Beiyang government - Misplaced Pages

The Beiyang government was the internationally recognized government of the Republic of China between 1912 and 1928, based in Beijing . It was dominated by the generals of the Beiyang Army , giving it its name.

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188-544: Beiyang general Yuan Shikai gave Sun Yat-sen the military support he needed to overthrow the Qing dynasty and establish the Republic of China in 1912. Through his control of the army, Yuan was quickly able to dominate the new Republic. Although the government and the state were nominally under civilian control through the Republic's constitution, Yuan and his generals were effectively in charge of it. After Yuan's death in 1916,

376-425: A "Citizen's Punitive Army" to rid China of all the warlords. Good iron does not make nails, good men do not make soldiers. —Chinese proverb Many of the common soldiers in warlord armies were also bandits who took up service for a campaign and then reverted to banditry when the campaign was over. One politician remarked that when the warlords went to war with each other, the bandits become soldiers and when

564-682: A 160-member Reconstruction Conference on 1 February. Sun was skeptical of Duan and Zhang who toyed with the idea of restoring Puyi. Sun died in March, leaving his southern followers divided. Duan created a provisional legislature on July 30, the Beiyang government's last assembly. A constitutional drafting commission was also held from August to December but its draft was never accepted as warfare broke out after Fengtian clique general Guo Songling defected to Feng Yuxiang's Guominjun in November, sparking

752-563: A Japanese withdrawal. Japan refused, and war broke out. Yuan, having been put in an ineffective position, was recalled to Tianjin in July 1894, before the official outbreak of the First Sino-Japanese War . Yuan Shikai had three Korean concubines, one of whom was Korean Princess Li's relative, concubine Kim. 15 of Yuan's children came from these three Korean women. Yuan's rise to fame began with his nominal participation in

940-505: A KMT general in Hubei, was sent from Guangzhou to Mukden to discuss a possible alliance. Towards Winter 1926–1927, foreign observers were predicting the possibility of a Fengtian–KMT settlement. On 14 January, Reuters reported that Yang Yuting was working with Liang Shiyi to draw up a compromise between the two governments. During the early 1927 Fengtian–KMT negotiations, the KMT promised to "end

1128-589: A bandit gang, be hired by the Japanese to attack the Russians during the Russo-Japanese war of 1904–05 and become the warlord of Manchuria by 1916. He worked openly for the Japanese in ruling Manchuria. Zhang controlled only 3% of China's population but 90% of its heavy industry. The wealth of Manchuria, the support of the Japanese, and Zhang's hard-hitting, swift-moving cavalry made him the most powerful of

1316-706: A bid for international recognition, they also declared war against the Central Powers but failed to garner any recognition. In July 1918 southern militarists thought Sun was given too much power and forced him to join a governing committee. Continual interference forced Sun into self-imposed exile. While away, he recreated the Chinese Nationalist Party , or Kuomintang. With the help of KMT Gen. Chen Jiongming, committee members Gen. Cen Chunxuan , Adm. Lin Baoyi and Gen. Lu Rongting were expelled in

1504-458: A career in the civil service, he failed the imperial examinations twice, leading him to decide on an entry into politics through the Huai Army , where many of his relatives served. His career began with the purchase of a minor official title in 1880, which was a common method of official promotion in the late Qing. Using his father's connections, Yuan travelled to Tengzhou , Shandong, and sought

1692-695: A constitution and universal suffrage was established, and several levels of council were elected by popular vote. These experiments with partial democracy were not long-lasting. Few of the warlords had any sort of ideology. Yan Xishan , the "Model Governor" of Shanxi , professed a syncretic creed that merged elements of democracy , militarism , individualism , capitalism , socialism , communism , imperialism , universalism , anarchism , and Confucian paternalism into one. A friend described Yan as "a dark-skinned, mustached man of medium height who rarely laughed and maintained an attitude of great reserve; Yan never showed his inner feelings." He kept Shanxi on

1880-606: A constitution to be issued by 1916 and an elected parliament by 1917. In the hunting-park, three miles to the south of Peking, is quartered the Sixth Division, which supplies the Guards for the Imperial Palace, consisting of a battalion of infantry and a squadron of cavalry. With this Division Yuan Shi Kai retains twenty-six modified Krupp guns, which are the best of his artillery arm, and excel any guns possessed by

2068-469: A different railroad gauge from the rest of China to make it difficult to invade his province, though that tactic also hindered the export of coal and iron, the main source of Shanxi's wealth. Feng Yuxiang , the "Christian General", promoted Methodism together with a vague sort of left-leaning Chinese nationalism , which led the Soviets to support him for a time. He banned alcohol, lived simply and wore

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2256-758: A few hundred by 1927 and the remaining Russian survivors fought in armored trains. During the Northern Expedition Chinese Nationalist forces captured an armoured train of Russian mercenaries serving Zhang Zongchang and brutalized the Russian prisoners by piercing their noses with rope and marching them in public through the streets in Shandong in 1928, described as "stout rope pierced through their noses". White Russian mercenaries defeated Muslim Uighurs in melee fighting when Uighurs tried to take Ürümqi on 21 February 1933 in

2444-600: A fractured republic in his wake. Li Yuanhong succeeded Yuan as president on June 7. Due to his anti-monarchist stance in Nanjing, Feng Guozhang became vice president. Duan Qirui retained his position as premier. The original parliament elected in 1913 reconvened on August 1 and restored the provisional constitution. There were three factions in parliament now: Sun Yat-sen's Chinese Revolutionary Party , Liang Qichao's Constitution Research Clique, and Tang Hualong 's Constitution Discussions Clique. The first order of business

2632-606: A government in Guangzhou to resist the rule of the Beiyang warlords, and the Guangzhou government came to be known as part of the Constitutional Protection War . In September Sun was named generalissimo of the military government with the purpose of protecting the provisional constitution of 1912 . The southern warlords assisted his regime solely to legitimize their fiefdoms and challenge Beijing. In

2820-648: A large army bordering his territory as a threat. The Zhili clique demanded more influence in the government but in December Feng Guozhang died leaving the group momentarily leaderless. Cao Kun and Wu Peifu emerged as the leaders of the Zhili clique and they issued circular telegrams denouncing the Anhui clique. Cao and Zhang pressured the president to dismiss Xu Shuzheng. The president was already leaning against Duan for sabotaging his Shanghai peace talks with

3008-476: A large source of his revenue. Yuan played an active role in late-Qing political reforms, including the creation of the Ministry of Education ( 學部 ) and Ministry of Police ( 巡警部 ). He further advocated ethnic equality between Manchus and Han Chinese . In 1905, acting on Yuan's advice, Dowager-Empress Cixi issued a decree ending the traditional Confucian examination system that was formalized in 1906. She ordered

3196-539: A limited public franchise. The task of the assembly was to write a permanent constitution, draft legislation, approve the budget and treaties, ratify the cabinet, and impeach corrupt officials. An independent judiciary with a supreme court was also provided. Early law codes were based on reforming the Great Qing Legal Code into something akin to German civil law . In reality, these institutions were undermined by strong personal and factional ties. Overall,

3384-540: A major victory forcing Zhang to retreat to Manchuria . Next, the Zhili clique started a national campaign to restore Li Yuanhong as president. Despite having co-existed with Xu Shichang for two years after the fall of Duan, they declared his presidency illegal as he was elected by an illegal parliament. They demanded Xu and Sun Yatsen resign their rival presidencies in favor of a unified government. Wu convinced Chen Jiongming to oust Sun from Guangzhou in return for recognition of his control over Guangdong . Enough members of

3572-521: A marketplace in Mukden . After Feng betrayed his ally Wu to seize Beijing for himself, Wu complained that China was "a country without a system; anarchy and treason prevail everywhere. Betraying one's leader has become as natural as eating one's breakfast". "Alignment politics" prevented any one warlord from dominating the system. When one warlord started to become too powerful, the rest would ally to stop him, then turn on each other. The level of violence in

3760-423: A million men to send to Europe but his rivals knew this army would never leave the country: its true purpose was to crush internal dissent, since it existed outside the jurisdiction of the army ministry. Meanwhile, the war between the northern and southern governments led to a stalemate as neither side could defeat the other. Duan's favoritism in promoting relatives, friends, Anhuites, and proteges to high positions in

3948-764: A month accusing him of being pro-Japanese. He exposed Liang's telegram ordering diplomats to back Japan on the Shandong Problem during the Washington Naval Conference . Zhang then formed an alliance with the Duan Qirui and Sun Yatsen. Both sides sent circular telegrams to rally their officers and denounce their enemies. On April 28, the First Zhili–Fengtian War began with Wu clashed with Zhang's army in Shanhaiguan and won

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4136-497: A neutral choice. In addition, instead of "President" Duan was now called the "Chief Executive", implying that the position was temporary and therefore politically weak. Duan called on Sun Yat-sen and the Kuomintang in the south to restart negotiations towards reunification. Sun demanded that the "unequal treaties" with foreign powers be repudiated and that a new national assembly be assembled. Bowing to public pressure, Duan promised

4324-497: A new national assembly in three months; however he could not unilaterally discard the "unequal treaties", since the foreign powers had made official recognition of Duan's regime contingent upon respecting these very treaties. Sun died on 12 March 1925 and the negotiations fell apart. With his clique's military power in a shambles, Duan's government was hopelessly dependent on Feng Yuxiang and Zhang Zuolin. Knowing that those two did not get along, he secretly tried to play one side against

