The Warlord Era was a historical period of the Republic of China that began from 1916 and lasted until the mid-1930s, during which the country was divided and ruled by various military cliques following the death of Yuan Shikai in 1916. Communist revolution broke out in the later part of the warlord period, beginning the Chinese Civil War . The era nominally ended in 1928 at the conclusion of the Northern Expedition with the Northeast Flag Replacement , beginning the " Nanjing decade ". However, "residual warlords" continued to exist into the 1930s under de jure Kuomintang rule, and remained until the end of the Communist victory in 1949.
66-650: Duan Qirui (Chinese: 段祺瑞 ; pinyin: Duàn Qíruì ; Wade–Giles: Tuan Ch'i-jui , pronounced [twân tɕʰǐ.ɻwêɪ] ) (March 6, 1865 – November 2, 1936) was a Chinese warlord , politician and commander of the Beiyang Army who ruled as the effective dictator of northern China in the late 1910s. He was the Premier of the Republic of China on four occasions between 1913 and 1918, and from 1924 to 1926 he served as acting Chief Executive of
132-603: A Beiyang army division in 1904. In 1906 he was appointed director of the Baoding Staff College, which allowed him to begin recruiting his own clique of loyal junior officers. Yuan arranged for the marriage of his niece, whom he had adopted, to Duan in an effort to consolidate his power and solidify Duan's loyalty. After the outbreak of the Wuchang Uprising of 1911 against the Qing dynasty , Duan commanded
198-697: 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 the March 18 Massacre . The next month Feng Yuxiang again revolted, this time against the Fengtian clique , and deposed Duan, who was forced to flee to Zhang Zuolin for protection. Zhang, tired of his double-dealings, refused to restore him after re-capturing Beijing. Most of
264-672: A conquest of the south. His secret dealings with the Japanese (including the 1918 Sino-Japanese Joint Defence Agreement ) later came to light which, along with the Treaty of Versailles 's decision to transfer Shandong to Japan, paved way for the May Fourth Movement in 1919. His position weakened, Duan was eventually ousted from power after his defeat in the 1920 Zhili–Anhui War . He came out of retirement in 1924 to head Zhang Zuolin and Feng Yuxiang 's Beiyang government , but
330-634: A crackdown of the revolutionaries, arresting and executing several prominent members. On the evening of 10 October, Wu Zhaolin ( 吴兆麟 ) as provisional commander led the revolutionary elements of the New Army staged a mutiny against the Qing garrison in Huguang, capturing the residence of the Viceroy in the process along with securing strategic points in the city after intense fighting. As the Viceroy escaped,
396-440: A monarchist general, Zhang Xun , marched his army into Beijing and announced the restoration of the Qing dynasty on July 1, 1917. Outraged, the other Beiyang generals, led by vice-president Feng Guozhang , mobilized their forces and ended the short-lived restoration attempt. Duan was returned to power while Li Yuanhong, having had enough of Beiyang politics, resigned the presidency. A few days later, on August 14, 1917, China entered
462-543: A parliamentary or general election, indicating Duan's general contempt for constitutional reform. Duan Qirui, in his appointment as Premier, refused to recognize the old 1912 constitution. He was opposed by both President Li Yuanhong and Vice President Feng Guozhang , the second most important Beiyang military commander after Duan himself. On June 15, 1917, the admiral of the Chinese First Fleet, Li Tingxin , along with China's most senior naval commanders issued
528-642: A ploy to further pressure Feng to restore him to the premiership. However, Wu Peifu once again refused to follow his orders to invade the southern provinces. Faced with the threat from Feng Guozhang, Cao Kun and Wu Peifu's coalescing " Zhili clique ," Duan attempted to strengthen his position by forming his own political party called the " Anhui clique ." He also used the funds from the Nishihara Loans to build up his military forces, employing Japanese officers to train his troops. President Feng Guozhang's term expired on October 10, 1918; in an attempt to placate
594-633: A protege of Duan, was appointed premier in August 1920. Other Anhui members secretly mediated between Zhang Zuolin and Feng Yuxiang , an important leader in the Zhili clique, when the latter decided to revolt against his former allies in the Second Zhili–Fengtian War . 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
660-422: A statement supporting the 1912 constitution and threatened to ignore orders from Beijing if the constitution was not restored, declaring their solidarity with the "National Protection Army" in the southwest, which also claimed to support the constitution. Eventually Feng was able to persuade Duan to relent and the dissident government in the south agreed to dissolve itself when Parliament was reconvened. Nevertheless,
