Beiyang Government
Encyclopedia
The Beiyang government or warlord
government collectively refers to a series of military regimes that ruled from Beijing
from 1912 to 1928 at Zhongnanhai
. It was internationally recognized as the legitimate Government of the Republic of China
. The name comes from the Beiyang Army
which dominated its politics with the rise of Yuan Shikai
who was a general of the Qing government
. Though Yuan's death fractured the army into competing factions, the government was always under the control of Beiyang generals with a "constitutional" or civilian facade. Whichever faction that controlled Beijing had the aura of legitimacy, diplomatic recognition, access to the customs revenue, and easier application to foreign loans.
Domestically, its legitimacy was challenged by Sun Yat-sen
's Guangzhou
based Kuomintang
(KMT) government in 1917. Sun's successor, Chiang Kai-shek
, led the Northern Expedition in 1926-28, wiped out the Beiyang warlords in Beijing and other warlords in Southern and Northern China, after the unification, international recognition was given to the Nanjing based KMT regime.
as drawn up by the provisional senate on February 1912, the National Assembly
(parliament) elected the president and vice president for five year terms, and appointed the premier who chooses and leads 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 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 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 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 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, the government was extremely corrupt, incompetent, and tyrannical. Most of the revenue was spent on the military forces of whichever faction that 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 was very unstable with seven heads of state, five caretaker administrations, 34 heads of government, 25 cabinets, five parliaments, and four charters within 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 was derived 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 outside of Zhili province.
After the Xinhai Revolution
, the rebels established a republican Provisional Government
in Nanjing
under President Sun Yatsen and Vice President Li Yuanhong
. Since they only controlled southern China, they had to negotiate with the commader of the Beiyang Army, Yuan Shikai, to put an end to the Qing dynasty
. Yuan became provisional president in Beijing where his power base was located. 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.
The 1912-1913 National Assembly elections
gave over half the seats and control of both houses to Sun's Nationalist Party
(KMT). The second largest party were the Progressives
led by Liang Qichao
and were generally favorable to Yuan. Song Jiaoren
was expected to be 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 a part. Yuan had denied that either he or Zhao killed Song but the Nationalists were not convinced. 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 were completely defeated within two months.
Through threats and bribes, parliament elected Yuan a five year term beginning on October 10, 1913. He then expelled 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 can take place. Still not satisfied, he wanted to become emperor. In 1915, he crafted a monarchist movement which 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. He "reluctantly" accepted the crown. 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 March 22, 1916. However, his enemies call for his resignation as president. In June, Yuan died of uremia
, leaving 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 spot 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 Yatsen's Chinese Revolutionary Party
, Liang Qichao's Constitution Research Clique, and Tang Hualong
's Constitution Discussions Clique.
The first order of business 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 Yatsen were opposed. Duan managed to strongarm parliament in to breaking ties with 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 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 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 Yatsen and his followers moved to Guangzhou
to set up 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 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 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 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 the new parliament was 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 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 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 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 a large army bordering his territory as a threat. The Zhili clique demanded the 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 the South in 1919. Both Xu and Duan denounced the dismissal and promptly declare war on July 6, 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.
'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, 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 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 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 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 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 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, 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
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 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 November 2, Huang Fu
was made acting president after Feng Yuxiang's request. He declared Cao Kun's presidency illegal as it 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 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 Yatsen north to discuss national reunification. Sun travelled to Beijing but his liver cancer progressed. Duan created 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 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 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 the initial occupation as Zhang and Wu's troops raped and pillaged the city's inhabitants.
In July 1926, the southerners launched their Northern Expedition. They rapidly defeated the armies of Wu and Sun Chuanfang. In April 1927, Chiang Kaishek purged the Communists
from his National Revolutionary Army
and the expedition was put on halt. With the defeat of the Zhili clique, Zhang Zuolin took control of the Beiyang government personally as its generalissimo under the "Mandate on the Organization of the Military Government". This was the only time it was explicitly a military government
. Zhang declared his government's purpose was to defeat the "Reds" to save China's traditions and culture. The civil service began to improve and start functioning again. The navy and army ministries were merged to create the Ministry of Military Affairs.
The Guominjun and Shanxi
governor Yan Xishan
linked up with the Nationalists against Beijing. By June 1928, Zhang decided to abandon Beijing and was assassinated by the Japanese in the Huanggutun Incident
. Yan Xishan's troops occupied the city leading to the end of the Beiyang government. Beijing was renamed Peiping until the end of the Chinese Civil War
in 1949. Zhang's son, Zhang Xueliang
, 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 the first major power to switch recognition to Nanjing Nationalist government 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 Kaishek to end this pretense leading to the reunification of north and south
on December 29.
had poor relations with the new KMT single-party state
in Nanjing. When the Japanese created the separatist Manchukuo
in 1932, the new puppet state
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 a parallel rival government against the KMT government
in Chongqing
instead of reviving the Beiyang government. Both Wang's government and Chongqing's used near identical symbols and claimed their continuity from Sun Yatsen's rather than Yuan Shikai's regime.
