Wang Zuanxu was a career militarist who became an influential warlord in Sichuan during the early Republican Chinese era, commanding the greater Chengdu and Chonqing area in the 1920s and the 1930s. The Wang Zuanxu papers (1930-2000) consists of digital images, created in 2020, of transcripts of historical records of Mr. Wang Zuanxu and his family; photo images of Wang's activities during World War II and activities of other Wang family members.

Wang Zuanxu was born in 1886 in Xichong, Sichuan Province. He went to Sichuan military school in 1906 and became a career militarist. He became an influential warlord in Sichuan during the early Republican Chinese era, commanding the greater Chengdu and Chonqing area in the 1920s and the 1930s. During the Sino-Japanese war (1937-45), Wang was entrusted by Chiang Kai-shek as the governor of Sichuan Province. He held that position between April 1938 and September 1939. He subsequently commanded Nationalist Chinese forces to fight against the Japanese in southwest China. After the Japanese surrendered in August 1945, Wang continued to serve important military and political positions within the Nationalist government. During the civil war period between the Chinese Nationalists and the Chinese Communists, Wang was Chiang Kai-shek's staunch supporter and was appointed by Chiang to command the anticommunist forces in Chongqing. In 1949 Wang defected to the Chinese Communist Party. Wang was purged during the anti-Rightist movement in the 1950s. In November 1957, Wang attempted to escape to Hong Kong but was captured on the Guangdong-Hong Kong border. He died in November 1960.

2 manuscript boxes (.5 Linear Feet)

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