726-523: A telegram from Huang Xing, he was unable to decipher it, and found out about the uprising the next morning in the newspaper. After the successful uprising in Wuchang, the revolutionaries sent telegraphs to other provinces and asked them to follow in their suit, upon which eighteen provinces in Southern and Central China agreed to secede from the Qing government by the end of December, 1911. As part of
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#1732771785841792-476: A vegetarian after the March 18 Massacre to repent for his involvements in the massacre. Douchi was his favorite food and was served at every meal. Duan also kept a hen farm at home to provide him with eggs, but kept no roosters, as he claimed that without fertilization, the eggs remained vegetarian. List of warlords and military cliques in the Warlord Era The warlords and military cliques of
858-682: The First World War , as well as military suppression of the Kuomintang. The clique was removed from power after the Zhili–Anhui War and slowly faded from prominence. 段祺瑞 徐樹錚 段芝貴 靳雲鵬 王揖唐 盧永祥 張敬堯 吳光新 倪嗣衝 曲同豊 陳樹藩 鄭士琦 張懷芝 王永泉 Zhili was the name for the area of what is now Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei. The Zhili clique was formed by officers disgruntled with the Anhui clique and rallied around Feng Guozhang . It
924-589: The Hundred Days' Reform in the Qing government. The reforms failed due to the Wuxu Coup by Empress Dowager Cixi . Disillusioned with the monarchy and the Qing government , many revolutionary groups began emerging across the country. In 1905, revolutionary leaders such as Sun Yat-sen and Song Jiaoren met in Tokyo to discuss a merger between different revolutionary groups. A new group known as Tongmenghui
990-873: The Shanhai Pass and had a close relationship with Japan . Its civilian branch was the Communications Clique , under Premier Liang Shiyi . It took power in Beijing after the Second Zhili–Fengtian War but could not stop the Kuomintang during the Northern Expedition , and was driven from Manchuria after the Mukden Incident and merged with the Kuomintang. 張作霖 張學良 郭松齡 張宗昌 張海鵬 張景惠 李景林 湯玉麟 萬福麟 吳俊陞 楊宇霆 劉珍年 Wuchang Uprising The Wuchang Uprising
1056-636: The Tongmenghui ( 同盟會 ) for possible collaboration in the next uprising. The date was originally set for 6 October, on the Mid-Autumn festival . The date was later postponed, due to inadequate preparations. On 9 October, while Sun Wu was supervising the making of explosive devices in the Russian concession in Hankou , one of the devices exploded unexpectedly, inflicting serious injuries on Sun. When he
1122-455: The Zhili–Anhui War and lasted from July 14 to July 18, 1920. Although Duan's army had been equipped and trained by Japan, it succumbed easily to Wu Peifu-led Zhili forces and their allies. His military power shattered, Duan fled to a Japanese settlement in Tianjin and became an apartment landlord. The Anhui clique began to lose its coherency, as some of its members became affiliated with either
1188-515: The Allies against Central powers . However, Duan was opposed again by both the president and vice-president, along with most of the parliament. He was impatient to gain parliament's approval through negotiation and resorted to bullying tactics with organized mobs. In response, president Li Yuanhong in May 1917 dismissed Duan as premier after parliament had voted to ask for his resignation. At this juncture
1254-443: The Anhui clique had already sided with Zhang. Duan Qirui exiled himself to Tianjin and later moved to Shanghai where he died on November 2, 1936. Duan gained a reputation as tough and authoritarian, but without a great love for public office. He was observed to have a "Buddhist inclination", and enjoyed solitude. He delegated great authority to his subordinates, and generally supported their decisions. His chief professional interest
1320-496: The Emperor's abdication while serving as an envoy of the central government in 1911, Duan's promotions were supported by the Kuomintang . Duan rose to power as a close ally of Yuan Shikai , but the two came to increasingly disagree with each other over various issues as time went on. One of the main problems was that Duan began to amass influence over the Beiyang Army as minister of war, thereby undermining Yuan's own control over
1386-629: The First World War on the side of the Allies. Duan declared war on Germany and Austria-Hungary Empire and took back Germany's settlement and Austria Hungary's settlement in Tianjin . By entering the war, Duan hoped for some quid pro quo from China's new allies, such as the cancellation of many of the indemnities and concessions that China had been forced to sign in the past. He also hoped that China could gain international prestige by involving itself in "The Great War". Duan's strategy now