Warlord
A warlord is a person with power who has both military and civil control over a subnational area due to armed forces loyal to the warlord and not to a central authority. The term can also mean one who espouses the ideal that war is necessary, and has the means and authority to engage in war...
government collectively refers to a series of military regimes that ruled from Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
from 1912 to 1928 at Zhongnanhai
Zhongnanhai
Zhongnanhai is an area in central Beijing, China adjacent to the Forbidden City which serves as the central headquarters for the Communist Party of China and the State Council of the People's Republic of China. The term Zhongnanhai is closely linked with the central government and senior Communist...
. It was internationally recognized as the legitimate Government of the Republic of China
Republic of China (1912–1949)
In 1911, after over two thousand years of imperial rule, a republic was established in China and the monarchy overthrown by a group of revolutionaries. The Qing Dynasty, having just experienced a century of instability, suffered from both internal rebellion and foreign imperialism...
. The name comes from the Beiyang Army
Beiyang Army
The Beiyang Army was a powerful, Western-style Chinese military force created by the Qing Dynasty government in the late 19th century. It was the centerpiece of a general reconstruction of China's military system. The Beiyang Army played a major role in Chinese politics for at least three decades...
which dominated its politics with the rise of Yuan Shikai
Yuan Shikai
Yuan Shikai was an important Chinese general and politician famous for his influence during the late Qing Dynasty, his role in the events leading up to the abdication of the last Qing Emperor of China, his autocratic rule as the second President of the Republic of China , and his short-lived...
who was a general of the Qing government
Qing Dynasty
The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....
. Though Yuan's death fractured the army into competing factions, the government was always under the control of Beiyang generals with a "constitutional" or civilian facade. Whichever faction that controlled Beijing had the aura of legitimacy, diplomatic recognition, access to the customs revenue, and easier application to foreign loans.
Domestically, its legitimacy was challenged by Sun Yat-sen
Sun Yat-sen
Sun Yat-sen was a Chinese doctor, revolutionary and political leader. As the foremost pioneer of Nationalist China, Sun is frequently referred to as the "Father of the Nation" , a view agreed upon by both the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China...
's Guangzhou
Guangzhou
Guangzhou , known historically as Canton or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of the Guangdong province in the People's Republic of China. Located in southern China on the Pearl River, about north-northwest of Hong Kong, Guangzhou is a key national transportation hub and trading port...
based Kuomintang
Kuomintang
The Kuomintang of China , sometimes romanized as Guomindang via the Pinyin transcription system or GMD for short, and translated as the Chinese Nationalist Party is a founding and ruling political party of the Republic of China . Its guiding ideology is the Three Principles of the People, espoused...
(KMT) government in 1917. Sun's successor, Chiang Kai-shek
Chiang Kai-shek
Chiang Kai-shek was a political and military leader of 20th century China. He is known as Jiǎng Jièshí or Jiǎng Zhōngzhèng in Mandarin....
, led the Northern Expedition in 1926-28, wiped out the Beiyang warlords in Beijing and other warlords in Southern and Northern China, after the unification, international recognition was given to the Nanjing based KMT regime.
Structure
Under the Provisional Constitution of the Republic of ChinaProvisional Constitution of the Republic of China
After the victory in Xinhai Revolution, the Nanjing Provisional Government of the Republic of China, led by Sun Yat-sen, framed the Provisional Constitution of the Republic of China , which was an outline of basic regulations with the qualities of a formal constitution.On March 11, 1912, it...
as drawn up by the provisional senate on February 1912, the National Assembly
National Assembly of the Republic of China
The National Assembly of the Republic of China refers to several parliamentary bodies that existed in the Republic of China. The National Assembly was originally founded in 1913 as the first legislature in Chinese history, but was disbanded less than a year later as President Yuan Shikai assumed...
(parliament) elected the president and vice president for five year terms, and appointed the premier who chooses and leads the cabinet. The relevant ministers had to countersign
Countersign (legal)
Countersigning means writing a second signature onto a document. For example, a contract or other official document signed by the representative of a company may be countersigned by his supervisor to verify the authority of the representative...
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 the South's Constitutional Protection Movement in 1917. The communications ministry was also responsible for transportation, mail, and the Bank of Communications
Bank of Communications
Bank of Communications Limited , founded in 1908, is one of the largest banks in China.-Before 1949:The Bank of Communications was founded in 1908 and emerged as one of the first few major national and note-issuing banks in the early days of the Republic of China...
and was the base of the influential Communications Clique
Communications Clique
The Communications Clique was a powerful interest group of politicians, bureaucrats, technocrats, businessmen, engineers, and labour unionists in China's Beiyang government . It is also known as the Cantonese Clique because many of its leaders hail from Guangdong...
. 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 a renowned diplomatic corps with figures such as Wellington Koo
Wellington Koo
Koo Vi Kyuin or Ku Wei-chün , often known by the Western name V.K. Wellington Koo, was a prominent diplomat under the Republic of China, representative to the Paris Peace Conference of 1919, Ambassador to France, Great Britain, and the United States; participant in founding the League of Nations...
