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{{Short description|Chinese general and politician (1895–1974)}}
{{family name hatnote|[[Fu (surname)|Fu]]|lang=Chinese}}
{{Infobox military person
| name          = Fu Zuoyi<br />{{nobold|傅作义}}
| birth_date    = June 27, 1895
| death_date    = {{death-date and age|April 19, 1974|June 1895}}
| birth_place   = [[Linyi County, Shanxi|Linyi County]], [[Shanxi]], [[Qing Empire]]
| death_place   = [[Beijing]], [[People’s Republic of China]]
| image         = File:Fu Zuoyi3.jpg
| caption       = General Fu Zuoyi
| nickname      = 
| allegiance    = {{flag|Republic of China (1912–1949)|name=Republic of China}}<br />{{PRC}}
| serviceyears  = 1911–1949
| rank          = [[File:17陆军一级上将.png|40px]] [[General]]
| commands      = 59th corps, 12th war zone, North China Pacification Command
| unit          = {{flagicon|Republic of China (1912–49)|army}} [[National Revolutionary Army]]
| battles       = *[[Xinhai Revolution]]
*[[Northern Expedition]]
*[[Central Plains War]]
*[[Suiyuan Campaign]]
*[[Second Sino-Japanese War]]
**[[Battle of Taiyuan]]
**[[Battle of Wuyuan]]
*[[Chinese Civil War]]
**[[Datong-Jining Campaign]]
**[[Battle of Kalgan]]
**[[Pingjin Campaign]]
| awards        = [[Order of Blue Sky and White Sun]]<br />Order of National Glory<br />[[Order of Liberation (China)|Order of Liberation]]
| laterwork     = Politician
}}

'''Fu Zuoyi''' ({{zh|t=傅作義|s=傅作义|p=Fù Zuòyì|w=Fu Tso-i}}) (June 2, 1895 − April 19, 1974) was a [[Chinese people|Chinese]] military leader. He began his military career in the service of [[Yan Xishan]], and he was widely praised for his [[Suiyuan campaign|defense]] of [[Suiyuan]] from the Japanese. During the final stages of the [[Chinese Civil War]], Fu surrendered the large and strategic garrison around [[Beiping]] to Communist forces. He later served in the government of the [[People's Republic of China]] as Minister of the Hydraulic Ministry.

==Biography==
===Early military career===
Fu began his career as an officer in [[Yan Xishan]]'s [[Shanxi]] army. He served with distinction during the 1927–1928 [[Northern Expedition (1926–1927)|Northern Expedition]], after Yan declared his allegiance to the [[Kuomintang]]. Fu fought for Yan in the 1929–1930 [[Central Plains War]], when Yan attempted to form a central government with himself as president. Yan's forces were easily routed by the forces of [[Chiang Kai-shek]], and Yan was forced to live for a short period in exile.

===Defense of Suiyuan===
After Yan returned to Shanxi in 1931, Fu led Yan Xishan's efforts to "colonize" and take control over the [[Inner Mongolia]]n province of [[Suiyuan]]. Most of the work and settlement of Suiyuan at this time was done by Shanxi farmer-soldiers under Fu's direction. The activities of Fu's farmer-soldiers included mining Suiyuan's iron deposits (24% of all in China) and bringing over {{convert|4,000|acre|km2}} of farmland under cultivation for the first time.<ref>Gillin 128</ref> Fu cultivated a close relationship with [[Zhang Xueliang]] in order to increase the legitimacy of Yan's control over Suiyuan.{{cn|date=July 2025}}

In March 1936, [[Manchukuo]] troops occupying [[Chahar Province|Chahar]] invaded northeastern Suiyuan, contesting Fu's control.  These Japanese-aligned troops seized the city of [[Bailingmiao]] in northern Suiyuan, where the pro-Japanese [[Inner Mongolian Autonomous Political Council]] maintained its headquarters. Three months later, the head of the Political Council, [[Demchugdongrub]] declared that he was the ruler of an independent Mongolia ([[Mengjiang|Mengguguo]]), and organized an army with the aid of Japanese equipment and training. In August 1936 Demchugdongrub's army attempted to invade eastern Suiyuan, but it was defeated by Yan's forces under the command of Fu Zuoyi.  Following this defeat, Demchugdongrub planned another invasion while Japanese agents carefully sketched and photographed Suiyuan's defenses.<ref>Gillin 230</ref>