4512-554: A normal transfer of power in this government's history. Duan promised Feng's ally, Cao Kun , the vice presidency but the Communications Clique and the Research Clique opposed it after newspapers reported that Cao lavished enormous amounts of money on a prostitute. They also preferred to give it to a figure in the renegade South as a token of reconciliation. However, no southerner took up the offer and this left

4700-1279: A parallel rival government against the KMT government in Chongqing instead of reviving the Beiyang government. Both Wang's government and Chongqing's Nationalist government used near identical symbols and claimed their continuity from Sun Yat-sen's rather than Yuan Shikai's regime. Yuan Shikai Imperial China Republic of China (before 1949) People's Republic of China (Mainland) Hong Kong (pro-Beijing) Macau (pro-Beijing) Republic of China (Taiwan, pan-Blue) Hong Kong (pro-Beijing) Hong Kong (centrist) Hong Kong (pro-ROC) Macau (pro-Beijing) Republic of China (Taiwan, pan-Blue) Republic of China (Taiwan, pro-Beijing) Republic of China (Taiwan, other) Hong Kong (pro-Beijing) Hong Kong (pro-ROC) Republic of China (Taiwan, pan-Blue) Republic of China (Taiwan, other) People's Republic of China (Mainland) Hong Kong Republic of China (Taiwan) Overseas Former Yuan Shikai ( traditional Chinese : 袁世凱 ; simplified Chinese : 袁世凯 ; pinyin : Yuán Shìkǎi ; Wade–Giles : Yüan Shih -k'ai ; 16 September 1859 – 6 June 1916)

4888-503: A part. Yuan denied that either he or Zhao killed Song, but the Nationalists remained unconvinced. Yuan then took out a huge foreign loan without parliament's consent. Sun led a faction of Nationalists against Yuan in a Second Revolution during the summer of 1913 but suffered complete defeat within two months. In response to threats and bribes, parliament elected Yuan for a five-year term beginning on 10 October 1913. He then expelled

5076-802: A physique second to none, and an iron constitution". However, such units were the exception rather than the rule. In 1916 there were about a half-million soldiers in China. By 1922 the numbers had tripled, then tripled again by 1924; more than the warlords could support. For example, Marshal Zhang, the ruler of industrialized Manchuria, took in $ 23 million in tax revenues in 1925 while spending some $ 51 million. Warlords in other provinces were even more hard-pressed. One way of raising funds were taxes called lijin that were often confiscatory and inflicted much economic harm. For example, in Sichuan province there were 27 different taxes on salt, and one shipload of paper that

5264-417: A portrait of his hero George Washington in the background to reflect the supposed democratic militarism he was attempting to bring to China. Wu was famous for his capacity to absorb vast quantities of alcohol and still keep drinking. When he sent Feng a bottle of brandy, Feng replied by sending him a bottle of water, a message that Wu failed to take in. An intense Chinese nationalist, Wu Peifu refused to enter

5452-616: A post in the Qing Brigade. Yuan's first marriage was in 1876 to a woman of the Yu family who bore him a first son, Keding , in 1878. Yuan Shikai married nine more concubines throughout the course of his life. In the early 1870s, Korea under the Joseon dynasty was in the midst of a struggle between isolationists under King Gojong 's father Heungseon Daewongun , and progressives, led by Empress Myeongseong , who wanted to open trade. After

5640-463: A provincial junior college (Shandong College, the forerunner of Shandong University ) in Jinan , which adopted western ideas of education. In June 1902 he was promoted to Viceroy of Zhili , the lucrative commissioner for North China Trade, and Minister of Beiyang ( 北洋通商大臣 ), comprising the modern regions of Liaoning , Hebei, and Shandong . Having gained the regard of foreigners after helping crush

5828-477: A renowned diplomatic corps with figures such as Wellington Koo . Because the generals required their skills, the foreign affairs ministry was given substantial independence. The ministry's greatest accomplishment was the 1922 return of German concessions in Shandong that were seized by Japan during World War I, which greatly boosted the government's reputation. The foreign affairs ministry successfully denied

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6016-693: A rival government under the Constitutional Protection Movement with the backing of the Yunnan clique and the Old Guangxi clique . A rump of the old parliament held an extraordinary session. The Beiyang government declared war on the Central Powers in August 1917 and began sending labor battalions to France and a token force to Siberia . Duan took out large loans from Japan, claiming that he planned to build an army of

6204-498: A short distance of railways. Armoured trains , full of machine guns and artillery, offered fire support for troops going into battle. In 1925–1927, the largest detachment of armored trains, numbering 7 units, was in the service of Marshal Zhang Zongchang. The armored trains were built according to the World War I model by Russian designers who arrived from Harbin to Jinan, where they had railway workshops. The constant fighting around

6392-489: A silver reserve of 1.5 million Chinese dollars during the same year. The illiterate Marshal Zhang Zuolin , who engaged in reckless printing of Chinese dollars, did not understand it was him who was causing the inflation in Manchuria, and his remedy was simply to summon the leading merchants of Mukden, accuse them of greed because they were always raising their prices, had five of them selected at random publicly shot and told

6580-480: A special session of the provisional legislature that passed a resolution condemning the massacre. It did not stop Guominjun soldiers from disarming Duan's guards and forcing the Chief Executive to flee to a diplomatic legation the next month. When Zhang's troops retook the capital weeks later, he refused to restore Duan whom he saw as a treacherous double-dealing opportunist. The capital suffered heavily during

6768-482: A system of local self government. Reclamation of the frontiers and colonization of undeveloped areas. Preservation of the national sovereignty and characteristics. Readjustment of official morality and development of the morality of the people." Immediately following the defeat of Wu Peifu, the Fengtian clique and the KMT had to decide what to do with the political situation in Manchuria. In August 1926, Jiang Zuobin ,

6956-587: Is certain that by the evening, Yuan talked to Ronglu, but what was revealed to him remains ambiguous. Most historians suggest that Yuan told Ronglu all details of the Reformers' plans and asked him to take immediate action. The plot having been exposed, Ronglu's troops entered the Forbidden City at dawn on 21 September, forcing the Emperor into seclusion in a lake palace. Making a political alliance with

7144-743: The Anti-Fengtian War . Wu Peifu made an alliance with Zhang against Feng in revenge for the coup. Guo was killed on December 24 and fighting went so badly against the Guominjun, Feng resigned and moved to the Soviet Union but was recalled by his officers in a few months. When the tide turned against the Guominjun, Duan restored the office of premier to shift responsibilities away from himself. The March 18 Massacre of protesters in Beijing led to Duan's downfall. Under heavy pressure, Duan held

7332-686: The Battle of Urga , the army of Gen. Xu Shuzheng , which had seized Outer Mongolia , was attacked by a Russian-Mongol army under the command of Gen. Baron Roman von Ungern-Sternberg . The Chinese might have stopped Ungern had they been capable of firing their machine guns properly, to adjust for the inevitable upward jerk caused by the firing; they did not, and this caused the bullets to overshoot their targets. The inability to use their machine guns properly proved costly: after taking Urga in February 1921, Ungern had his Cossacks and Mongol cavalry hunt down

7520-572: The Battle of Ürümqi (1933) . Wu Aitchen mentioned that 600 Uyghurs were slaughtered in a battle by White Russian mercenaries in the service of the Xinjiang clique warlord Jin Shuren . Jin Shuren would take Russian women as hostages to force their husbands to serve as his mercenaries. Hui Muslims fought brutal battles against White Russians and Soviet Red Army Russians at the Battle of Tutung and Battle of Dawan Cheng inflicting heavy losses on

7708-556: The Beijing Coup . He put President Cao under house arrest. Wu reacted furiously at this betrayal by pulling his army from the front to rescue Cao. Zhang pursued and attacked Wu's rear, defeating him at Tianjin. Wu escaped to the Central Plains where Sun Chuanfang held the line against Zhang. On 2 November 1924, Huang Fu was made acting president after Feng Yuxiang's request. He declared Cao Kun's presidency illegal as it

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7896-659: The Beiyang government led to provinces around the country refusing to declare their allegiance. The debate between the President and the Premier on whether or not China should participate in the First World War was followed by political unrest in Beijing. Both Li and Duan asked Beiyang general Zhang Xun , stationed in Anhui, to militarily intervene in Beijing. As Zhang marched into Beijing on 1 July, he quickly dissolved

8084-534: The First Sino-Japanese War as commander of the Chinese garrison forces in Korea. Unlike other officers, however, he avoided the humiliation of Chinese defeat by having been recalled to Beijing several days before the outbreak of conflict. As an ally of Li Hongzhang , Yuan was appointed the commander of the first New Army in 1895. Yuan's training program modernized the army, creating enormous pride, and earning him

8272-577: The First Zhili–Fengtian War in 1922. Cao became president until 1924, when during the Second Zhili–Fengtian War he was betrayed by his subordinate Feng Yuxiang , who joined with Zhang to stage a coup against Cao. They shared power and brought back Duan to serve as president before Zhang removed them both in 1926; Zhang then led the Beiyang government until 1928. The warlords of southern China, who had cooperated against Yuan's dictatorship and then Duan's attempt to extend Beiyang control to

