1929, which led Date to change his name to Zhang Zongyuan and change his nationality to Chinese. Although only semi-literate, Zhang Zongchang was also known for writing poetry, though his works (such as the "Poem about bastards", the "Daming Lake poem", "Visiting Penglai Pavilion" and "Pray for Rain") are generally considered to be quite bad. However, some sources have disputed these poems as being fabrications made by his political opponent Han Fuju to slander Zhang Zongchang. When asked about where he got his education, Zhang liked to say that he went to the " 'College of the Green Forest' (that is, banditry)". Though not very pious, Zhang was strongly influenced by a Daoist diviner, Tong Huagu, who had allegedly convinced the warlord of his powers by successfully prophesying that a train would derail. It was rumoured that the diviner had ensured this outcome by bribing some peasants to sabotage the tracks. In summer 1927, a famine struck Shandong particularly hard, and Zhang Zongchang was reported to have gone into a temple of the Dragon King to pray for rain. When this failed to improve the situation, Zhang returned to the temple. In his fury, he slapped the Dragon King's statue several times, and ordered his artillery to shoot into the sky for several hours. He also intended to build a shrine devoted to himself, including a large bronze statue, at Daming Lake. The project was not finished before Zhang's flight from Shandong. While having a reputation as one of the most brutal and ruthless warlords, he was also one of the most colourful. After defeating the army of general Wu Peifu by making his enemy's forces defect, he rewarded the defectors by allowing them to keep their original ranks. He then promoted his own officers, but since there was not enough metal to make the gold and silver stars for their rank insignia, he ordered the stars to be made from the gold and silver paper foil in cigarette packages. During the mass promotion ceremony, the officers were surprised to find their insignia already torn even before the ceremony had ended. He usually travelled with a coffin planted atop a car during his campaigns; this was a typical way at the time to signify one's willingness to die in combat. At times, Zhang would sit in the coffin during his travels and smoke a cigar; he was famous for his