Background
Mr. Chang was born in Szechuen, 1888.
Mr. Chang was born in Szechuen, 1888.
Chang Chun attended the Paoting Military Academy, later went to Japan and attended the Japanese Military Officers' Academy in Tokyo.
While in Japan, Chang Chun became affiliated with the Chinese students' revolutionary party in that country. He returned to China in 1910 in company with Chiang Kai-shek who was then also studying in Japan. During the 1911 Revolution, he again in company with Chiang Kai-shek joined Chen Chi-mei (then Military Governor of Shanghai) and was made head of the arsenal department participated in the movement against Yuan Shih-kai serving in the artillery department.
After the defeat of Chen Chi-mei, his arrest was ordered by Yuan Shih-kai, but he escaped to Japan and later went to the Dutch East Indies. Chang Chun returned to China in 1916 and became a staff officer in Chekiang Army; later a member of the Revolutionary Government at Canton from 1917 to 1918. In 1920 he became a chief police official in Szechuen. In 1922 he joined Feng Yu-hsiang's army in his war against Wu Pei-fu and was made chief of Honan provincial police.
Upon the defeat of the Kuominchun, he went to Kwangtang and there joined the Northern Punitive Expedition in 1926. Following the occupation of Nanking in the spring of 1927, he was appointed chief adviser to General Chiang Kaishek and also appointed member of the military council of the Nationalist Government. In 1928 he was a vice-Minister of Military Administration, Nanking and concurrently director-general of Shanghai Arsenal. In 1929 elected member of the Central Executive Committee of Kuomintang.
From 1929 to 1931 Chang Chun worked as a Mayor of the Shanghai Municipality. In the period from 1933 to 1935 he was a Chairman of the Hupeh Provincial Government, and Dec. 1935 he was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs.