Chang Lan (1872-February 1955), Szechwanese political leader, was the first chairman of the China Democratic League; from 1949 to 1954 Chang served as one of the three non-Communist vice chairmen of the Central People's Government.

Born into a scholarly family in Nanch'ung, Szechwan, Chang Lan received a traditional Chinese education and was respected in later years as a classical scholar. Growing up amidst the troubles which beset China toward the end of the Ch'ing dynasty, he was attracted by the reformist views expounded by Liang Ch'i-ch'ao (q.v.), and he joined the group which favored constitutional monarchy for China.

Chang Lan gained public attention in 1911, when he was a vice chairman of the committee of shareholders which opposed government nationalization of the projected Szechwan- Hankow railroad. As the Szechwan populace rose in increasingly stormy opposition to Peking's plans, the Manchu authorities resorted to ruthless measures to suppress the demonstrations. The resulting bloodshed turned what had begun as a peaceful protest into an armed uprising. However, the authorities easily quelled the uprising. Nevertheless, the movement against nationalization of the railroads, which rapidly spread to other parts of China, was successfully exploited by the anti-Manchu republican revolutionaries. The issue was one of the immediate causes of the Wuchang revolt of 10 October 1911.

Chang Lan remained politically affiliated with the constitutional monarchists and was one of the leaders of that group in Szechwan. During the 1916 campaign against Yuan Shih-k'ai, he reportedly organized a small local force to support the republican cause against Yuan, but before they could act, Yuan died. Although Chang Lan never controlled any military forces in Szechwan, he was one of the senior political leaders of the province during the early republican period. Szechwan was then the scene of constant internecine rivalry among local military leaders, who had earlier joined forces to oust the Yunnan army that had occupied parts of the province for some years. No single authority exercised effective control of the entire province, and the province, in turn, did not accept any central authority. Because of his personal prestige, Chang Lan was governor of Szechwan for a short period in 1920. During the 1920's, however, he devoted his energies primarily to education, becoming president of Chengtu University in 1928 after having headed Chengtu Normal College for two years. During the 1928-37 period he played no active political role but, nonetheless, he continued to occupy a significant position in Szechwan. He had long association with most of the local Szechwan military leaders and his non-partisanship was generally respected by them. At the same time, as president of an important provincial university, he was respected by students and intellectuals. When war with Japan broke out in 1937 and the National Government moved to Chungking, Chang Lan was appointed a member of the People's Political Council. Although he rarely took active part in that body's deliberations, his remarks were notable when he did speak. Outspokenly critical of the dictatorial measures of the National Government, Chang won attention and became very popular with Chinese university students. When various opposition groups joined forces in 1941 to form the League of Chinese Democratic Political Groups, Chang Lan was elected chairman. His election, though doubtless due in part to a realistic desire to avoid rivalry among the participating groups, was a tribute to Chang's seniority in Szechwan. Chang remained chairman when the federation was reorganized into the China Democratic League in 1944 and held that post until his death a decade later. Although never regarded as a policy-maker in the league, Chang, nevertheless, had a stabilizing influence on the small parties and the politicians who composed that organization. In 1946 Chang Lan was one of four representatives of the league who attended the abortive Political Consultative Conference; the others Tere Carsun Chang (Chang Chia-sen), Chang wung-sun, and Lo Lung-chi. Chang Lan went to Shanghai later in 1946. The league was outlawed by Nanking in October 1947, at which time many of its leaders fled to Hong Kong. Chang remained in Shanghai, however; he was placed under house arrest by the Kuomintang authorities. By the spring of 1949, however, the situation for the Nationalists in the Nanking- Shanghai area had become desperate. At that point Chang Lan, together with Lo Lung-chi, was spirited away by Chinese Communist agents and was given shelter pending the "liberation." By mid-1949 there had been Communist victories over the major part of the mainland. Accordingly, Chang Lan moved to Peiping to help in the preparations for establishing a new national government. In September 1949 he headed the China Democratic League delegation to the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. When the People's Republic of China was officially established on 1 October 1949, Chang was elected one of the six vice chairmen of the Central People's Government. The other two non-Communists elected to that post were Madame Sun Yat-sen (Soong Ch'ing-ling) and Li Chi-shen. Chang held that position until the Central People's Government was reorganized in 1954 with only one vice chairman. He then became a vice chairman of the standing committee of the National People's Congress. Chang Lan's final years at Peking appear to have been quiet and contented. Then in his late seventies, he was no longer the stormy critic of dictatorial powers that he had been at Chungking during the Sino-Japanese war. He regularly appeared at ceremonial occasions, and he was accorded the respect befitting his age and senior position in the government. He died of arteriosclerosis in February 1955 at the age of 84 sui. He was survived by his widow, nee Liu Huicheng.