Zhang Decheng | |
Native Name: | 张德成 |
Native Name Lang: | Chinese |
Nickname: | Number One Boxer |
Birth Date: | 1846 |
Death Date: | mid-July, 1900 (aged 53–54) |
Allegiance: | Yìhéquán |
Battles: | |
Memorials: | Memorial Hall of the Boxer Uprising |
Zhang Decheng or Chang De-Cheng (; 1846 – late-July 1900) was a Chinese nationalist and leader of the Fists of Harmony and Justice during the Boxer Uprising. Though working as a boatman during his youth, he would spend much of the Boxer Rebellion as a leader of the group he created, the Fists of Harmony and Justice.
Born in either Zhaozhang or Goucun village in the Zhili Province of the Qing Dynasty, Zhang would spend much of his youth as a boatman along the Daqing, Ziya, and other rivers in Zhili.[1] As time went on and foreign contacts in Northern China increased, particularly the actions of western missionaries, Zhang and other similar-minded individuals would set out to "destroy foreigners". Though the Fists of Harmony and Justice did exist during the mid-1890s, they proved only to be a minor inconvenience to any official Qing or foreign affairs due to the group's small size, lack of influence, and mostly local actions taken by bands of around 50 men each. In 1899, a compatriot of Zhang, Zhao Sandu set out to establish order in the Fists of Harmony and Justice's ranks during a conference at the Yaoli Yaowang Temple in Wangkou. Both Zhang Decheng and Cao Futian would develop the creation of the First Heavenly Regiment, along with the structure of their organisation, which was as follows:
Number One Boxer (de facto) | Zhang Decheng | |
Number Two Boxer (de facto) | Cao Futian | |
Master | Liu Liansheng | |
Second Brother | Gao Shunyi | |
Third Brother | Zhang Eryou | |
Fourth Brother | Wang Dahu | |
Fifth Brother | Lu Lian | |
Sixth Brother/Martial Arts Trainer | Dong Deyu | |
Minister of Culture | Liu Zinian, Wu Xiangchen | |
Minister of Military | Wang Yushu | |
Minister of Announcements and Bulletins | Wu Tiaowen, Jie Tieji |
In early June 1900, Zhang Decheng went to see the Viceroy of Zhili, Yu Lu 裕禄. He presented himself to him as the founder of the Boxer movement, and the viceroy promised to provide the Boxers with money and equipment.
For many, he was considered as the supreme Boxer leader.[2]