8460-568: The German Empire . Li fired Duan when his secret loans from Japan were revealed. Duan denounced his removal as illegal and set up base in Tianjin . Most of the Beiyang generals sided with Duan and demanded the dissolution of parliament. In June 1917, General Zhang Xun offered to mediate and went to Beijing with his soldiers. Backed with German funds and arms, he occupied the capital and forced Li to dissolve parliament. On July 1, he shocked

8648-592: The Kuomintang (KMT), provoking a second revolution which was decisively crushed. He then outlawed the KMT and dissolved the National Assembly. In December 1915, in an attempt to further secure his rule, Yuan restored the monarchy and proclaimed himself as the Hongxian Emperor ( 洪憲 ). The move was met with widespread opposition from the general populace, many of his closest supporters in

8836-668: The Late Qing reforms , which included the abolition of the imperial examination . Yuan fell from power upon the death of Cixi in 1908 and was forced into exile, but he retained the loyalty of the Beiyang Army and as such remained an influential figure. On the outbreak of the Wuchang Uprising in 1911, Yuan was recalled to court, appointed Prime Minister of the Imperial Cabinet and tasked with suppressing

9024-731: The Ma clique in Gansu , Ningxia , and Qinghai ; Liu Xiang and Liu Wenhui in Sichuan ; Long Yun in Yunnan ; Zhang Jingyao in Hunan ; Zhang Zongchang and Han Fuju in Shandong ; and Sheng Shicai in Xinjiang . During the New Culture Movement , Chen Duxiu introduced the term Junfa ( 軍閥 ), taken from the Japanese gunbatsu . It was not widely used until the 1920s, when it

9212-712: The Meiji Restoration , Japan had adopted an aggressive foreign policy, contesting Chinese domination of the peninsula. Under the Treaty of Ganghwa , which the Koreans signed with reluctance in 1876, Japan was allowed to send diplomatic missions to Hanseong , and opened trading posts in Incheon and Wonsan . Amidst an internal power struggle which resulted in the queen's exile, the Viceroy of Zhili , Li Hongzhang , sent

9400-674: The Provisional Constitution of the Republic of China , as drawn up by the provisional senate in February 1912, the National Assembly (parliament) elected the president and vice president for five-year terms, and appointed a premier to choose and lead the cabinet. The relevant ministers had to countersign executive decrees for them to be binding. The most important ministries were army, finance, communications, and interior. The navy ministry's importance declined significantly after most of its ships defected to

9588-451: The Qing dynasty . On 10 March 1912, Yuan became provisional president while located in Beijing, his power base. He refused to move to Nanjing, fearing further assassination attempts. It was also more economical to keep the existing Qing bureaucracy in Beijing, so the provisional senate moved north as well; the government thereby began its administration from Beijing on 10 October 1912. The 1912–1913 National Assembly elections gave over half

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9776-427: The Second Zhili–Fengtian War , Feng Yuxiang changed his support from Zhili to Fengtian and forced the Beijing Coup which resulted in Cao Kun being imprisoned. Feng soon broke off from the Zhili clique again and formed Guominjun and allied himself with Duan Qirui . In 1926, Wu Peifu from the Zhili clique launched the Anti-Fengtian War . Zhang Zuolin took advantage of the situation, and entered Shanhai Pass from

9964-407: The South 's Constitutional Protection Movement in 1917. The communications ministry was also responsible for transportation, mail, and the Bank of Communications and was the base of the influential Communications Clique . The interior ministry was responsible for policing and security while the weaker ministry of justice handled judicial affairs and prisons. The ministry of foreign affairs had

10152-420: The Summer Palace as a place of "retirement". After the Guangxu Emperor's Hundred Days' Reform in 1898, however, Cixi decided that the reforms were too drastic, and plotted to restore her own regency through a coup d'état. Plans of the coup spread early, and the Emperor was very aware of the plot. He asked reform advocates Kang Youwei , Tan Sitong and others to develop a plan to save him. Yuan's involvement in

10340-424: The Three Principles of the People . They proposed a new principle of "morality" ( Chinese : 民德 ; pinyin : míndé ; Wade–Giles : min-te ). They agreed on a reformation of the national government and suggested for Zhang a choice to either return to Manchuria and distance himself from politics or to establish his position as an important politician in the government. Two of the clauses agreed upon were

10528-519: The Wuchang Uprising in October 1911, where soldiers began to mutiny and defect to a political opposition. These revolutionary forces established a provisional government in Nanjing the following year under Sun Yat-sen , who had returned from his long exile to lead the revolution. It became clear that the revolutionaries were not strong enough to defeat the Beiyang army and continued fighting would almost certainly lead to defeat. Instead, Sun negotiated with Beiyang commander Yuan Shikai to bring an end to

10716-414: The suzerain , Yuan had become the supreme adviser on all Korean government policies. Perceiving China's increasing influence on the Korean government, Japan sought more influence through co-suzerainty with China. A series of documents were released to Yuan Shikai, claiming the Korean government had changed its stance towards Chinese protection and would rather turn to the Russian Empire for protection. Yuan

10904-585: The "Dogmeat General", ate his meals off a 40-piece Belgian dinner service, and an American journalist described dinner with him: "He gave a dinner for me where sinful quantities of costly foods were served in a starving country. There was French champagne and sound brandy". The warlords bought machine guns and artillery from abroad, but their uneducated and illiterate soldiers could not operate or service them. A British mercenary complained in 1923 that Wu Peifu had about 45 European artillery pieces that were inoperable because they had not been properly maintained. At

11092-422: The 18 March Massacre. The next month Feng Yuxiang again revolted, this time against the Fengtian clique, and deposed Duan, who was forced to flee to Zhang for protection. Zhang, tired of his double dealings, refused to restore him after re-capturing Beijing. Most of the Anhui clique had already sided with Zhang. Duan Qirui exiled himself to Tianjin and later moved to Shanghai where he died on 2 November 1936. During

11280-447: The 1920 Guangdong–Guangxi War . In May 1921 Sun was elected "extraordinary president" by a rump parliament despite protests by Chen and Tang Shaoyi , who complained of its unconstitutionality . Tang left while Chen plotted with the Zhili clique to overthrow Sun in June 1922 in return for recognition of his governorship over Guangdong. After Chen was driven out of Guangzhou, Sun returned again to assume leadership in March 1923. The party

11468-409: The 1920s went on, with the object being to damage the enemy and improve one's bargaining power within the "alignment politics". As the infrastructure in China was very poor, control of the railway lines and rolling stock were crucial in maintaining a sphere of influence . Railroads were the fastest and cheapest way of moving large number of troops, and most battles during this era were fought within

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11656-426: The 1930s and 1940s, resulting in events such as the Central Plains War of 1929–1930, in which the former warlords Yan Xishan , Feng Yuxiang, and Li Zongren rebelled against Chiang. Continued regional control by former warlords was problematic for the Nanjing government during the Second Sino-Japanese War and Chinese Civil War , and contributed to the Communists' final victory in 1949. Other major warlords included

11844-463: The 3,000 strong Qing Brigade into Korea. The Korean king proposed training 500 troops in the art of modern warfare, and Yuan Shikai was appointed to lead this task in Korea. Li Hongzhang also recommended Yuan's promotion, with Yuan given the rank of sub-prefect . Following the suppression of Gapsin Coup . In 1885, Yuan was appointed Imperial Resident of Seoul. On the surface the position equalled that of ambassador but in practice, as head official from

12032-430: The Beiyang Army grew to become the largest and most modernized of China's New Armies, and Yuan began to become a highly influential figure in the Qing government. In 1907, Yuan was appointed to the high positions of Grand Councillor and Secretary of Foreign Affairs , which he held until being relieved of both positions by Imperial Regent Prince Chun in 1909. Following the Wuchang Uprising in October 1911, after which

12220-456: The Beiyang Army, as well as foreign governments. Several military governors and provinces rose in open rebellion . In March 1916, Yuan formally abdicated and restored the Republic, having been emperor for only 83 days. He died of uraemia in June at the age of 56, leaving behind a significantly weakened Beiyang government and a fragmented political landscape, which soon plunged China into a period of warlordism . On 16 September 1859, Yuan Shikai

12408-427: The Beiyang government lie in the aftermath of the First Sino-Japanese War of 1895, after which the defeated armies of the Qing dynasty instituted a series of military reforms known as the New Army reforms, headed by general Li Hongzhang . Among the regional armies that emerged from these reforms was the Beiyang Army , named such due to being primarily based in the Beiyang region. Commanded by general Yuan Shikai ,

12596-449: The Beiyang government; unification was declared on June 16 by the Nationalists. Beijing was renamed Beiping until the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949. Zhang's son, Zhang Xueliang , took over the National Pacification Army and retained a government in exile led by Premier Pan Fu . However, many civil servants, including former ministers and presidents, had already switched over to the Nationalist government . The United States became

12784-425: The Beiyang warlords during the Northern Expedition between 1926 and 1928, and overthrew the factions and the government, effectively unifying the country in 1928 . The Kuomintang proceeded to install its nationalist government in Nanjing ; China's political order became a one-party state , and the Kuomintang government subsequently received international recognition as the legitimate government of China. Under

12972-455: The Boxer Rebellion, he successfully obtained numerous loans to expand his Beiyang Army into the most powerful force in China. He created a 2,000-strong police force to keep order in Tianjin, the first of its kind in Chinese history, as a result of the Boxer Protocol forbidding any troops to be staged close to Tianjin. Yuan was also involved in the transfer of railway control from Sheng Xuanhuai , leading railways and their construction to become