. 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
German Empire
The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...
concessions
Concessions in China
Concessions in China were a group of concession territories within China that were governed and occupied by foreign powers. They are frequently associated with colonialism. Most had extraterritoriality and were enclaves inside key cities that were treaty ports. Other than other minor...
in Shandong
Shandong Problem
The Shantung Problem refers to the dispute over Article 156 of the Treaty of Versailles in 1919, which dealt with the concession of the Shandong peninsula....
that were seized by Japan
Empire of Japan
The Empire of Japan is the name of the state of Japan that existed from the Meiji Restoration on 3 January 1868 to the enactment of the post-World War II Constitution of...
during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
which greatly boosted the government's reputation. The foreign affairs ministry successfully denied 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
League of Nations
The League of Nations was an intergovernmental organization founded as a result of the Paris Peace Conference that ended the First World War. It was the first permanent international organization whose principal mission was to maintain world peace...
.
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
Electoral college
An electoral college is a set of electors who are selected to elect a candidate to a particular office. Often these represent different organizations or entities, with each organization or entity represented by a particular number of electors or with votes weighted in a particular way...
picked by 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
Great Qing Legal Code
The Great Qing Legal Code or Qing Code was the legal code of Qing dynasty . The code was based on the Ming legal system, which was kept largely intact...
into something akin to German civil law
Law of Germany
The modern German legal system is a system of law which is founded on the principles laid out by the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany, though many of the most important laws as for example most regulations of the civil code were developed prior to the 1949 constitution...
.
In reality, these institutions were undermined by strong personal and factional ties. Overall, the government was extremely corrupt, incompetent, and tyrannical. Most of the revenue was spent on the military forces of whichever faction that 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
Warlord era
The Chinese Warlord Era was the period in the history of the Republic of China, from 1916 to 1928, when the country was divided among military cliques, a division that continued until the fall of the Nationalist government in the mainland China regions of Sichuan, Shanxi, Qinghai, Ningxia,...
, the government was very unstable with seven heads of state, five caretaker administrations, 34 heads of government, 25 cabinets, five parliaments, and four charters within 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 was derived 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
Zhili-Anhui War
The Zhili–Anhui War was a 1920 conflict in the Republic of China's Warlord Era between the Zhili clique and Anhui cliques for control of the Beiyang government.-Prelude:...
, no taxes were remitted to Beijing outside of Zhili province.
Under Yuan
Xinhai Revolution
The Xinhai Revolution or Hsinhai Revolution, also known as Revolution of 1911 or the Chinese Revolution, was a revolution that overthrew China's last imperial dynasty, the Qing , and established the Republic of China...
, the rebels established a republican Provisional Government
Provisional Government of the Republic of China (1912)
The Provisional Government of the Republic of China was a provisional government established during the Xinhai Revolution by the revolutionaries in 1912...
in Nanjing
Nanjing
' is the capital of Jiangsu province in China and has a prominent place in Chinese history and culture, having been the capital of China on several occasions...
under President Sun Yatsen and Vice President Li Yuanhong
Li Yuanhong
Li Yuanhong was a Chinese general and political figure during the Qing dynasty and the republican era. He was twice president of the Republic of China.- Early history :...
. Since they only controlled southern China, they had to negotiate with the commader of the Beiyang Army, Yuan Shikai, to put an end to the Qing dynasty
Qing Dynasty
The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....
. Yuan became provisional president in Beijing where his power base was located. 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.
The 1912-1913 National Assembly elections
Republic of China National Assembly elections, 1912
The Republic of China National Assembly elections, 1912, held in December 1912 to January 1913, were the first elections for the new founded Republic of China Senate and House of Representatives....
gave over half the seats and control of both houses to Sun's Nationalist Party
Kuomintang
The Kuomintang of China , sometimes romanized as Guomindang via the Pinyin transcription system or GMD for short, and translated as the Chinese Nationalist Party is a founding and ruling political party of the Republic of China . Its guiding ideology is the Three Principles of the People, espoused...
(KMT). The second largest party were the Progressives
Progressive Party (China)
- Origins :Chinese constitutionalism was a movement that originated after the First Sino-Japanese War . A young group of intellectuals in China led by Kang Youwei argued that China's defeat was due to its lack of modern institutions and legal framework which the Self-Strengthening Movement had...
led by Liang Qichao
Liang Qichao
Liang Qichao |Styled]] Zhuoru, ; Pseudonym: Rengong) was a Chinese scholar, journalist, philosopher and reformist during the Qing Dynasty , who inspired Chinese scholars with his writings and reform movements...
and were generally favorable to Yuan. Song Jiaoren
Song Jiaoren
Song Jiaoren was a Chinese republican revolutionary, political leader and a founder of the Kuomintang . He was assassinated in 1913 after leading his Kuomintang party to victory in China's first democratic elections...
was expected to be 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
Zhao Bingjun
Zhao Bingjun was the third premier of the Republic of China from 25 September 1912 to 1 May 1913. Zhao was previously a public security official during the Qing dynasty and became minister of the interior during the republic before becoming premier. He was directly implicated in the...
which suggested Yuan had played a part. Yuan had denied that either he or Zhao killed Song but the Nationalists were not convinced. 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 were completely defeated within two months.