In November 1936 the army of Demchugdongrub presented Fu Zuoyi with an ultimatum to surrender.  When Fu responded that Demchugdongrub was merely a puppet of "certain quarters" and requested that Demchugdongrub submit to the authority of the central government, Demchugdongrub's armies launched another, more ambitious attack. Demchugdongrub's 15,000 soldiers were armed with Japanese weapons, supported by Japanese aircraft, and often led by Japanese officers. (Japanese soldiers fighting for Mengguguo were often executed by Fu after their capture as illegal combatants, since Mengguguo was not recognized as being part of Japan).<ref>Gillin 230–234</ref>

In anticipation of the [[Second Sino-Japanese War]], Japanese spies destroyed a large supply depot in [[Datong]] and carried out other acts of sabotage. In order to defend Suiyuan, Yan placed his best troops and most able generals, including [[Zhao Chengshou]] and Yan's son-in-law, [[Wang Jingguo]], under Fu's command. During the month of fighting that ensued, the army of Mengguguo suffered severe casualties.  Fu's forces succeeded in occupying Bailingmiao on November 24, 1936, and was considering invading Chahar before he was warned by the [[Kwantung Army]] that doing so would provoke an attack by the Japanese Army. Demchugdongrub's forces repeatedly attempted to retake Bailingmiao, but this only provoked Fu into sending troops north, where he successfully seized the last of Demchugdongrub's bases in Suiyuan and virtually annihilated his army.  After Japanese were found to be aiding Demchugdongrub, Yan publicly accused Japan of aiding the invaders. Fu's victories in Suiyuan over Japanese-backed forces were praised by Chinese newspapers and magazines, other warlords and political leaders, and many students and members of the Chinese public. Fu's victories in Suiyuan greatly increased his prestige, and the prestige of Yan Xishan.<ref>Gillin 234–236</ref>

===Defense against the Communists and Japanese===
During the [[Second Sino-Japanese War]], Fu held numerous commands in North China. As Commander of 7th Army Group he fought in [[Operation Chahar]], the [[Battle of Taiyuan]] and the [[1939–1940 Winter Offensive]], in which he was responsible for winning the [[Battle of Wuyuan]].  Fu ended the war as Commander of the 12th War Area, comprising [[Rehe Province|Rehe]], Chahar, and Suiyuan.

During the [[Chinese Civil War]], Fu's forces (500,000 men) controlled the critically important Suiyuan-Beiping Corridor that separated Manchuria from [[China proper]]. After the Communists captured the Manchurian provinces in late 1948, Communists infiltrated Fu's inner circle and pressured Fu to negotiate a peaceful solution for the inevitable Communist take over.  At the same time, Fu became increasingly disillusioned with Chiang. Fu's personal estrangement from Chiang reaching a climax in October 1948, when Chiang suddenly withdrew from a critical meeting on the defense of territory under Fu's command without giving any immediate explanation. Sometime earlier Chiang's son, [[Chiang Ching-kuo]], had arrested and refused to release his cousin, [[Kung Ling-kan]], as part of a broader effort to punish economic and financial criminals.  Realizing that her nephew could be executed for his crimes, and that Chiang Ching-kuo was highly likely to execute Kong to set an example, [[Soong Mei-ling]] begged her husband [[Chiang Kai-shek]] to fly immediately to Shanghai to rescue Kung. Chiang left in the middle of the most important stage of defensive planning, a great blow to Nationalist morale and left an impression on Fu and many other Nationalist commanders. Fu remarked that this proved Chiang "loved the beauty more than the throne," that is, he had placed the welfare of his family above the welfare of the nation.<ref> Jay Taylor, ''The Generalissimo: Chiang Kai-Shek and the Struggle for Modern China'' (Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press, 2009): 386-387</ref>