13160-411: The Boxers and attack the Eight-Nation Alliance forces, joining with other Chinese governors who commanded substantial modernized armies like Zhang Zhidong not participating in the Boxer Rebellion. He and Zhang ignored Cixi's declaration of war against the foreign powers and continued to suppress the Boxers. This clique was known as The Mutual Protection of Southeast China . In addition to not fighting

13348-476: The Chinese people were used to autocratic rule and that he should seek to install himself as a new emperor. Yuan furthermore began participating in old Confucian rites connected to the monarchy. In 1915, Yuan crafted a monarchist movement which symbolically begged him to take to the throne. He would politely and humbly refuse each time until a special national convention of nearly two thousand delegates unanimously endorsed him. Yuan Shikai "reluctantly" accepted and

13536-652: The Eight-Nation Alliance and suppressing the Boxers in Shandong, Yuan and his army (the Right Division) also helped the Eight-Nation Alliance suppress the Boxers after the Alliance captured Peking in August 1900. Yuan Shikai's forces massacred tens of thousands of people in their anti-Boxer campaign in Zhili. Yuan operated out of Baoding during the campaign, which ended in 1902. He also founded

13724-752: The Empress Dowager, and becoming a lasting enemy of the Guangxu Emperor, Yuan left the capital in 1899 for his new appointment as Governor of Shandong . During his three-year tenure the Boxer Rebellion (1899–1901) erupted; Yuan ensured the suppression of Boxers in the province, though his troops took no active part outside Shandong itself. Yuan took the side of the pro-foreign faction in the Imperial Court, along with Prince Qing , Li Hongzhang , and Ronglu . He refused to side with

13912-622: The Fengtian clique and the KMT entered into negotiations. However, the leaders of the KMT were determined to pursue the destruction of the Beijing Government, and in mid-1927, Feng Yuxiang 's Guominjun and Yan Xishan 's Shanxi army swore allegiance to Chiang's KMT government in Nanjing , dealing a substantial blow to the Beiyang government. Following their retreat from Henan, NPA leaders (excluding Sun Chuanfang and Zhang Zongchang) came together on 7 June 1927. The generals agreed to try to seek rapprochement with Nanjing and to endorse

14100-507: The Imperial palaces and with the various barracks of his troops. In a field a couple of hundred yards away is the long pole of a wireless telegraph station, from which he can send the message that any day may set all China ablaze. To-morrow in the East , Douglas Story, pp. 224–226. Yuan Shikai's Han-dominated New Army was primarily responsible for the defence of Beijing, as most of

14288-693: The Iron Gate Society or the Flower Basket Society. The former would dress entirely in white (the color of death in China) and waved fans that they believed would deflect gunfire, while the latter fought with a sword and a magical basket to catch their opponents' bullets. Disappointed with the Republic of China and despairing due to the warlords deprivations, many peasant secret societies adopted millenarian beliefs, and advocated

14476-408: The KMT to stay to the provinces of Hunan, Hubei, Zhejiang, Sichuan, Yunnan, Guizhou, Guangdong and Guangxi, as well as ridding themselves of any foreign influence. The military government was seen as something that could be redeemed from warlordism. There was a push for reform and reconstruction, as well as adopting a new modernity in politics. Below is an extract from Dagongbao in August 1927, after

14664-521: The Manchu Restoration counted as a second Xinhai Revolution and set out to craft a new provisional senate which will draft the election rules for a new parliament. This senate cut the number of seats in the future parliament by nearly half. His opponents disagreed claiming that under Duan's argument, he should resign as the premier's position cannot exist independently from parliament. Sun Yat-sen and his followers moved to Guangzhou to set up

14852-483: The Ministry of Education to implement a system of primary and secondary schools and universities with state-mandated curriculum, modelled after the educational system of Meiji-era Japan. On 27 August 1908, the Qing court promulgated "Principles for a Constitution", which Yuan helped to draft. This document called for a constitutional government with a strong monarchy (modelled after Meiji Japan and Bismarck's Germany), with

15040-565: The Ministry of Military Affairs. In early 1927, the NPA Political Commission, in an effort to make Zhang Zuolin seem more legitimate and popular, declared that a new policy would be taken by Zhang: "Development of the democratic spirit and opposition to oppression by force. Restoration of the national sovereignty and abolition of the "unequal treaties." Improvement of economic conditions and co-operation between capital and labor. Encouragement of popular education. Enforcement of

15228-683: The NPA defeated the Kuomintang in Xuzhou : If [the North] could do what the KMT promulgates and shake off decadence and warlordism, [the KMT defeat in Xuzhou] might be the end of the KMT... Success and failure depend on one's action rather than the others’ failure... However, the military government was never really able to establish its legitimacy well, as Zhang Zuolin lacked the political power to make reforms. Additionally, NPA military failures were detrimental to

15416-687: The NRA ( National Revolutionary Army ) Chiang Kai-Shek began a purge of leftists and communists in what is known as the Shanghai massacre . As a result of the massacre the Wuhan government chose to split from Chiang which resulted in him forming a new nationalist government in Nanjing . Chiang Kai-shek emerged as the protégé of Sun Yat-sen following the Zhongshan Warship Incident . In

15604-505: The NRA. In 1926, he launched the Northern Expedition , which destroyed the troops of the Zhili and Anhui cliques. Fengtian clique leader Zhang Xueliang retreated from Beijing, and on 29 December 1928 accepted the leadership of Chiang's Nationalist government, thus reunifying China and beginning the Nanjing decade . Despite the official end of the era in 1928, several warlords continued to maintain their influence throughout

15792-631: The Nationalist legislators causing the assembly to lose quorum which forced it to adjourn. In 1914, a Constitutional Conference rigged in his favor produced the Constitutional Compact, which gave the presidency sweeping powers. The new legislature, the National Council, had the power to impeach him but Yuan also had the power to dismiss it at whim before any proceedings could take place. Still not satisfied, he reasoned that

15980-647: The Northeast and captured Beijing. The Fengtian clique remained in control of the capital until the Northern Expedition led by Chiang Kai-shek 's National Revolutionary Army forced Zhang out of power in June 1928. The southern provinces of China were notably against the Beiyang government in the north, having resisted the restoration of monarchy by Yuan Shikai and the subsequent government in Peking after his death. Sun Yat-sen along with other southern leaders had formed

16168-649: The Northern Expedition (at Hubei, where they had already reached)", and allow the Fengtian clique to expand towards the south. According to the KMT, Zhang Zuolin would be made the Chair of the Central Executive Committee of the government according to the KMT, while Zhang himself wanted either himself or another Fengtian representative to be made President, with KMT representatives in the positions of Vice President and Premier. Zhang asked

16356-573: The Qing and reunify China. In return, Sun would hand over his presidency and recommend Yuan to be the president of the new republic. Yuan refused to move to Nanjing and insisted on maintaining the capital in Beijing , where his power base was secure. Reacting to Yuan's growing authoritarianism , the southern provinces rebelled in 1913 but were effectively crushed by Beiyang forces. Civil governors were replaced by military ones . In December 1915, Yuan stated his intention to become emperor of China at

16544-642: The Qing dynasty was forced to allow provincial governors to raise their own armies, the Yong Ying , to fight against the Taiping rebels; many of these provincial forces were not disbanded after the Taiping rebellion was over, like Li Hongzhang 's Huai Army . Strong bonds, family ties, and respectful treatment of troops were emphasized. The officers were never rotated, and the soldiers were hand-picked by their commanders, and commanders by their generals, so personal bonds of loyalty formed between local officers and

16732-704: The Russian forces. Chinese forces killed many White Russian soldiers and Soviet soldiers in 1944–1946 when the White Russians of Ili and Soviet Red Army served in the Second East Turkestan Republic Ili national army during the Ili Rebellion . To defend themselves from the attacks of the warlord factions and armies, peasants organized themselves into militant secret societies and village associations which served as self-defense militias as well as vigilante groups. As

16920-649: The South in 1919. Both Xu and Duan denounced the dismissal and promptly declare war on 6 July 1920. On July 14, the two sides clashed in the Zhili–Anhui War . Within a few days, the Anhui clique was defeated and Duan retired from the military. The new parliament was dissolved on August 30. Although Zhang Zuolin 's Fengtian clique played a minor role assisting the Zhili clique in the war, they were allowed to share power in Beijing. Jin Yunpeng , who had ties to both sides,

17108-487: The South's government of any international recognition all the way until the Beiyang government collapsed. China was a founding member of the League of Nations . The assembly was bicameral with a senate that had six-year terms divided into two classes and a house of representatives with three-year terms. The senators were chosen by the provincial assemblies and the representatives were chosen by an electoral college picked by

17296-626: The Yunnan warlord Tang Jiyao helped Sun regain power in 1923. To resolve the problem of being dependent on warlords, Sun accepted Soviet assistance in building a party and military infrastructure of his own, creating the Whampoa Military Academy and the National Revolutionary Army (NRA). After Sun died in 1925, the head of the Whampoa Academy, Chiang Kai-shek , emerged as the military leader of