Through threats and bribes, parliament elected Yuan a five year term beginning on October 10, 1913. He then expelled 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 can take place. Still not satisfied, he wanted to become emperor. In 1915, he crafted a monarchist movement which 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. He "reluctantly" accepted the crown. Former Justice Minister Liang Qichao saw through the ruse and encouraged the Yunnan clique
Yunnan clique
The Yunnan Clique was one of several mutually hostile cliques or factions that split from the Beiyang Government in the Republic of China's warlord era. It was named for Yunnan Province....
to rebel against Yuan, sparking the National Protection War
National Protection War
The National Protection War , also known as the anti-Monarchy War, was a civil war that took place in China between 1915 and 1916. The cause of this war was Yuan Shikai's proclamation of himself as Emperor. Only three years earlier, the last Chinese dynasty, the Qing Dynasty, had been overthrown...
.
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 March 22, 1916. However, his enemies call for his resignation as president. In June, Yuan died of uremia
Uremia
Uremia or uraemia is a term used to loosely describe the illness accompanying kidney failure , in particular the nitrogenous waste products associated with the failure of this organ....
, leaving a fractured republic in his wake.
The formation of warlordism
Feng Guozhang
Féng Guózhāng, was a key Beiyang Army general and politician in early republican China. He held the office of Vice-President and then President of the Republic of China...
became vice president. Duan Qirui
Duan Qirui
Duan Qirui was a Chinese warlord and politician, commander in the Beiyang Army, and the Provisional Chief Executive of Republic of China from November 24, 1924 to April 20, 1926. He was arguably the most powerful man in China from 1916 to 1920.- Early life :Born in Hefei as Duan Qirui , his...
retained his spot 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 Yatsen's Chinese Revolutionary Party
Chinese Revolutionary Party
The Chinese Revolutionary Party was the short lived renaming of the Kuomintang between 1914 and 1919....
, Liang Qichao's Constitution Research Clique, and Tang Hualong
Tang Hualong
Tang Hualong , was the education minister from 1914 to 1915 and the interior minister in 1917 in the Republic of China.-Biography:...
's Constitution Discussions Clique.
The first order of business 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
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. Premier Duan and Liang Qichao was in favor of entering the war on the Allied side
Triple Entente
The Triple Entente was the name given to the alliance among Britain, France and Russia after the signing of the Anglo-Russian Entente in 1907....
. President Li and Sun Yatsen were opposed. Duan managed to strongarm parliament in to breaking ties with the German Empire
German Empire
The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...
. Li fired Duan when his secret loans from Japan were revealed. Duan denounced his removal as illegal and set up base in Tianjin
Tianjin
' is a metropolis in northern China and one of the five national central cities of the People's Republic of China. It is governed as a direct-controlled municipality, one of four such designations, and is, thus, under direct administration of the central government...
. 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 the country by restoring Puyi
Puyi
Puyi , of the Manchu Aisin Gioro clan, was the last Emperor of China, and the twelfth and final ruler of the Qing Dynasty. He ruled as the Xuantong Emperor from 1908 until his abdication on 12 February 1912. From 1 to 12 July 1917 he was briefly restored to the throne as a nominal emperor by the...
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 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 Yatsen and his followers moved to Guangzhou
Guangzhou
Guangzhou , known historically as Canton or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of the Guangdong province in the People's Republic of China. Located in southern China on the Pearl River, about north-northwest of Hong Kong, Guangzhou is a key national transportation hub and trading port...
to set up a rival government under the Constitutional Protection Movement with the backing of the Yunnan clique and the Old Guangxi clique
Old Guangxi clique
After the founding of the Republic of China, Guangxi served as the base for one of the most powerful warlord cliques of China: the Old Guangxi Clique. Led by Lu Rongting, the clique was able to take control of neighbouring Hunan and Guangdong provinces as well...
. A rump of the old parliament held an extraordinary session.
The Beiyang government declared war on the Central Powers
Central Powers
The Central Powers were one of the two warring factions in World War I , composed of the German Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Bulgaria...
in August and began sending labor battalions
Chinese Labour Corps
The Chinese Labour Corps was a force of workers recruited by the British government in World War I to support the troops by performing support work and manual labor.-History:...
to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and a token force to Siberia
Siberian Intervention
The ', or the Siberian Expedition, of 1918–1922 was the dispatch of troops of the Entente powers to the Russian Maritime Provinces as part of a larger effort by the western powers and Japan to support White Russian forces against the Bolshevik Red Army during the Russian Civil War...
