in various regions, and began to compile teaching materials, organize examinations, and recruit students.
During this period, Zhang Zhijiang specially invited instructors to teach combat courses in order to prepare for war, and invited instructors to the Army University to teach military technology, so one after another, students who graduated from the National Art Museum were sent to the front line and became the backbone of front-line guards and reconnaissance.
As we all know, Chinese martial arts have a long history, but the time for Chinese martial arts to go to the world is not long, and the time to integrate into the world sports world is not long, and the earliest time should be traced back to 1936.
At that time, the 11th Olympic Games would be held in Berlin, and Zhang Zhijiang felt that this was a rare opportunity to show Chinese martial arts to the world, so he sent a letter to the Berlin Olympic Organizing Committee in the name of the Central Guoshu Museum of the Nanjing Government, hoping that at the Olympic Games, Chinese martial arts would be exhibited as a performance project.
The Berlin Olympic Organizing Committee was worried about how the opening ceremony could be more enriched, and after receiving Zhang Zhijiang's letter, it immediately replied to the letter approving it.
In order to fully display Chinese martial arts, Zhang Zhijiang selected martial arts elites from all over the country and strived to show the essence of Chinese martial arts, so he specially rented a primary school playground and personally supervised the rehearsals for three months.
On the opening day of the Olympic Games, Chinese martial arts debuted, immediately shocked the world, everyone believes that this is the most valuable program in the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games, praising the Chinese martial arts performance has both sports value, offensive and defensive value, artistic value, said that Chinese martial arts have three major characteristics of art, dance and struggle, reflecting the long history and culture of the Chinese nation and the spirit of martial arts.
(Photo: Representatives of the Chinese martial arts team participating in the Berlin Olympic Games)
At this point, Chinese martial arts have officially entered the world sports arena, and this profound culture has also spread to the world. For this reason, Zhang Zhijiang won the Five Rings Medal and was known as the first person in Chinese martial arts to go to the international sports world.
After returning from Berlin, Zhang Zhijiang personally led the Chinese martial arts performance team to Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines and other places to perform, sparing no effort for the spread of Chinese martial arts.
However, after the outbreak of the All-out War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Zhang Zhijiang, in order to assist Li Zongren in commanding the Battle of Taierzhuang, had no time to take care of the Guoshuguan, and due to the continuous relocation of the Guoshuguan due to the impact of the war, Zhang Zhijiang gradually lost its former glory.
After the founding of new China, Zhang Zhijiang continued to contribute to the development of Chinese martial arts, and in 1956, the State Sports Commission held the first national martial arts performance competition in Beijing, and Zhang Zhijiang was appointed as the chief judge because of his great prestige.
On May 12, 1969, Zhang Zhijiang passed away at the age of 88.
History Inn Author: Desert Sand