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#17327717858411452-660: The New Army stationed in Wuchang launched an assault on the residence of the Viceroy of Huguang . The viceroy Ruicheng quickly fled from the residence, and the revolutionaries soon took control of the entire city. In 1895, China was decisively defeated by Japan in the First Sino-Japanese War . Intellectuals in China were divided into several factions. Constitutional monarchist reformers led by Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao took control initially, and orchestrated
1518-464: The Qing garrison fell into disarray. Between the night of 10 October and noon of 11th, "more than 500 Manchu soldiers were killed" with "over 300 captured". On 11 October, the mutineers established a military government representing the Hubei province, and persuaded one of the high-ranking officers in the New Army, Li Yuanhong , to be the temporary leader. Li was initially resistant to the idea, but he
1584-568: The Railway Protection League, then ordered troops to open fire on the protesters. Subsequent fighting around Chengdu prompted the diversion of troops to Sichuan from central China , which later became an important factor in the Wuchang Uprising's success. Meanwhile, inaction toward nationalization of railway lines in both Hunan and Hubei were criticized by the local press. Confidence in the Qing government among
1650-784: The Republic of China in Beijing . A graduate of the Tianjin Military Academy , Duan studied military science in Germany and became a prominent artillery commander under Yuan Shikai . Following the Xinhai Revolution in 1911 and the fall of the Qing dynasty , he became minister of war and premier in the Yuan cabinet. He opposed Yuan's restoration of monarchy in China and, upon Yuan's death, continued as premier and took effective control of northern China. His tenure
1716-744: The Warlord Era are generally divided into the Northern factions and the Southern factions. The following is a list of cliques within each faction, and the dominant warlords within that clique. The cliques in the North emerged from the fragmentation of the Beiyang Government/Army. Most of them were generals under Yuan Shikai . After the death of Yuan, they separated and formed cliques in their own sphere of influence. The Anhui clique
1782-505: The Zhili clique or Zhang Zuolin's Fengtian faction. Only Zhejiang remained in the hands of the Anhui clique, although it eventually fell in 1924. Shandong was allowed by the Zhili clique to later be taken over by an Anhui warlord under strict conditions of neutrality. Nevertheless, some Anhui clique politicians remained active in government as the Zhili clique and Fengtian faction began to maneuver against each other. Jin Yunpeng , who had been
1848-524: The downfall of the Qing dynasty with almost three centuries of imperial rule, and the establishment of the Republic of China (ROC), which commemorates the anniversary of the uprising's outbreak on 10 October as the National Day of the Republic of China . The uprising originated from popular unrest about a railway crisis , and the planning process took advantage of the situation. On 10 October 1911,
1914-476: The event of the impending death of China's president, the president would place the names of three men to potentially succeed him after his death. After his death, the box would be opened and one of the men named would be elected. Yuan died on June 6, 1916. When the box was opened, Duan Qirui, Li Yuanhong and Xu Shichang were named. None initially wanted to take the presidency. Duan consulted with other senior military leaders of northern China, calculated that Li
1980-495: The exception of his son-in-law, who was also a patron of weiqi and was not afraid of defeating his father-in-law. Duan had four daughters. After Duan's retirement from politics he became a devoted Buddhist , built a worship hall within his own home and prayed every morning. Many of his former subordinates frequently came to pray with him. On the first and the 15th days of each month (lunar calendar), Duan would go to temples to participate in various Buddhist events. He supposedly became
2046-457: The intermediary between the rebels and Yuan, just as Yuan had done during the Xinhai Revolution . Their friendship never recovered, even after Duan was given the premiership, partially because Yuan had shrewdly stripped that office of its powers. Duan served as premier intermittently from 1913 to 1918, under several governments, as part of a series of shaky coalitions (which often collapsed). Yuan's attempt to establish his own dynasty had destroyed
