ruler of modern China". The Time called him "notorious, cruel, rapacious". Zhang was notorious for his hobby of splitting the skulls of prisoners with his sword, and for hanging dissidents from telephone poles. Despite his negative reputation, however, Zhang was also known to also be very sociable, charming and commanded the respect of his troops as well as superiors. He was described as being very brave, and as a "warmonger". Waldron argued that Zhang was one of the most talented military leaders among the Chinese warlords, something his critics refused to acknowledge. Zhang loved to boast about the size of his penis, which became part of his legend. He was a "well-known womanizer" and polygamist. At the height of his power, he had some 30 to 50 concubines of different nationalities, who were given numbers since he could not remember their names nor speak their language. According to the Time, several of his concubines had been forcibly seized from rich families in Shandong. However, some of his concubines stayed with him throughout his career, with him marrying the earliest when he was still a coolie. His concubines included Chinese, Japanese, Russians, Koreans, Mongolians and at least one American. According to research by journalist John Gunther, his harem included concubines of 26 different nationalities. Zhang reportedly ate meat of black Chow Chow dogs every day, as it was popularly believed at the time that this meat would boost a man's virility. He was free with his gifts, lavishly squandering money and concubines on superiors and friends. As a result, his commanders were very loyal to him, contributing to his military success. However, his common soldiers were often not well paid, negatively impacting their morale. He often ventured to Beijing to meet with China's high society and go gambling. He repeatedly met and played poker with Oei Hui-lan, a socialite and wife of Chinese statesman Wellington Koo. She later argued that Zhang proved to be a complex character: On one side, he was "so delightfully outrageous that he was disarming", such as when he regularly gambled away tens of thousands of dollars and behaved like a swashbuckler; yet he was also highly respectful and friendly towards those whom he respected including Oei. Zhang also funded actress Yang Naimei, helping her to set up the Naimei Film Company in Shanghai. He made a pact of brotherhood with the Japanese rōnin Date Junnosuke in