A look at the Xi'an Incident hero's formative years

Most Chinese are familiar with the name Zhang Xueliang because of the Xi'an Incident, which changed the course of Chinese history but made the military leader lose freedom for the rest of his life.

The Xi'an Incident, which occurred on Dec 12, 1936, halted China's civil war and united the Kuomintang and the Communist Party, who together turned their guns against the Japanese invaders.

While scores of screen titles hail him as a patriotic hero, a recent hit TV series stretches its tentacles to his lesser-known early years, when the young Zhang was still a playboy and a troublemaker for his prestigious family.