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2112-576: The loyalist Second Army Corps against the revolutionary army in the Battle of Yangxia and succeeded in taking back Hankou and Hanyang . After Yuan Shikai altered the course of the Xinhai Revolution by forcing the emperor to abdicate, Duan supported him. For his loyalty Yuan appointed him military governor of both Hunan and Hubei provinces. He was further named to Yuan's cabinet as minister of war in 1912, then premier in 1913 while also keeping his position as war minister. Because he had publicly supported
2178-640: The military of Duan's followers and raise a new army which was supposed to be more capable than the Beiyang Army while also being loyal to Yuan himself. As Duan fell sick in late 1914, he was unable to stop the President's plans, and he was thus dismissed as minister of war in May 1915. Having expected to eventually succeed Yuan in the presidency, Duan thus came to oppose Yuan's attempt to declare himself Emperor in late 1915. After several provinces declared independence from Yuan's government, Duan tried to play
2244-400: 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 the other. On March 18, 1926, a protest march was held against continued foreign infringement on Chinese sovereignty and a recent incident in Tianjin involving
2310-415: The new Chief Executive of the nation on November 24, 1924. Duan's new government was grudgingly accepted by the Zhili clique because, without an army of his own, Duan was now considered 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 Qirui called on Sun Yat-sen and the Kuomintang in
2376-551: The oversight of Guangdong , Hunan , Hubei and Sichuan . Faced with ongoing financial struggles, partly due to ongoing indemnity payments from the Boxer Protocol , the Qing court turned to Sheng Xuanhuai in 1910, a "classic bureaucratic capitalist", and adhered to his policy of securing foreign loans through the nationalization of all railway lines. This policy was met with stiff resistance, particularly in Sichuan, and
2442-471: The parliament and the country remained as divided as ever between north and south. Duan and the other Beiyang leaders refused to be dictated to by southern parliamentarians, composed mostly of Sun Yat-sen 's Guangdong-based Kuomintang party, backed by southern armies outside Beiyang control. Duan decided to take action against southern military commanders by reassigning them to other posts and thereby breaking their control. In order to do this he decided to oust
2508-713: The populace continued to deteriorate in response to the escalation of the railway crisis. There were two revolutionary groups in the Wuhan area, the Literary Society ( 文學社 ) and the Progressive Association ( 共進會 ). These groups, led by Jiang Yiwu ( 蔣翊武 ) and Sun Wu ( 孫武 ) respectively, worked closely together as commander and chief of staff of the revolutionary efforts in Wuhan. Beginning in September, 1911, these two groups began negotiating with
2574-508: The pro-Kuomintang military commander of Hunan; however, his cabinet refused to do so. In spite of this, Duan's right-hand man and Cabinet Secretary, Xu Shuzheng , issued orders on his own initiative to launch an attack on Hunan. In Europe World War I had reached a crucial point by 1916–17. Duan saw an opportunity to ingratiate China with the European powers and the US by declaring on the side of
2640-459: The process. In response to the uprising, the Qing government called for the help of Yuan Shikai and the Beiyang Army to march toward Wuchang. For the revolutionaries, Huang Xing would arrive at Wuhan in early November to take over the command. Positions of revolutionary forces in Wuhan were subsequently attacked by the Beiyang Army, and the imperial troops were soon able to recapture Hankou on 1 November and Hanyang on 27 November. The offensive
2706-567: The resistance quickly turned into a movement known as the Sichuan Railway Protection Movement . In response, the Qing court suppressed the unrest by force, contributing to the declining popularity of its government. By August 11 there were massive strikes and rallies in Chengdu . On 7 September the Viceroy of Sichuan , Zhao Erfeng , was asked to "intervene vigorously", and he ordered the arrest of key leaders in
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2772-476: The resolution of the uprising, the Qing government agreed to a general amnesty for political prisoners. Wang Jingwei was among those released. In the same month, Sun returned to China to participate in the provisional presidential election and was elected. Representatives from the seceding provinces met on 1 January 1912, and declared the founding of the Chinese Republic as Sun was sworn in as
2838-461: The rest of the nation exploded in protest in what came to be known as the " May Fourth Movement " on May 4, 1919. Duan's rivals Cao Kun and Wu Peifu of the Zhili clique moved to corner him by organizing an alliance of military leaders, including Zhang Zuolin , who opposed Duan. They also engineered the dismissal of Duan's key subordinate Xu Shuzheng on July 4, 1919. In retribution, Duan forced the new president to dismiss both Cao and Wu even though there
