Zhang Xueliang, Chinese military leader, died in Hawaii in 2001 at the age of 100.

Son of Chinese warlord and Nationalist general Zhang Zuolin, who was responsible for the deaths of many Communists in the early 1900s, Zhang Xueliang himself became a Communist hero when he kidnapped Chinese Nationalist leader Chiang Kai-shek in December of 1936. As a Nationalist general, having taken over the army upon his father's death in 1928, Zhang Xueliang grew frustrated over Chang Kai-shek's focus on the Nationalist-Communist civil war. He kidnapped and held the Generalissimo until he agreed to negotiate with the Communists and work with them to drive the Japanese out of China. Although the Chinese did stay united until after World War II, Chang Kai-shek had Zhang Xueliang imprisoned and later removed to Taiwan when the Nationalist government was exiled there following the war. Xueliang remained imprisoned in Taiwan for almost 40 years.

ARTSEDGE
Despite decades of imprisonment, Zhang Xueliang lived to the uncommon age of 100. In Old Age, the Last Stage (9–12), students explore their own perceptions of old age and the perceptions of others through art and literature.

Science NetLinks
In Aging 1: The Science of Aging (6–8) and Aging 2: How Scientists Study Aging (6–8), students examine the aging process, factors that affect life expectancy, and how scientists study aging.

ReadWriteThink
Throughout Xueliang's imprisonment his wife, Zhao Yidi, remained by his side. The two moved to Hawaii after his release and remained there until their deaths one year apart. Chinese media described Xueliang and Zhao Yidi as a modern Romeo and Juliet. Star-Crossed Lovers Online: Romeo and Juliet for a Digital Age (9–12), asks students to use their understanding of modern experiences with digital technologies to make active meaning of an older text, such as Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, by asking students to create their own modern interpretation of specific events from the drama.