. Duan took out large loans
Nishihara Loans
The ' were a series of loans made by the Japanese government under the administration of Prime Minister Terauchi Masatake to the Anhui clique warlord Duan Qirui from January 1917 to September 1918, in exchange for territorial concessions and rights in northern China.In January 1917, Prime Minister...
from Japan, claiming that he planned to build an army of 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 the military and government caused strong divisions within the Beiyang army. His followers became known as the Anhui clique
Anhui clique
The Anhui clique was one of several mutually hostile cliques or factions that split from the Beiyang Clique in the Republic of China's Warlord era. It was named after Anhui province because several of its generals including its founder, Duan Qirui, was born in Anhui...
. 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
Republic of China National Assembly elections, 1918
The Republic of China National Assembly elections, 1918, held in May to June, were the elections for the second National Assembly of the Republic of China. The bicameral assembly consisted of a senate and a house of representatives...
for the new parliament was rigged to favor Duan's Anfu Club which took three-fourths of the seats. The rest went to Liang Shiyi
Liang Shiyi
Liang Shiyi was premier of China's Beiyang government from 1921 to 1922.-Biography:Liang Shiyi was born in Sanshui, Guangdong in 1869. In the Qing dynasty, he was put in charge of railways, the most profitable ministry of the government. This allowed him to create the influential Communications...
's Communications Clique
Communications Clique
The Communications Clique was a powerful interest group of politicians, bureaucrats, technocrats, businessmen, engineers, and labour unionists in China's Beiyang government . It is also known as the Cantonese Clique because many of its leaders hail from Guangdong...
, Liang Qichao
Liang Qichao
Liang Qichao |Styled]] Zhuoru, ; Pseudonym: Rengong) was a Chinese scholar, journalist, philosopher and reformist during the Qing Dynasty , who inspired Chinese scholars with his writings and reform movements...
'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 a normal transfer of power in this government's history. Duan promised Feng's ally, Cao Kun
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 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 the rump old parliament in the south.
Cao Rulin
Cao Rulin was Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Beiyang Government, and an important member of the pro-Japanese movement in the early 20th century. He was a Shanghai lawyer working in Beijing when he was appointed by the provisional president, Yuan Shikai, to a vacant seat in the National...
, promised Japan all of Germany's concessions in Shandong
Shandong Problem
The Shantung Problem refers to the dispute over Article 156 of the Treaty of Versailles in 1919, which dealt with the concession of the Shandong peninsula....
. This sparked the May Fourth Movement
May Fourth Movement
The May Fourth Movement was an anti-imperialist, cultural, and political movement growing out of student demonstrations in Beijing on May 4, 1919, protesting the Chinese government's weak response to the Treaty of Versailles, especially the Shandong Problem...
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
Xu Shuzheng
Hsu Seu-Cheng or Xu Shuzheng , was a Chinese warlord in Republican China. A subordinate and right-hand man of Duan Qirui, he was a prominent member of the Anhui Clique....
to invade Outer Mongolia
Occupation of Mongolia
The Occupation of Mongolia by the Beiyang Government of the Republic of China began in October 1919 and lasted until early 1921, when Chinese troops in Urga were routed by Baron Ungern's White Russian and Mongolian forces, who, in turn, were defeated by the Red Army and its Mongolian allies by...
. This soured relations with Zhang Zuolin
Zhang Zuolin
Zhang Zuolin was the warlord of Manchuria from 1916 to 1928 . He successfully invaded China proper in October 1924 in the Second Zhili-Fengtian War. He gained control of Peking, including China's internationally recognized government, in April 1926...
of Manchuria
Manchuria
Manchuria is a historical name given to a large geographic region in northeast Asia. Depending on the definition of its extent, Manchuria usually falls entirely within the People's Republic of China, or is sometimes divided between China and Russia. The region is commonly referred to as Northeast...
's Fengtian clique
Fengtian clique
The Fengtian Clique was one of several mutually hostile cliques or factions that split from the Beiyang Clique in the Republic of China's warlord era. It was named for Fengtian Province and led by Zhang Zuolin...
who considered such a large army bordering his territory as a threat. The Zhili clique demanded the more influence in the government but in December Feng Guozhang died leaving the group momentarily leaderless. Cao Kun and Wu Peifu
Wu Peifu
Wu Peifu or Wu P'ei-fu , was a major figure in the struggles between the warlords who dominated Republican China from 1916 to 1927.- Early career :...
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 the South in 1919. Both Xu and Duan denounced the dismissal and promptly declare war on July 6, 1920. On July 14, the two sides clashed in the Zhili-Anhui War
Zhili-Anhui War
The Zhili–Anhui War was a 1920 conflict in the Republic of China's Warlord Era between the Zhili clique and Anhui cliques for control of the Beiyang government.-Prelude:...
. Within a few days, the Anhui clique was defeated and Duan retired from the military. The new parliament was dissolved on August 30.
Ascendancy of the Zhili Clique
Although Zhang ZuolinZhang Zuolin
Zhang Zuolin was the warlord of Manchuria from 1916 to 1928 . He successfully invaded China proper in October 1924 in the Second Zhili-Fengtian War. He gained control of Peking, including China's internationally recognized government, in April 1926...