2904-574: The right to station troops in Shandong province as well as the right to build and run two new Shandong railroads. There would be a high political price to pay when these negotiations came to light later on, but in the meantime Duan got the money for his army. This later became part of the reason for the Shandong Problem . After Feng Guozhang had restored him as premier, Duan Qirui quickly began preparations to mobilize troops for conquest of
2970-467: The soldiers. Realizing his growing power, Duan became more independent and gradually challenged the President over appointments and reforms in the military. As both had volatile tempers, their quarrels became ever more heated, and Yuan eventually started to counter Duan's rise. Using Duan and the Beiyang Army's failure to suppress the Bai Lang Rebellion as reason, he initiated reforms to purge
3036-489: The south to restart negotiations towards national 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 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 March 12, 1925, and
3102-459: The south, he agreed not to seek re-election provided Duan also vacate the office of premier on the same day. Duan's position was also weakening as rumours of his secret dealings with the Japanese began to surface. When the Nishihara Loans were exposed, along with the secret treaty between the Allies and Japan to transfer Shandong to the Japanese, at the Versailles peace conference , Beijing and
3168-519: The south. The south responded by forming another rival government against the north and organizing the Constitutional Protection Movement . Duan dispatched two former subordinates of Feng Guozhang to the south to conquer Hunan, the linchpin of central China; one of these commanders was Wu Peifu . Wu supported Feng's preference for peaceful reconciliation with the south and refused to fight. Embarrassed by this fiasco, Duan
3234-498: The unity of China, and many provinces had achieved de facto independence from Beijing as early as 1915. In 1916, when Yuan Shikai was on his deathbed, he called several of the most important political and military figures in his government, including Duan, to hear his last political testament. Yuan was only able to say two words: "the Constitution", which no one was able to interpret. Yuan's 1914 constitution stipulated that, in
3300-689: Was again deposed after Zhang's victory over Feng in the Anti-Fengtian War . Duan subsequently retired to Tianjin before settling in Shanghai, where he died in 1936. Born in Hefei as Duan Qirui ( Chinese : 段啓瑞 ), his courtesy name was Zhiquan ( Chinese : 芝泉 ). His grandfather was Duan Pei ( Chinese : 段佩 ), an officer in Li Hongzhang 's privately raised Huai Army (Huai Jun, Chinese : 淮軍 ). His father died early and he
3366-420: Was aligned to Western powers. The clique took power after the Zhili–Anhui War but lost after the Second Zhili–Fengtian War . It was largely wiped out during the Northern Expedition . 馮國璋 曹錕 吳佩孚 孫傳芳 陸建章 李純 王占元 陳光遠 王承斌 彭壽莘 寇英傑 齊燮元 Fengtian is the former name of Liaoning province, and was the political center of Manchuria . The Fengtian clique controlled most of Manchuria up to
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#17327717858413432-531: Was an armed rebellion against the ruling Qing dynasty that took place in Wuchang (now Wuchang District of Wuhan ) in the Chinese province of Hubei on 10 October 1911, beginning the Xinhai Revolution that successfully overthrew China's last imperial dynasty. It was led by elements of the New Army , influenced by revolutionary ideas from Tongmenghui . The uprising and the eventual revolution directly led to
3498-420: Was eventually convinced by the mutineers after they approached him. The newly established military government were able to confirm that foreign powers would not intervene in the uprising, and they went on to raise the "iron blood 18-star flag" while signaling for the other provinces to follow their suit. On 12 October, the revolutionaries marched toward the rest of the province, capturing Hankou and Hanyang in
3564-535: Was extensive opposition across China to return to imperial monarchy, and as a show of force, Duan Qirui ordered a Caudron Type D aircraft, piloted by Pan Shizhong (潘世忠) and bombardier Du Yuyuan (杜裕源) from Nanyuan airbase to drop three bombs over the Forbidden City, causing the death of an eunuch, but otherwise minor damage. This is the first recorded instance of aerial bombardment by the early-Republican era Chinese Air Force The conflict came to be known as
3630-597: Was first named as a commissioner to the Beiyang Armory ( 北洋军械局 ) and then an instructor at Weihai military academy. Soon he was able to gain the sponsorship of Yuan Shikai , who named him an artillery commander in the New Army . Duan first saw action in the Boxer Rebellion , where he served Yuan in Shandong province and distinguished himself in combat against the Boxers. Yuan then gave him command over