17484-684: The abdication of the Xuantong Emperor in 1912, which marked the collapse of the Qing monarchy and the end of imperial rule in China. Born to an affluent family in Henan , Yuan began his career in the Huai Army . He was sent to Joseon to head a Qing garrison in Seoul and was appointed imperial resident and supreme adviser to the Korean government after thwarting the Gapsin Coup in 1885. He

17672-655: The armies of Beiyang-affiliated warlords Wu Peifu and Sun Chuanfang, sparking Zhang Zuolin to establish the National Pacification Army (NPA; also known as the Anguojun / Ankuochun ) anti-Kuomintang warlord coalition in November 1926. Following a series of internal struggles within the KMT , Chiang Kai-shek purged the Communists from his National Revolutionary Army in April 1927, and the expedition

17860-562: The armies of the southern provinces rebelled against the Qing, Yuan Shikai was recalled to Beijing to command the Beiyang Army against the rebellion. The Qing became a constitutional monarchy , with Yuan Shikai holding the position of Prime Minister of the Imperial Cabinet . His cabinet was made up primarily of Han Chinese members, as opposed to Manchu who had traditionally comprised the Qing political elite. Fearing he would lose his administrative powers after his Beiyang Army suppressed

18048-525: The army split into various warlord factions competing for power, leading to a period of civil war called the Warlord Era . Nevertheless, the government maintained its legitimacy among the great powers , receiving diplomatic recognition, foreign loans , and access to tax and customs revenue. Its legitimacy was seriously challenged in 1917, by Sun Yat-sen 's Guangzhou -based Kuomintang (KMT) government movement . His successor Chiang Kai-shek defeated

18236-521: The city of Changchun. When importing weapons became impractical, warlord armies either used locally-made copies of Western firearms (including ones in uncommon use such as the Franz Stock Pistol ) or indigenous designs. Because their soldiers were not able to use or take proper care of modern weapons, the warlords often hired foreign mercenaries , who were effective but always open to other offers. Russian émigrés who fled to China after

18424-591: The common uniform of an infantryman to show his concern for his men. Wu Peifu , the "Philosopher General", was a mandarin who passed the Imperial Civil Service exam , billing himself as the protector of Confucian values , usually appearing in photographs with the scholar's brush in his hand (the scholar's brush is a symbol of Confucian culture). Doubters noted, however, that the quality of Wu's calligraphy markedly declined when his secretary died. Wu liked to appear in photos taken in his office with

18612-424: The constitutional government that existed prior to Zhang Xun's coup. Cao bought the presidency in 1923 despite opposition by the KMT, Fengtian, Anhui remnants, some of his lieutenants and the public. In the autumn of 1924 the Zhili appeared to be on the verge of complete victory in the Second Zhili–Fengtian War until Feng Yuxiang betrayed the clique, seized Beijing and imprisoned Cao. Zhili forces were routed from

18800-487: The country by restoring Puyi as emperor . After escaping to the Japanese legation, Li reappointed Duan Qirui as premier and charged him with protecting the republic. Duan led an army that quickly defeated the Manchu Restoration . Li resigned as president and was succeeded by Feng Guozhang. Duan refused to restore parliament due to his unpleasant experiences with it in the past. He argued that his victory over

18988-469: The countryside, gunning down everyone they met and taking everything moveable. The rampage was stopped only when the peasants pulled up the train tracks, which led Nechaev to sack the nearest town. Nechaev suffered a huge defeat at the hands of Chinese, when he and one armoured train under his command were trapped near Suichzhou in 1925. Their Chinese adversaries had pulled up the rail, and took this opportunity to massacre almost all Russian mercenaries on board

19176-577: The coup remains a matter of debate among historians. Tan Sitong reportedly spoke with Yuan several days before the coup, asking Yuan to assist the Emperor against Cixi. Yuan refused a direct answer, but insisted he was loyal to the Emperor. Meanwhile, the Manchu General Ronglu was planning manoeuvres for his army to stage the coup. According to sources, including the diary of Liang Qichao and contemporary Chinese news sources, Yuan Shikai arrived in Tianjin on 20 September 1898 by train. It

19364-401: The critical Zhili–Anhui War in July 1920. After the death of Feng Guozhang in 1919, the Zhili clique was led by Cao Kun . The alliance with the Fengtian was only one of convenience and war broke out in 1922 (the First Zhili–Fengtian War ), with Zhili driving Fengtian forces back to Manchuria . Next, they wanted to bolster their legitimacy and reunify the country by returning Li Yuanhong to

19552-541: The crossing of the Russian-Chinese border in November 1922 and the disarmament, the Chinese authorities of Marshal Zhang Zuolin bought or received for free almost all the weapons of the Russian White Army, which left Vladivostok. In the border city of Kirin, the Chinese received a large number of the rifles, the machine guns, the cartridges and the grenades, the artillery pieces were sent immediately to

19740-549: The death of Yuan Shikai , the de facto dictator of China after the Xinhai Revolution had overthrown the Qing dynasty and established the Republic of China in 1912. Yuan's death on 6 June 1916 created a power vacuum which was filled by military strongmen and widespread violence, chaos, and oppression. The Nationalist Kuomintang (KMT) government of Sun Yat-sen , based in Guangzhou , began to contest Yuan's Beiyang government based in Beijing for recognition as

19928-414: The entire Warlord Era. Yuan Shikai cut back on many government institutions in the beginning of 1914 by suspending parliament, followed by the provincial assemblies. His cabinet soon resigned, effectively making Yuan dictator of China. After Yuan Shikai curtailed many basic freedoms, the country quickly spiraled into chaos and entered a period of warlordism. "Warlordism did not substitute military force for

20116-549: The fate of the legations will depend upon the success of the first assault which will be necessary to take it. The foreign legations are as much in the power of Yuan Shi Kai's troops in 1907 as they were at the mercy of the Chinese rabble in 1900. The ultimate purpose of the equipped and disciplined troops is locked in the breast of the Viceroy of Chihli. Yuan Shi Kai's yamen in Tientsin is connected by telegraph and telephone with

20304-442: The first major power to switch recognition to the Nationalist government in Nanjing on October 1. Japan was the last major power to switch because they detested the anti-Japanese attitude of the KMT. Zhang negotiated with Chiang Kai-shek to end this pretense leading to the dissolution of the Beiyang government, the NPA, and the unification of China under the Nationalist flag on 29 December 1928 . The Japanese had poor relations with

20492-593: The first years was restrained, as no leader wanted to engage in too much serious fighting. War brought the risk of damage to one's own forces. For example, when Wu Peifu defeated the army of Zhang Zuolin, he provided two trains to take his defeated enemies home, knowing that if in the future Zhang were to defeat him, he could count on the same courtesy. Furthermore, warlords did not have the economic or logistical capabilities required to achieve decisive victories, and were generally concerned instead with taking over smaller pieces of territory. The violence increased in intense as

20680-724: The foreign concessions in China, a stance that was to cost him his life when he refused to go to the International Settlement or the French Concession in Shanghai for medical treatment. More typical was Marshal Zhang Zuolin , a "graduate of the University of the Green Forest" (i.e., a bandit), an illiterate who had a forceful, ambitious personality that allowed him to rise up from the leader of

20868-468: The foreign legations in Peking. The Manchu Division moves with the Court and is the pride of the modern army. By his strategic disposition Yuan Shi Kai completely controls all the approaches to the capital, and holds a force which he may utilize either to protect the Court from threatened attack or to crush the Emperor should he himself desire to assume Imperial power. Contrary to treaty stipulations made at

21056-472: The general Zhang Xun forced Li to resign and made a brief attempt to restore the Qing dynasty , which was quashed by Duan's troops. Feng became the acting president, but was forced to step down by Duan in late 1918 and was replaced by Xu Shichang . In mid-1920, the new Zhili clique leaders, Cao Kun and Wu Peifu , defeated Duan in the Zhili–Anhui War in an alliance with Zhang. A power struggle broke out between Cao and Zhang, which ended with Cao's victory in

21244-1295: The general population. In 1921, the North China Daily News reported that in Shaanxi , robbery and violent crimes were prevalent and frightened the farmers. Wu Peifu of the Zhili clique was known for suppressing strikes by railroad workers by terrorizing them with execution. A British diplomat in Sichuan witnessed two mutineers being publicly hacked to death with their hearts and livers hung out; another two being publicly burned to death; while others had slits cut into their bodies into which were inserted burning candles before they were hacked to pieces. Warlords placed great stress on personal loyalty, yet subordinate officers often betrayed their commanders in exchange for bribes known as "silver bullets", and warlords often betrayed allies. Promotion had little to do with competence, and instead warlords attempted to create an interlocking network of familial, institutional, regional, and master-pupil relationships together with membership in sworn brotherhoods and secret societies. Subordinates who betrayed their commanders could suffer harshly. In November 1925, Guo Songling ,

21432-515: The government was extremely corrupt, incompetent, and tyrannical. Most of the revenue was spent on the military forces of whichever faction was currently in power. The short-lived legislatures did have civilian cliques and debates, but were subject to bribery, forced resignations, or dissolution altogether. During the Warlord Era , the government remained very unstable, with seven heads of state, five caretaker administrations, 34 heads of government, 25 cabinets, five parliaments, and four charters within

21620-436: The government. Yuan and Li Hongzhang sent troops into Korea to protect Seoul and Qing's interests, and Japan did the same under the pretext of protecting Japanese trading posts. Tensions boiled over between Japan and China when Japan refused to withdraw its forces and placed a blockade at the 38th parallel north . Li Hongzhang wanted at all costs to avoid a war with Japan and attempted this by asking for international pressure for

