Liang Huazhi

Liang Huazhi
梁化之
Governor of Shanxi Provincial Government
In office
March 29, 1949  April 24, 1949
Preceded byYan Xishan
Succeeded byGovernment dissolved
Director of the Political Department of the Second War Zone
In office
1937–1945
Personal details
Born(1906-11-01)1 November 1906
Dingxiang, Shanxi, China
Died24 April 1949(1949-04-24) (aged 42)
Taiyuan, Shanxi, Republic of China
Nationality Republic of China
Political partyKuomintang
NicknameLiang Dunhou

Liang Huazhi (Chinese: 梁化之; pinyin: Liáng Huàzhī; Wade–Giles: Liang Hua-chih) (1 November 1906, Dingxiang, Shanxi April 24, 1949, Taiyuan, Shanxi) was a Kuomintang official who served in the warlord Yan Xishan's government. A relative of Yan, Liang rose rapidly through Shanxi's power structure, founding and leading a number of organizations dedicated to combating both internal and external threats to Yan's rule. At first radically socialist and later radically anti-communist, Liang's life illustrates the rapid and dramatic career changes that were not uncommon in the chaotic age in which he lived. Liang is best known for the way that he died, committing suicide in a spectacular fashion as a final act of defiance against Shanxi's Communist invaders.

Like many Chinese men before 1949, Liang had more than one name. In contemporary Chinese sources he is more commonly known as "Liang Dunhou" (梁敦厚).