's Fengtian clique
Fengtian clique
The Fengtian Clique was one of several mutually hostile cliques or factions that split from the Beiyang Clique in the Republic of China's warlord era. It was named for Fengtian Province and led by Zhang Zuolin...
played a minor role assisting the Zhili clique in the war, they were allowed to share power in Beijing. Jin Yunpeng
Jin Yunpeng
Jin Yunpeng was a Chinese General and politician of the Warlord Era of the Republic of China. He served as both Minister of War and then Premier of China several times....
, who had ties to both sides, 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 a month accusing him of being pro-Japanese. He exposed Liang's telegram ordering diplomats to back Japan on the Shandong Problem
Shandong Problem
The Shantung Problem refers to the dispute over Article 156 of the Treaty of Versailles in 1919, which dealt with the concession of the Shandong peninsula....
during the Washington Naval Conference
Washington Naval Conference
The Washington Naval Conference also called the Washington Arms Conference, was a military conference called by President Warren G. Harding and held in Washington from 12 November 1921 to 6 February 1922. Conducted outside the auspices of the League of Nations, it was attended by nine nations...
. 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
First Zhili-Fengtian War
The First Zhili–Fengtian War was a 1922 conflict in the Republic of China's Warlord Era between the Zhili and Fengtian cliques for control of Beijing. The war led to the defeat of the Fengtian clique and the fall of its leader, Zhang Zuolin, from the coalition Zhili-Fengtian government in Beijing...
began with Wu clashed with Zhang's army in Shanhaiguan
Shanhaiguan District
Shanhaiguan District is a district of the city of Qinhuangdao, Hebei province, People's Republic of China, named after the pass of the Great Wall within the district, Shanhai Pass...
and won a major victory forcing Zhang to retreat to Manchuria
Manchuria
Manchuria is a historical name given to a large geographic region in northeast Asia. Depending on the definition of its extent, Manchuria usually falls entirely within the People's Republic of China, or is sometimes divided between China and Russia. The region is commonly referred to as Northeast...
.
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
Chen Jiongming
Chen Jiongming was a revolutionary figure in the early periods of the Republic of China. Chen Jiongming was born in 1878 at Haifeng, Guangdong, China....
to oust Sun from Guangzhou in return for recognition of his control over Guangdong
Guangdong
Guangdong is a province on the South China Sea coast of the People's Republic of China. The province was previously often written with the alternative English name Kwangtung Province...
. Enough members of 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.
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
Double Ten Day
Double Ten Day is the national day of the Republic of China and celebrates the start of the Wuchang Uprising of October 10, 1911, which led to the collapse of the Qing Dynasty in China and establishment of the Republic of China on January 1, 1912...
, 1923 with a new constitution, 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
Lu Yongxiang (warlord)
Lu Yongxiang, 盧永祥 , Anhui clique warlord, military governor of Zhejiang, Zhili, and Jiangsu.Lu Yongxiang was born October 22, 1867, in Jiyang, Shandong, China. Impoverished as a child he joined the Huai Army in 1890...
but none wanted to associate with Cao's infamy.
In September 1924, the Zhili clique general and Jiangsu
Jiangsu
' is a province of the People's Republic of China, located along the east coast of the country. The name comes from jiang, short for the city of Jiangning , and su, for the city of Suzhou. The abbreviation for this province is "苏" , the second character of its name...
governor Qi Xieyuan demanded control of Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
, which belongs in his province, from Lu Yongxiang's Zhejiang
Zhejiang
Zhejiang is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. The word Zhejiang was the old name of the Qiantang River, which passes through Hangzhou, the provincial capital...
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
Second Zhili-Fengtian War
The Second Zhili–Fengtian War of 1924 was a conflict between the Japanese-backed Fengtian clique based in Manchuria, and the more liberal Zhili clique controlling Beijing and backed by Anglo-American business interests...
. 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
Feng Yuxiang
Feng Yuxiang was a warlord and leader in Republican China. He was also known as the Christian General for his zeal to convert his troops and the Betrayal General for his penchant to break with the establishment. In 1911, he was an officer in the ranks of Yuan Shikai's Beiyang Army but joined...
betrayed the Zhili clique by pulling off the Beijing coup
Beijing coup
The Beijing coup refers to the October 1924 coup d'etat by Feng Yuxiang against Chinese President Cao Kun, leader of the Zhili warlord faction. Feng called it the Capital Revolution . The coup occurred at a crucial moment in the Second Zhili–Fengtian War and allowed the pro-Japanese Fengtian...
. 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
Sun Chuanfang
Sun Chuanfang aka the "Nanking Warlord" or leader of the "League of Five Provinces" was a Zhili clique warlord and protege of the "Jade Marshal" Wu Peifu .- Biography :Sun Chuanfang was born in Lichen, Shandong...
held the line against Zhang.