21808-502: The head of a new dynasty . The southern provinces rebelled again in the National Protection War ; but this time the situation was far more serious because most Beiyang commanders refused to recognize the monarchy. Yuan renounced his plans for restoring the monarchy to woo back his lieutenants; however, by the time of his death in June 1916, China had fractured politically. The North-South split would persist throughout

21996-456: The initial occupation as Zhang and Wu's troops raped and pillaged the city's inhabitants. Zhang and Wu disagreed on who should succeed Duan. Wu wanted to restore Cao Kun as president but Zhang was vehemently opposed. What followed was a series of weak interim governments. The civil service collapsed due to the pillaging and lack of pay and the ministries existed in name only. There were mass resignations with remaining cabinet ministers pressured by

22184-415: The last province controlled by the Anhui clique. Fighting broke out between the two provinces with Qi quickly gaining ground. Sun Yatsen and Zhang Zuolin pledged to protect Zhejiang, sparking the Second Zhili–Fengtian War . Zhejiang fell and for the next two months Wu was gradually winning against Zhang. In the early morning hours of October 23, General Feng Yuxiang betrayed the Zhili clique by pulling off

22372-569: The late Qing's lack of a unified military force, exacerbated by the rise of provincialism during the revolution, was also a strong factor behind the proliferation of warlords. Apart from administrative and financial obstacles, the late Qing government seemed to have relied on this divided military structure to maintain political control. The rising necessity of military professionalism, with scholars becoming heavily militarized, led to many officers from non-scholarly backgrounds rising to high command and even high office in civil bureaucracy. At this time,

22560-423: The leading general loyal to Marshal Zhang Zuolin —the "Old Marshal" of Manchuria—made a deal with Feng Yuxiang to revolt, which nearly toppled the "Old Marshal", who had to promise his rebel soldiers a pay increase; that, together with signs that the Japanese still supported Zhang, caused them to go back on their loyalty to him. Guo and his wife were both publicly shot and their bodies left to hang for three days in

22748-627: The legitimate government of China. The most powerful cliques were the Zhili clique led by Feng Guozhang , who controlled several northern provinces; the Anhui clique led by Duan Qirui , based in several southeastern provinces; and the Fengtian clique led by Zhang Zuolin , based in Manchuria . The three cliques often engaged in conflict for territory and hegemony. In mid-1917, after Yuan's successor Li Yuanhong attempted to remove Duan as premier,

22936-501: The loyalty of capable senior officers. Shortly before the Treaty of Shimonoseki ended the Sino-Japanese war in 1895, United States of America Secretary of State John W. Foster attempted to convince Yuan to lead a military coup against the Qing dynasty. By 1901, five of China's seven divisional commanders and most other senior military officers in China were his protégés. The Qing court relied heavily on his army due to

23124-435: The military and government caused strong divisions within the Beiyang army. His followers became known as the Anhui clique . His detractors rallied around President Feng and formed the Zhili clique . The Zhili clique favored peaceful negotiations with the south while Duan wanted to conquer it. Duan resigned as premier due to the president's interference but his underlings pressured Feng to restore him. The 1918 elections for

23312-412: The military to stay on. The only functioning parts of the bureaucracy were the postal service, customs revenue service, and the salt administration which was staffed by foreign employees. No legislature was created as it would have been too expensive and difficult to assemble. In July 1926, the Kuomintang launched their Northern Expedition to reunify China and defeat the warlords. They rapidly defeated

23500-517: The military upstaged the civil service . The influence of German and Japanese ideas of military predominance over the nation, coupled with the absence of national unity amongst the various cliques in the officer class, led to the fragmentation of power. The most powerful regional army was the northern-based Beiyang Army under Yuan Shikai , which received the best in training and modern weaponry. The Xinhai Revolution in 1911 brought widespread mutiny across southern China. The revolution began with

23688-520: The modernized Eight Banner divisions were destroyed in the Boxer Rebellion and the new modernized Banner forces were token in nature. The Empress Dowager and the Guangxu Emperor died within a day of each other in November 1908. Sources indicate that the will of the emperor ordered Yuan's execution. Nonetheless, he avoided death. In January 1909, he was relieved of all his posts by the regent, Prince Chun . The public reason for Yuan's resignation

23876-685: The new KMT one-party state in Nanjing. When the Japanese created the separatist Manchukuo in 1932, the new country used Beiyang symbolism. These were followed by Mengjiang , the Provisional Government , and the Reformed Government ; which all used Beiyang symbols. When the high ranking Nationalist Wang Jingwei defected to the Japanese, he was put in charge of the Reorganized Government in 1940. Wang insisted upon adopting Nationalist symbols to create

24064-462: The new parliament were rigged to favor Duan's Anfu Club which took three-fourths of the seats. The rest went to Liang Shiyi 's Communications Clique , Liang Qichao 's Research Clique , or to independents. Because President Feng was simply finishing the five-year term Yuan began in 1913, he was obliged to resign in October. Duan replaced his archrival with Xu Shichang as president, the closest to

24252-403: The north but kept the center. Feng Yuxiang's defection resulted in the defeat of Wu Peifu and the Zhili clique and forced them to withdraw to the south. The victorious Zhang Zuolin unpredictably named Duan Qirui as the new Chief Executive of the nation on 24 November 1924. Duan's new government was grudgingly accepted by the Zhili clique because, without an army of his own, Duan was now considered

24440-478: The numbers. Other notable information on some of the above-mentioned major warlords: The great ideological flexibility of warlords and politicians during this era can be well exemplified in the activities of Bai Lang , an important bandit leader. Even though he initially fought in support of the Qing dynasty with ultraconservative monarchists as well as warlords, Bai Lang later formed an alliance with republicans, declared himself loyal to Sun Yat-sen and formed

24628-412: The old parliament moved to Beijing to constitute a quorum which superficially gave the government an appearance that it operated as it did before the Manchu Restoration in 1917. Li's new administration was more powerless than his first. His cabinet appointments had to be approved by Wu Peifu. Wu's growing power and prestige outshone his mentor and superior officer, Cao Kun, which strained relations between

24816-466: The only formal constitution promulgated until 1947. He neglected his presidential duties and would rather meet with his officers than the cabinet. The vice presidency was again left vacant to entice Zhang Zuolin, Duan Qirui, or Lu Yongxiang but none wanted to associate with Cao's infamy. In September 1924, the Zhili clique general and Jiangsu governor Qi Xieyuan demanded control of Shanghai , which belongs in his province, from Lu Yongxiang's Zhejiang

25004-504: The other elements of government; it merely balanced them differently. This shift in balance came partly from the disintegration of the sanctions and values of China's traditional civil government." During this period, there was a general shift from a state-dominated civil bureaucracy held by a central authority to a military-dominated culture held by many groups, with power shifting from warlord to warlord. A theme identified by C. Martin Wilbur

25192-519: The other. On 18 March 1926, a protest march was held against continued foreign infringement on Chinese sovereignty and a recent incident in Tianjin involving a Japanese warship. Duan dispatched military police to disperse the protesters, and in the resulting melee 47 protesters were killed and over 200 injured, including Li Dazhao, co-founder of the Communist Party. The event came to be known as

25380-431: The parliament and proclaimed a Manchu Restoration . The new government quickly fell to Duan after he returned to Beijing with reinforcements from Tianjin. As another government formed in Beijing, Duan's fundamental disagreements over national issues with the new President Feng Guozhang led to Duan's resignation in 1918. The Zhili clique forged an alliance with the Fengtian clique , led by Zhang Zuolin , and defeated Duan in

25568-566: The peasants ranged from rather simple ones, such as swallowing charms, to much more elaborate practices. For example, elements of the Red Spear Society performed secret ceremonies to confer invulnerability from bullets to channel the power of Qi and went into battle naked with supposedly bulletproof red clay smeared over their bodies. The Mourning Clothes Society would perform three kowtows and weep loudly before each battle. There were also all-female self-defense groups, such as

25756-465: The peasants usually had neither money for guns nor military training, these secret societies relied on martial arts, self-made weapons such as swords and spears, as well as the staunch belief in protective magic. The latter was especially important, as the conviction of invulnerability was "a powerful weapon for bolstering the resolve of people who possessed few alternative resources with which to defend their meager holdings". Magical rituals practiced by

25944-416: The presidency and restoring the National Assembly . They proposed that Xu Shichang and Sun Yat-sen resign their rival presidencies simultaneously in favour of Li. When Sun issued strict stipulations that the Zhili could not stomach, they caused the defection of KMT Gen. Chen Jiongming by recognizing him as governor of Guangdong . With Sun driven out of Guangzhou , the Zhili clique superficially restored

26132-479: The provisional government and permanently dissolve the old parliament. The Provisional Chief Executive had the combined powers of the president and premier, the ability to pick his cabinet freely, and could rule without a legislature. While theoretically very powerful, in reality, Duan was at the mercy of Feng and Zhang. Feng, Zhang, and Duan invited Sun Yat-sen north to discuss national reunification. Sun travelled to Beijing but his liver cancer progressed. Duan created