3696-524: Was forced to resign a second time as premier in November 1917. Nevertheless, Duan still exercised enormous influence in Beijing due to the various military commanders who were still loyal to him. Feng Guozhang was forced to reappoint him to the cabinet as Minister of War, and once again Duan dispatched troops to the south. He also ordered Zhang Zuolin , military ruler of Manchuria, to send troops to Beijing as
3762-448: Was formed after this meeting. After the Boxer Rebellion , many Western powers saw railway investments as part of the consolidation in their spheres of influence over China. Railway constructions took place across Shandong , Yangtze Valley , Kunming and Manchuria . Provincial governments, with permission from the Qing court, also began to construct their own railways. The Canton-Hankou Railway and Sichuan-Hankou Railway were under
3828-484: Was halted after the capture of these two positions, as Yuan Shikai began to secretly negotiate with the revolutionaries. The Wuchang Uprising took many revolutionary leaders by surprise; Huang Xing and Song Jiaoren were unable to reach Wuchang in time. Sun Yat-sen was traveling in the United States speaking to overseas Chinese to appeal for financial support when the uprising took place. Although Sun received
3894-401: Was hospitalized, the hospital staff discovered his identity and alerted the Qing authorities. With their identities revealed, the revolutionaries in the New Army stationed in Wuchang were facing imminent arrest by the Qing authorities. The decision was made by Jiang Yiwu of the Literary Society to immediately launch the uprising, but the plot was leaked to the Viceroy of Huguang, and he ordered
3960-457: Was marked by political infighting as well as conflict with southern parliamentarians under the leadership of Sun Yat-sen . In 1917, Duan took part in suppressing another attempt to restore the monarchy , and spearheaded China's involvement in the First World War on the side of the Allies. He also negotiated a series of loans with Japan , with which he built up the Anhui clique and prepared for
4026-424: Was named so because many of its most influential members were from Anhui , including founder Duan Qirui . It had an affiliated political party, the Anfu club, and a financial wing, the New Communications clique , under Deputy Foreign Minister Cao Rulin . The clique had close ties to Japan, granting concessions in exchange for funding and military training, and advocated war against the German Empire as part of
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#17327717858414092-425: Was no possible way to actually remove them from their posts. He also renamed his army the "National Pacification Army" and mobilized them for war with the Zhili clique and its supporters. Aisin Gioro Puyi was restored to the Emperor's throne at the Forbidden City by the warlord and Qing loyalist Zhang Xun in July 1917, and ordering his army to keep their queues in loyal service to the Qing emperor. However, there
4158-414: Was raised by his maternal grandmother. In 1885 Duan Qirui entered Tianjin Military Academy ( 天津武備學堂 ), specializing in artillery, and graduated at the top of his class. After graduation, he was sent to Lüshun to oversee the construction of artillery fortifications and came to the attention of Li Hongzhang , who sent him to study military science in Germany for two years. After returning to China he
4224-412: Was the training of soldiers. In government, he favored a cabinet system, in which decisions were made among a small group of powerful men, rather than either the one-man dictatorship favored by Yuan Shikai or the open, consultative form of government proposed by Sun Yat-sen . Duan was also well known as a player and patron of weiqi (Go). He usually won because his opponents feared defeating him, with
4290-473: Was the weakest and least popular of the three and then successfully pressured him to take the presidency, possibly under the rationale that a weak, unpopular president would be easier to manipulate. Duan served under Li as premier, but dominated him—and the rest of the government—and ruled for a time as the effective dictator of northern China, challenged mostly by semi-independent warlords. Neither Duan nor Li ever attempted to submit Li's appointment as president to
4356-467: Was to negotiate financial loans with Japan, in exchange for concessions, to fund a military buildup for the conquest of the south. The political cover for this army was the entry of China into the First World War. With the poor state of the government's credit and European wartime expenses making both Western and domestic financing impossible, he secretly negotiated the first of the Nishihara Loans with Japan on September 29, 1917. In exchange he offered Japan
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