Provisional Executive Government
Huang Fu
Huáng Fú was a general and politician in early republican China. He was born in Hangzhou.-Biography:Huang studied at Zhejiang Military College and Qiushi Academy , later went to Japan. Huang came in contact with the Revolutionary Alliance while studying in a military academy in the Empire of Japan...
was made acting president after Feng Yuxiang's request. He declared Cao Kun's presidency illegal as it 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
Puyi
Puyi , of the Manchu Aisin Gioro clan, was the last Emperor of China, and the twelfth and final ruler of the Qing Dynasty. He ruled as the Xuantong Emperor from 1908 until his abdication on 12 February 1912. From 1 to 12 July 1917 he was briefly restored to the throne as a nominal emperor by the...
was expelled from the Forbidden City
Forbidden City
The Forbidden City was the Chinese imperial palace from the Ming Dynasty to the end of the Qing Dynasty. It is located in the middle of Beijing, China, and now houses the Palace Museum...
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 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 Yatsen north to discuss national reunification. Sun travelled to Beijing but his liver cancer progressed. Duan created 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
Guo Songling
Guo Songling was a Manchurian general who led a three month rebellion against his commanding warlord - Zhang Zuolin....
defected to Feng Yuxiang's Guominjun
Guominjun
The Guominjun , a.k.a Nationalist Army, KMC, or Northwest Army , refers to the military faction founded by Feng Yuxiang, Hu Jingyi and Sun Yue during China's Warlord Era. It was formed when Feng betrayed the Zhili clique during the Second Zhili-Fengtian War with the Fengtian clique in 1924...
in November, sparking the Anti-Fengtian War
Anti-Fengtian War
The Anti-Fengtian War was the last major civil war within the Republic of China's northern Beiyang government prior to the Northern Expedition. It lasted from November 1925 to April 1926 and was waged by the Guominjun against the Fengtian clique and their Zhili clique allies...
. 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
March 18 Massacre
The March 18 Massacre was a massacre that took place on March 18, 1926 amid an anti-warlord and anti-imperialist demonstration in Beijing, Republic of China...
of protesters in Beijing led to Duan's downfall. Under heavy pressure, Duan held 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 the initial occupation as Zhang and Wu's troops raped and pillaged the city's inhabitants.
Demise
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 the military to stay on. The only functioning parts of the bureaucracy were the postal service, customs revinue 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 southerners launched their Northern Expedition. They rapidly defeated the armies of Wu and Sun Chuanfang. In April 1927, Chiang Kaishek purged the Communists
Communist Party of China
The Communist Party of China , also known as the Chinese Communist Party , is the founding and ruling political party of the People's Republic of China...
from his National Revolutionary Army
National Revolutionary Army
The National Revolutionary Army , pre-1928 sometimes shortened to 革命軍 or Revolutionary Army and between 1928-1947 as 國軍 or National Army was the Military Arm of the Kuomintang from 1925 until 1947, as well as the national army of the Republic of China during the KMT's period of party rule...
and the expedition was put on halt. With the defeat of the Zhili clique, Zhang Zuolin took control of the Beiyang government personally as its generalissimo under the "Mandate on the Organization of the Military Government". This was the only time it was explicitly a military government
Military government
Military government can refer to conditions under either Military occupation, or Military dictatorship.-Military Government:Military government is the form of administration by which an occupying power exercises governmental authority over occupied territory.The Hague Conventions of 1907 specify...
. Zhang declared his government's purpose was to defeat the "Reds" to save China's traditions and culture. The civil service began to improve and start functioning again. The navy and army ministries were merged to create the Ministry of Military Affairs.
Shanxi clique
The Shanxi clique was one of several military factions that split off from the Beiyang Army during China's warlord era.Though a close associate of Duan Qirui, Shanxi's military governor, Yan Xishan, did not join Duan's Anhui clique. He kept his province neutral from the various civil wars the...
governor Yan Xishan
Yan Xishan
Yan Xishan, was a Chinese warlord who served in the government of the Republic of China. Yan effectively controlled the province of Shanxi from the 1911 Xinhai Revolution to the 1949 Communist victory in the Chinese Civil War...
linked up with the Nationalists against Beijing. By June 1928, Zhang decided to abandon Beijing and was assassinated by the Japanese in the Huanggutun Incident
Huanggutun Incident
Huanggutun Incident was an assassination plotted by the Japanese Kwantung Army that targeted Fengtian warlord Zhang Zuolin. It took place on June 4, 1928 at Huanggutun rail station near Shenyang in which Zhang's train was destroyed by an explosion...
. Yan Xishan's troops occupied the city leading to the end of the Beiyang government. Beijing was renamed Peiping until the end of the Chinese Civil War
Chinese Civil War
The Chinese Civil War was a civil war fought between the Kuomintang , the governing party of the Republic of China, and the Communist Party of China , for the control of China which eventually led to China's division into two Chinas, Republic of China and People's Republic of...
in 1949. Zhang's son, Zhang Xueliang
Zhang Xueliang
Zhang Xueliang or Chang Hsüeh-liang , occasionally called Peter Hsueh Liang Chang in English, nicknamed the Young Marshal , was the effective ruler of Manchuria and much of North China after the assassination of his father, Zhang Zuolin, by the Japanese on 4 June 1928...