26320-617: The proximity of its garrison to the capital and their effectiveness. Of the new armies that formed part of the Self-Strengthening Movement , Yuan's was the best trained and most effective. His success opened the way for his rise to the top in both military and political sectors. The Qing Court at the time was divided between progressives under the leadership of the Guangxu Emperor , and conservatives under Empress Dowager Cixi , who had temporarily retreated to

26508-427: The public view of the NPA. The National Pacification Army attempted to make other warlords, and, to some extent, ordinary people, perceive it as a peaceful unifying force, in contrast to the violent, revolutionary unification offered by the Kuomintang. The militarists in the NPA tried to reach a compromise with moderates in the KMT, believing that they could unify the country without bloodshed. From March to August 1927,

26696-465: The railroads caused much economic harm. In 1925, at least 50% of the locomotives being used on the line connecting Nanjing and Shanghai had been destroyed, with the soldiers of one warlord using 300 freight cars as sleeping quarters, all inconveniently parked directly on the rail line. To hinder pursuit, defeated troops tore up the railroads as they retreated; in 1924, damages amounted to 100 million Mexican silver dollars (the main currency used in China at

26884-409: The rebels. After brief fighting, he entered into negotiations with Sun Yat-sen 's revolutionaries and arranged for the abdication of the child emperor Puyi , leading to the fall of the Qing dynasty. In return, Yuan was elected president of the new republican government in 1912 after Sun resigned in his favour. Yuan's desire for dictatorial power brought him into conflict with the National Assembly and

27072-633: The remnants of Xu's troops as they attempted to flee south on the road back to China. Chinese forces slaughtered most of a 350 strong White Russian forces in June 1921 under Colonel Kazagrandi in the Gobi desert, with only two batches of 42 men and 35 men surrendering separately as Chinese were wiping out White Russian remnants following the Soviet Red army defeat of Ungern Sternberg, and other Buryat and White Russian remnants of Ungern-Sternberg's army were massacred by Soviet Red Army and Mongol forces. During

27260-450: The rest to behave better. Despite their constant need for money, the warlords lived in luxury. Marshal Zhang owned the world's biggest pearl, while Gen. Wu owned the world's biggest diamond. Marshal Zhang, the "Old Marshal", lived in a lavish palace in Mukden with his five wives, old Confucian texts and a cellar full of fine French wines , and needed 70 cooks in his kitchen to make enough food for him, his wives and his guests. Gen. Zhang,

27448-414: The restoration of the monarchy, led by the old Ming dynasty . The past was widely romanticized, and many believed that a Ming emperor would bring a "reign of happiness and justice for all". The death of Yuan Shikai split the Beiyang Army into two main factions. The Zhili and Fengtian clique were in alliance with one another, while the Anhui clique formed their own faction. International recognition

27636-460: The revolution, Yuan decided to come to a deal with the revolutionaries, and on 12 February 1912 he deposed the Xuantong Emperor , thus effectively abolishing the Qing dynasty. After the Xinhai Revolution of 1911–1912, the rebels established a republican Provisional Government in Nanjing under President Sun Yat-sen and Vice President Li Yuanhong . Since they only controlled southern China, they had to negotiate with Yuan Shikai to put an end to

27824-617: The rump old parliament in the south. In the 1919 Paris Peace Conference , Duan's ally, Cao Rulin , promised Japan all of Germany's concessions in Shandong . This sparked the May Fourth Movement which seriously weakened the Anhui clique's hold in government. Though the First World War had ended, the army Duan had created to send to the trenches was not disbanded. Instead, it was given to his deputy Xu Shuzheng to invade Outer Mongolia . This soured relations with Zhang Zuolin of Manchuria 's Fengtian clique who considered such

28012-517: The seats and control of both houses to Sun's Nationalist Party (KMT). The second-largest party, the Progressives led by Liang Qichao , generally favored Yuan. Song Jiaoren was expected to become the next premier, but he riled Yuan by promising to pick a cabinet with only KMT ministers. He was assassinated less than two weeks before the assembly convened. An investigation pinned the blame on Premier Zhao Bingjun , which suggested Yuan had played

28200-578: The settlement of the Boxer trouble, the Chinese have been permitted to build a great tower over the Chien Men, or central southern gate, which commands the foreign legations and governs the Forbidden City. In the threatening condition of Chinese affairs it might be assumed that this structure had been undermined by the foreign community, but this has not been done, and if trouble again arise in Peking

28388-429: The size of his penis , which became part of his legend. He was widely believed to be the most well endowed man in China, nicknamed "General Eighty-Six" as his penis when erect was said to measure up to a pile of 86 Mexican silver dollars (25.8 cm or 10.16 in). His harem consisted of Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Russian and two French women. He gave them numbers, as he could not remember their names, and then usually forgot

28576-461: The soldiers were illiterate . In 1926 U.S. Army officer Joseph Stilwell inspected a warlord unit and observed that 20% were less than 4 feet 6 inches (1.37 m) tall, the average age was 14 and most walked barefoot. Stilwell wrote that this "scarecrow company" was worthless as a military unit. A British army visitor commented that, provided they had proper leadership, the men of northern China were "the finest Oriental raw material with

28764-492: The south , were divided between the Yunnan , Guangxi , Guizhou , and Sichuan cliques. Sun Yat-sen created an alternative government based in Guangzhou to oppose the Beiyang warlords, but Lu Rongting 's Guangxi clique rivaled him for control, leading Sun to abandon it in 1918. In 1920, the warlord Chen Jiongming invaded Guangdong and ended Lu's control in the Guangdong–Guangxi War , after which Sun returned. Chen soon turned on Sun over disagreements on strategy, after which

28952-462: The span of twelve years. It was near bankruptcy several times where a mere million dollars could decide the fate of the bureaucracy. Its income came primarily from the customs revenue, foreign loans, and government bonds, as it had difficulty collecting taxes outside the capital even if the surrounding regions were controlled by allied warlords. After the 1920 Zhili–Anhui War , no taxes were remitted to Beijing other than Zhili province. The origins of

29140-413: The summer of 1926, Chiang and the National Revolutionary Army (NRA) began the Northern Expedition with the hopes to reunify China. Wu Peifu and Sun Chuanfang of the Zhili clique were subsequently defeated in central and eastern China. In response to the situation, the Guominjun and Yan Xishan of Shanxi formed an alliance with Chiang to attack the Fengtian clique together. In 1927, Chiang initiated

29328-528: The support of the Japanese army, Marshal Zhang had to raise land taxes by 12% between 1922 and 1928 to pay for his wars. The warlords demanded loans from the banks. The other major revenue source besides taxes, loans and looting was the selling of opium , with the warlords selling the rights to grow and sell opium within their provinces to consortia of gangsters. Despite his ostensible anti-opium stance, Gen. Feng Yuxiang , "the Christian General", took in some $ 20 million per annum from opium sales. Inflation

29516-466: The temperament of a tiger". Writer Lin Yutang called Zhang "the most colorful, legendary, medieval, and unashamed ruler of modern China". Former Emperor Puyi remembered Zhang as "a universally detested monster" whose ugly, bloated face was "tinged with the livid hue induced by heavy opium smoking". A brutal man, Zhang was notorious for his hobby of smashing in the heads of prisoners with his sword, which he called "smashing melons". He loved to boast about

29704-469: The time). Between 1925 and 1927, fighting in eastern and southern China caused non-military railroad traffic to decline by 25%, raising the prices of goods and causing inventory to build up at warehouses. China's disunity during this period resulted in varied political experiments in different regions. Some regions experimented with aspects of democracy, including different mechanisms for election of city and provincial council elections. In Hunan, for example,

29892-480: The total destruction of Feng Yuxiang and joint decision-making in diplomacy between both the Beijing and Nanjing governments. With the continuing advance of the KMT, Zhang was forced to abandon Beijing on June 3, 1928. On the way back to his power-base in Manchuria the next morning, his train was blown up by officers of the Japanese Kwantung Army , killing him, in what is known as the Huanggutun incident . Yan Xishan's troops soon occupied Beijing, effectively dissolving

30080-426: The train. Nechaev managed to survive this incident, but lost a part of his leg during the bitter fighting. In October 1926, Nechaev had 6 good armored trains, representing a significant military force. In 1926 Chinese warlord Sun Chuanfang inflicted bloody death tolls upon the White Russian mercenaries under Nechaev's brigade in the 65th division serving Zhang Zongchang, reducing the Russian numbers from 3,000 to only

30268-400: The troops, unlike Green Standard and Banner forces . The late Qing reforms did not establish a national army; instead, they mobilized regional armies and militias that had neither standardization nor consistency. Officers were loyal to their immediate superiors and formed cliques based upon their place of origins and background. Units were composed of men from the same province. This policy

30456-490: The two. Cao wanted to become president himself but Wu tried to restrain his ambitions. President Li tried to create an "Able Men Cabinet" consisting of experts but he ruined it by arresting Finance Minister Luo Wengan on spurious rumours supplied by the speakers of parliament. The cabinet resigned en-masse and Wu was no longer able to shield Li. Cao Kun's followers controlled the new cabinet and bribed parliament to impeach Li. Next, Cao orchestrated strikes by unpaid police and had

30644-405: The utilities for the presidential manor cut. Li tried to take the presidential seal with him but was intercepted. Cao Kun spent the next few months promoting his presidency by openly offering five thousand dollars to any member of parliament willing to elect him. This created universal condemnation but he was nevertheless elected and was inaugurated on Double Ten Day , 1923 with a new constitution,

