What official position is Major Commander? Why is Zhang Xueliang called the Commander in Chief? It turned out to be the result of misleading movies and TV dramas!
There were many influential figures during this period of the Republic of China, and many of them became witnesses and participants in this history. Their names were naturally familiar to us descendants, and Zhang Xueliang was definitely a highly well-known person during this period. Of course, for a historical figure, achievements and demerits naturally exist, and there is no good standard for evaluating them. As for the title of this person, The most familiar thing to everyone is the young commander. So what does this title mean and what position does it represent?
In fact, this term was quite common during the period of the Republic of China, and it did not represent any specific official position. If you are familiar with film and television dramas, you can see that in many films and television dramas of this period, we can see the word ‘Shaoshuai’, indicating that this term is not solely used to refer to Zhang Xueliang.
And the meaning of this title is similar to that of the current official second generation, because the people who could have this title were all the sons of major warlords at that time. Of course, not all sons would not be called this way, and people would only say it when it is basically certain that they will become heirs. Therefore, there are not many sons of Zhang Zuolin, and other sons have not been called the Major Marshal by people, That’s the truth here.
But now when we talk about the young commander, we basically know that it refers to Zhang Xueliang, because among the inheritors of these warlords, his reputation and status are the highest, so this title is specifically used for him. So, after becoming the commander of the Northeast Army, why do people still call him this way?
In fact, this is only a folk saying, or a private address within the Northeast Army, not to mention a formal occasion. Even when facing Zhang Xueliang privately, such a name would not be accepted, and it is recorded in a memoir of his attendants.
Once, a new attendant who had not been here for a long time needed Zhang Xueliang to answer a phone call. He went to report and said the same thing: Young Marshal, please answer the phone. But at this time, Zhang Xueliang, who was still reading the newspaper, didn’t respond at all. This made the orderly very puzzled, but he didn’t know where he had made a mistake. Then, a veteran attendant next to him said that Zhang Xueliang didn’t like others to call him that way because he was an orderly, he naturally needed to be around the leaders frequently. Therefore, Zhang Xueliang told him that in the future, he could call him whatever official position he held.
So people around him naturally don’t refer to Zhang Xueliang as the Commander in Chief anymore, and his subordinates usually refer to him as the Commander in Chief or the Commander in Chief of the Army because he used to be the Commander in Chief. Those who call him this way must be his old subordinates, and of course, they can also call him the Sixth Master, after all, he is the Little Sixth Son!