, retained a government in exile
Government in exile
A government in exile is a political group that claims to be a country's legitimate government, but for various reasons is unable to exercise its legal power, and instead resides in a foreign country. Governments in exile usually operate under the assumption that they will one day return to their...
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 the first major power to switch recognition to Nanjing Nationalist government 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 Kaishek to end this pretense leading to the reunification of north and south
Chinese reunification (1928)
Chinese reunification , better known in Chinese history as the Northeast Flag Replacement , is a historical term that refers to Zhang Xueliang's announcement on December 29, 1928 on replacing all banners of the Beiyang Government in Manchuria to the flag of the Nationalist Government, thus...
on December 29.
Japanese attempts at revival
The JapaneseEmpire of Japan
The Empire of Japan is the name of the state of Japan that existed from the Meiji Restoration on 3 January 1868 to the enactment of the post-World War II Constitution of...
had poor relations with the new KMT single-party state
Single-party state
A single-party state, one-party system or single-party system is a type of party system government in which a single political party forms the government and no other parties are permitted to run candidates for election...
in Nanjing. When the Japanese created the separatist Manchukuo
Manchukuo
Manchukuo or Manshū-koku was a puppet state in Manchuria and eastern Inner Mongolia, governed under a form of constitutional monarchy. The region was the historical homeland of the Manchus, who founded the Qing Empire in China...
in 1932, the new puppet state
Puppet state
A puppet state is a nominal sovereign of a state who is de facto controlled by a foreign power. The term refers to a government controlled by the government of another country like a puppeteer controls the strings of a marionette...
used Beiyang symbolism. These were followed by Mengjiang
Mengjiang
Mengjiang , also known in English as Mongol Border Land, was an autonomous area in Inner Mongolia, operating under nominal Chinese sovereignty and Japanese control. It consisted of the then-Chinese provinces of Chahar and Suiyuan, corresponding to the central part of modern Inner Mongolia...
, the Provisional Government, and the Reformed Government; which all used Beiyang symbols. When the high ranking Nationalist Wang Jingwei
Wang Jingwei
Wang Jingwei , alternate name Wang Zhaoming, was a Chinese politician. He was initially known as a member of the left wing of the Kuomintang , but later became increasingly anti-Communist after his efforts to collaborate with the CCP ended in political failure...
defected to the Japanese, he was put in charge of the Reorganized Government in 1940. Wang insisted upon adopting Nationalist symbols to create a parallel rival government against the KMT government
Free China (Second Sino-Japanese War)
The term Free China, in the context of the Second Sino-Japanese War, refers to those areas of China not under the control of the Imperial Japanese Army or any of its puppet governments, such as Manchukuo, the Mengjiang government in Suiyuan and Chahar, or the Provisional Government of the Republic...
in Chongqing
Chongqing
Chongqing is a major city in Southwest China and one of the five national central cities of China. Administratively, it is one of the PRC's four direct-controlled municipalities , and the only such municipality in inland China.The municipality was created on 14 March 1997, succeeding the...
instead of reviving the Beiyang government. Both Wang's government and Chongqing's used near identical symbols and claimed their continuity from Sun Yatsen's rather than Yuan Shikai's regime.
See also
- Beiyang ArmyBeiyang ArmyThe Beiyang Army was a powerful, Western-style Chinese military force created by the Qing Dynasty government in the late 19th century. It was the centerpiece of a general reconstruction of China's military system. The Beiyang Army played a major role in Chinese politics for at least three decades...
- National Revolutionary ArmyNational Revolutionary ArmyThe National Revolutionary Army , pre-1928 sometimes shortened to 革命軍 or Revolutionary Army and between 1928-1947 as 國軍 or National Army was the Military Arm of the Kuomintang from 1925 until 1947, as well as the national army of the Republic of China during the KMT's period of party rule...
- Whampoa Military AcademyWhampoa Military AcademyThe Nationalist Party of China Army Officer Academy , commonly known as the Whampoa Military Academy , was a military academy in the Republic of China that produced many prestigious commanders who fought in many of China's conflicts in the 20th century, notably the Northern Expedition, the Second...
- Chiang Kai-shekChiang Kai-shekChiang Kai-shek was a political and military leader of 20th century China. He is known as Jiǎng Jièshí or Jiǎng Zhōngzhèng in Mandarin....
- History of the Republic of ChinaHistory of the Republic of ChinaThe History of the Republic of China begins after the Qing Dynasty in 1912, when the formation of the Republic of China put an end to over two thousand years of Imperial rule. The Qing Dynasty, also known as the Manchu Dynasty, ruled from 1644 to 1912...
- Politics of the Republic of ChinaPolitics of the Republic of ChinaThe politics of the Republic of China ,takes place in a framework of a semi-presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the President is head of state and the premier is head of government, and of a dominant party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative...
- Military of the Republic of ChinaMilitary of the Republic of ChinaThe Republic of China Armed Forces encompass the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Military Police Force of the Republic of China . It is a military establishment, which accounted for 16.8% of the central budget in the fiscal year of 2003...