30832-422: The vice presidency vacant. This set up an enmity between Cao Kun and Duan. When Feng relinquished the presidency, Duan resigned his premiership. Duan, however, remained the country's most powerful man through his network in the government and military. Convening on 12 August, the new parliament spent much of its time trying to draft a new constitution to replace the 1912 provisional one and engaged in polemics against

31020-481: The victory of the Bolsheviks were widely employed. One of the Russian mercenaries claimed that they went through Chinese troops like a knife through butter during one battle. The most highly paid of the Russian units was led by Gen. Konstantin Nechaev , who fought for Zhang Zongchang , the "Dogmeat General" who ruled Shandong province. Zhang Zongchang had Russian women as concubines. Nechaev and his men were much feared. In 1926 they drove three armoured trains through

31208-400: The war ended, the soldiers became bandits. Warlord armies commonly raped or took many women into sexual slavery . The system of looting was institutionalized, as many warlords lacked the money to pay their troops. Some took to kidnapping, and might send a hostage's severed fingers along with the ransom demand as a way of encouraging prompt payment. Besides bandits, the rank-and-file of

31396-419: The warlord armies tended to be village conscripts . They might take service in one army, get captured, then join the army of their captors before being captured yet again. Warlords usually incorporated their prisoners into their armies; at least 200,000 men who were serving in the army of Gen. Wu were prisoners he had incorporated into his own army. A survey of one warlord garrison in 1924 revealed that 90% of

31584-406: The warlords. His Japanese patrons insisted that he ensure a stable economic climate to facilitate Japanese investment, making him one of the few warlords who sought to pursue economic growth instead of just plundering. Zhang Zongchang , known as the "Dogmeat General" because of his love for the gambling game of that name, was described as having "the physique of an elephant, the brain of a pig and

31772-544: Was "that a great majority of regional militarists were 'static', that is to say that their principal aim was to secure and maintain control of a particular tract of territory." Warlords, in the words of American political scientist Lucian Pye , were "instinctively suspicious, quick to suspect that their interests might be threatened, hard-headed, devoted to the short run and impervious to idealistic abstractions". Warlords usually came from strict military background, and were brutal in their treatment toward both their soldiers and

31960-411: Was a Chinese general and statesman who served as Prime Minister of the Imperial Cabinet , the second provisional president of the Republic of China , head of the Beiyang government from 1912 to 1916 and Emperor of China from 1915 to 1916. A major political figure during the late Qing dynasty , he spearheaded a number of major modernisation programs and reforms and played a decisive role in securing

32148-408: Was another means of paying for their soldiers. Some warlords simply ran the money printing presses, and some resorted to duplicating machines to issue new Chinese dollars. The warlord who ruled Hunan province printed 22 million Chinese dollars on a silver reserve worth only one million Chinese dollars in the course of a single year, while Zhang in Shandong province printed 55 million Chinese dollars on

32336-434: Was based on the presence in Beijing, and every Beiyang clique tried to assert their dominance over the capital to claim legitimacy. While Li Yuanhong replaced Yuan Shikai as the President after his death, the political power was in the hands of Premier Duan Qirui . The government worked closely with the Zhili clique, led by Vice President Feng Guozhang, to maintain stability in the capital. Continuing military influence over

32524-471: Was born in the village of Zhangying ( 張營村 ) to the Yuan Clan which later moved 16 kilometres southeast of Xiangcheng to a hilly area that was easier to defend against bandits. There, the Yuan family had built the fortified village of Yuanzhaicun ( 袁寨村 ). Yuan's family was affluent enough to provide Yuan with a traditional Confucian education. As a young man he enjoyed riding, hunting with dogs, boxing, and entertainment with friends. Though hoping to pursue

32712-458: Was chosen as premier. President Xu called for parliamentary elections in the summer of 1921 but because only 11 provinces took part the elections became invalid and no assembly was convened. Zhang became worried over Wu Peifu's growing military strength and anti-Japanese stance which threatened his backers in Japan. Using a financial crisis as a pretext, he removed Jin and replaced him with Liang Shiyi in December 1921. Wu forced Liang to resign after

32900-487: Was crowned Emperor of China. Former Justice Minister Liang Qichao saw through the ruse and encouraged the Yunnan clique to rebel against Yuan, sparking the National Protection War . The war went badly for Yuan, as he faced almost universal opposition. Most of his lieutenants deserted him. In order to win them back he announced the end of the Empire of China on 22 March 1916. However, his enemies called for his resignation as president. In June, Yuan died of uremia , leaving

33088-405: Was halted. During this period, a conference of the warlord leaders of the NPA was held in June 1927. They resolved that all civil and military power would be concentrated in the person of Zhang Zuolin. Zhang was declared " Generalissimo ", and consequently formed a new military government. This was the only time in the history of the Beiyang regime that it was explicitly a military government. Pan Fu

33276-531: Was made Minister of Justice, and Xia Renhu was made Chief Cabinet Secretary. Zhang published a manifesto for the new government, declaring that he would free China from Bolshevism (the "Reds") and chaos, and that he would reverse the unequal treaties through negotiation. Soon after, Zhang's Foreign Office sent a request to the Japanese Legation in China to request the withdrawal of Japanese troops from Shandong. The civil service began to improve and start functioning again. The navy and army ministries were merged to create

33464-419: Was made Prime Minister and Minister of Communications, Liu Changqing was made Minister of Agriculture and Labor, Yan Zebo was made Minister of Finance, Wang Yingtai was made Minister of Foreign Affairs, Liu Zhe was made Minister of Education, He Fenglin was made Minister of Military Affairs (including the navy), Shen Ruilin was made Minister of the Interior, Zhang Jinghui was made Minister of Industry, Yao Zhen

33652-431: Was meant to reduce dialectal miscommunication, but had the side effect of encouraging regionalist tendencies. Although the post–Taiping Rebellion governors are generally not recognized as the direct predecessors of the warlords, their combined military-civil authority and somewhat greater powers as compared to earlier governors provided a model for Republic-era provincial leaders. The fragmentation of military power due to

33840-399: Was obtained by bribery. Any member of parliament who voted for him was subject to arrest. The 1923 constitution was invalidated and replaced with "Regulations for the Provisional Government". Puyi was expelled from the Forbidden City and several other reforms were made. Zhang, a monarchist, objected to the expulsion and Huang's government. Feng and Zhang agreed to make Duan Qirui the head of

34028-487: Was outraged yet skeptical and asked Li Hongzhang for advice. In a treaty signed between Japan and Qing, the two parties agreed that either would send troops into Korea only after notifying the other. Although the Korean government was stable, it was still a protectorate of Qing. Koreans emerged advocating modernization. Another more radicalised group, the Donghak Society , promoting an early nationalist doctrine based partly upon Confucian principles, rose in rebellion against

34216-483: Was recalled to China shortly before the outbreak of the First Sino-Japanese War , and received command of the first New Army , which paved the way for his rise to power. In 1898, Yuan formed an alliance with Empress Dowager Cixi and helped bring an end to the Guangxu Emperor 's Hundred Days' Reform . Promoted to Viceroy of Zhili in 1902, Yuan quickly expanded the Beiyang Army into the best trained and most effective military force in China. He played an active role in

34404-435: Was reorganized along Leninist democratic centralism , and the alliance with the Chinese Communist Party came to be known as First United Front . The Guangzhou government focused on training new officers through the newly created Whampoa Military Academy . In 1924, the Zhilii clique fell out of power, and Sun travelled to Beiping to negotiate terms of reunification with leaders from Guominjun , Fengtian and Anhui clique. He

34592-404: Was sent down the Yangtze River to Shanghai was taxed 11 different times by various warlords to the sum total of 160% of its value. One warlord imposed a tax of 100% on railroad freight, including food, even though there was a famine in his province. Taxes owed to the central government in Beijing on stamp and salt were usually taken by regional authorities. Despite all of the wealth of Manchuria and

34780-427: Was taken up by left-wing groups to excoriate local militarists. Previously, these militarist leaders were known as a Tuchun ( 督軍 ), or provincial military governor, owing to the system Yuan Shikai introduced after his centralization of power. The origins of the armies and leaders which dominated politics after 1912 lay in the military reforms of the late Qing dynasty . During the Taiping Rebellion (1850–1864),

34968-403: Was that he was returning to his home in the village of Huanshang ( 洹上村 ), the prefecture-level city of Anyang , due to a foot disease. Warlord Era The Warlord Era was the period in the history of the Republic of China between 1916 and 1928, when control of the country was divided between former military cliques of the Beiyang Army and other regional factions. It began after

35156-445: Was the creation of a national army. This was problematic as the southerners reacted suspiciously in fear that they may be deprived of their commands to untrustworthy Beiyang generals. No progress was made on this issue. The second issue was World War I. Premier Duan and Liang Qichao was in favor of entering the war on the Allied side . President Li and Sun Yat-sen were opposed. Duan managed to strongarm parliament into breaking ties with

35344-428: Was unable to secure the terms as he died in March 1925 from illness. Power struggles within the KMT ensued after the death of Sun. The Yunnan–Guangxi War broke out as Tang Jiyao tried to claim party leadership. In the north, there were struggles led by Guominjun against Fengtian-Zhili alliance from November 1925 to April 1926. The defeat of Guominjun ended their reign in Beiping. In April 1927, Commander-in-Chief of

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