Communist agents active within Fu's inner circle included Fu's own daughter, [[Fu Dongju]], and Fu's most trusted personal secretary, Major General {{ill|Yan Youwen|zh|阎又文}} (閻又文), who was from the same hometown as Fu (Ronghe, in [[Yuncheng]]). Fu Dongju, Yan Youwen, and other agents pressured Fu to surrender and repeatedly passed vital intelligence to the Communists. Fu began secret negotiations with [[Lin Biao]], in which he arranged the surrender of the [[Beiping]] garrison, totaling a quarter of a million men, on January 31, 1949. Yan Youwen acted as Fu's representative during Fu's communication with Lin, but Fu did not know the true allegiance of Yan until after the establishment of the [[People's Republic of China]].{{cn|date=July 2025}}

===Life in Communist China===
Fu’s contributions to the [[Chinese Communist Party]]'s success were rewarded with high posts, including the Minister of Hydraulics, which he kept until 1972, as well as posts in the [[Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference]]. During the [[Cultural Revolution]] (1966–1975) Fu was part of a list of people drafted by [[Zhou Enlai]] and approved by Mao to be protected and was moved to [[Jingxi Hotel]] for safeguarding. Fu's daughter, Fu Dongju was not impacted by the upheaval either.<ref name=wumie>{{Cite web |url = http://news.163.com/16/0620/08/BQ07PMNP00014AED.html |title = 傅作义父女英名不容肆意污蔑 |author =  |date = 2016-06-20 |publisher = 网易 |language =  |accessdate =  |quote =  |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170906223956/http://news.163.com/16/0620/08/BQ07PMNP00014AED.html |archive-date = 2017-09-06 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Military career: important dates==
*1928–1929  General Officer Commanding Tianjin Garrison Command
*1929–1930  General Officer Commanding 10th Army
*1930–1932  General Officer Commanding 35th Army
*1931–1946  Chairman of the Government Suiyuan Province
*1933–1941  Commander in Chief 7th Army Group
*1937–1941  General Officer Commanding 35th Corps
*1938   Commander in Chief Northern Route Force, 2nd War Area
*1939–1945  Deputy Commander in Chief 8th War Area
*1945   Commander in Chief 12th War Area
*1945–1947  Director of Kalgan Pacification Headquarters
*1946–1947  Chairman of the Government of Chahar Province
*1947–1948  Commander in Chief General Headquarters for Bandit Suppression in North China

== References ==
=== Citations ===
{{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}

=== Sources ===
* Gillin, Donald G.  ''Warlord: Yen Hsi-shan in Shansi Province 1911–1949''.  Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press.  1967.
* {{webarchive |url = https://web.archive.org/web/20061025213630/http://www.nwc.navy.mil/chinesecs/ |date=October 25, 2006 |title = Handbook for the Chinese Civil War }}
* [http://www.generals.dk/general/Fu_Zuoyi/_/China.html Chinese generals, Fu Zuoyi]

==External links==
*{{commonscatinline}}

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{{succession box | before = none | title = [[Minister of Water Resources (China)|Minister of Water Resources]] | years = 1949–1958 | after = [[Qian Zhengying]]}}
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{{CPPCC Vice-Chairpersons}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fu, Zuoyi}}
[[Category:1895 births]]
[[Category:1974 deaths]]
[[Category:Politicians from Yuncheng]]
[[Category:National Revolutionary Army generals from Shanxi]]
[[Category:People's Republic of China politicians from Shanxi]]
[[Category:Chinese people of World War II]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Order of Blue Sky and White Sun]]
[[Category:Chinese Communist Party politicians from Shanxi]]
[[Category:Republic of China politicians from Shanxi]]
[[Category:People of the Central Plains War]]
[[Category:Delegates to the 1st National People's Congress]]
[[Category:Delegates to the 2nd National People's Congress]]
[[Category:Delegates to the 3rd National People's Congress]]
[[Category:Members of the 3rd Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference]]
[[Category:Members of the 4th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference]]
[[Category:Members of the 1st Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference]]
[[Category:Members of the 2nd Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference]]
[[Category:People of the Northern Expedition]]
[[Category:People of the 1911 Revolution]]
[[Category:Republic of China people who surrendered to the Chinese Communist Party]]
[[Category:Vice chairpersons of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference]]
[[Category:Burials at Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery]]