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Jiang Fangzhen (13 October 1882 – 4 November 1938), courtesy name Baili and art name Danning, better known as Jiang Baili, was a Chinese military writer, strategist, trainer and army general of the Republic of China.
Jiang returned to China in 1906 and briefly served as an adviser to Zhao Erxun, the Governor of Manchuria, before leaving to further his military studies in Germany. In 1910, after returning to China, he was recommended by (1877–1912), a former classmate at the Imperial Japanese Army Academy, to serve as a guandai (管帶; captain) in the Imperial Guards. He was later reassigned to serve in the office of Zhao Erxun again. In 1911, he became the chief adviser of the military training office in Manchuria.
In 1916, after Yuan Shikai declared himself emperor and created the short-lived Empire of China, Jiang strongly objected to Yuan's decision and fled from Beijing to Guangdong. He joined the warlord Cai E in attacking Yuan Shikai and served as the chief adviser of the combined military forces of Guangdong and Guangxi provinces in the campaign against Yuan, who died later that year. Jiang accompanied Cai E, who was ill, to Japan to seek medical treatment, but Cai still died of illness eventually.
In 1917, Jiang became a consultant in the office of Li Yuanhong, who had succeeded Yuan Shikai as President of the Republic of China. During this time, he wrote Common Knowledge About the Military (軍事常識). In the subsequent years, Jiang spent his time mainly on writing books, editing magazines and involvement in societies for literature and poetry appreciation. In 1918, he followed Liang Qichao on a study tour to Europe and became active in the New Culture Movement after returning to China in 1920. In 1925, he travelled to Hankou, where he became chief-of-staff to the warlord Wu Peifu. He urged Wu Peifu to ally with the Nationalist government in Guangdong Province to fight the warlord Zhang Zuolin, but Wu rejected his suggestion. He left Wu Peifu in 1926 after the latter decided to ally with Zhang Zuolin's Fengtian Clique against Feng Guozhang's Zhili clique. He then travelled to Shanghai to join Sun Chuanfang, but decided to leave after Sun allied with Zhang Zuolin.
In 1935, Jiang was appointed as a high-level consultant in the Military Affairs Commission. In the following year, he travelled to Europe again on a study tour. After returning to China, he advised the Nationalist government to develop its air force and further modernise the military. During the trip, he also secretly contacted the German and Italian governments and urged them to support China if war broke out. During the Xi'an Incident in December 1936, Jiang managed to persuade Zhang Xueliang to release Chiang Kai-shek.
In the summer of 1937, Jiang wrote Treatise on National Defence (國防論), in which he proposed that if war broke out between China and Japan, China could not win in the short term, so it should try to wear down Japan over the long term. In September 1937, he was appointed as Chiang Kai-shek's special ambassador on official visits to Germany and Italy. After returning to China, he wrote The Japanese (日本人) and Basic Perspectives on a War of Resistance (抗戰的基本觀念) to explain his views on how China would eventually win in a war against Japan. In August 1938, he was appointed as the acting principal of the Whampoa Military Academy.
He died of illness later that year on 4 November in Yishan County, Guangxi. The Nationalist government posthumously awarded him the rank of general.
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