Liu Wenhui
Encyclopedia
Liu Wenhui was one of the warlord
s of Sichuan
province during China's Warlord era
. Liu who rose to prominence in Sichuan in the 1920s and 1930s, came from a peasant family. At the beginning of his career, he was aligned with the Kuomintang
(KMT), commanding the Sichuan-Xikang Defence Force from 1927 to 1929. The western part of Sichuan province was then known as Xikang
. Bordering Tibet
, the region had a mixed population of Tibetans and Han Chinese.
was unstable as was the province he governed. Sichuan was in the hands of Liu and four other warlords: Liu Xiang
, Yang Sen, Deng Xihou
, and Tian Songyao
. No one warlord had enough power to take on all the others at once, so many small battles occurred, pitting one warlord against another. Large conflicts seldom developed, plotting and skirmishing characterized the Sichuanese political scene, and ephemeral coalitions and counter coalitions emerged and vanished with equal rapidity.
In May 1930 his province was invaded by the army of Tibet
. With the province locked in internal struggles, no reinforcements were sent to support the Sichuan troops stationed in Xikang. As a result, the Tibetan army captured, without encountering much resistance, Garze
and Xinlong (Zhanhua). When a negotiated ceasefire failed, Tibet expanded the war attempting to capture parts of southern Qinghai
province. In March 1932 their force invaded Qinghai but was defeated by the Qinghai warlord Ma Bufang
in July, routing the Tibetan army and driving it back to Xikang. The Qinghai army captured counties that had fallen into the hands of the Tibetan army since 1919. The victory on the part of the Qinghai army threatened the supply lines to the Tibetan forces in Garze and Xinlong. As a result, this part of the Tibetan army was forced to withdraw. In 1932 Liu in cooperation with the Qinghai army, sent out a brigade, to attack the Tibetan troops in Garze and Xinlong, eventually occupying them, Dege and other counties east of the Jinshajiang River.
Brigade commander Ma Xiao
was a Muslim in Liu Wenhui's army.
In 1932 in the Sino-Tibetan War
Liu drove the Tibetans back to the Yangtze River and even threatened to attack Chamdo
. Liu Wenhui and Ma Bufang defeated the Tibetan forces. They signed ceasefires with them.
Liu Wenhui had a rivalry with his nephew, General Liu Xiang
. Finally Liu was ousted from Chengdu by Liu Xiang in 1935, when Liu Xiang sided with smaller warlords against Liu. A family-brokered peace was arranged which mollified Liu with control of the familiar neighbouring Xikang province, a sparsely populated but opium-rich territory on the periphery of Han China. Liu set up headquarters in the city of Ya'an
and set about the highest priorities of a warlord: self-preservation and self-enrichment. Self-enrichment was relatively secure through the illicit but uncontrollable opium trade; survival entailed maintaining troops but using them as little as possible. In this, the territory of Xikang province was advantageous to Liu, since its marginal position effectively insulated him from rival warlords, and from military engagements ordered by the central government.
During the GMD pursuit of the communist forces during the Long March
, this conflict between the two leaders came to a head. Chiang repeatedly ordered Liu to bring his troops against the fleeing communists, but Liu made excuses, while secretly allowing safe passage for the Red Army in a non-aggression pact consistent with the first priority of a warlord: preserving one's troops and one's power. Thus the engagements around Xiakou in 1934 did not involve Liu's 24th Route Army, but the 21st army of GMD troops garrisoned just across the Sichuan border in Mingshan
.
From 1939 as Governor of Xikang Province Liu tried to establish the infrastructure needed to support the remote province. Its transport was primitive and it had no industry to speak of. Large projects such as the hydroelectric plant built in 1944 promised to bring the area into the modern world. Liu also promoted education as a way to improve Xikang’s situation.
Liu walked the tightrope of allegiance throughout the 1940s. He made sure that his forces saw as little action as possible, while at the same time he was careful not to arouse the full wrath of Chiang Kai-shek, and thereby continued to reap the benefits of wearing the Nationalist mantle.
As Governor of Xikang Province Liu switched sides from his half-hearted alignment with the Kuomingtang to siding with the Communists in 1949. He was rewarded with a bureaucratic post in the new communist government in Beijing. For the rest of his life, the former warlord served in various capacities in the Communist party, including as the minister of Forestry Ministry. Although Xikang ceased to exist in 1956 as part of the land reform, Liu’s measures gave the area a solid basis for development. The hydroelectric plant he constructed in 1944 is still in operation. Kangding
, once the provincial capital, is now a thriving town. In his last days, against governmental ban and relatives' objection, Liu convinced his relatives to go to Tiananmen Square
to pay his respect to Zhou Enlai
when the Chinese premier died.
1918 - 1920Commanding Officer 29th Regiment, 8th Division, Sichuan Army
1920 - 1921Commanding Officer Independent Brigade, 8th Division, Sichuan Army
1921 - 1923Commanding Officer Mixed Brigade, Sichuan Army
1923 - 1925General Officer Commanding 9th Division, Sichuan Army
1923 - 1925General Officer Commanding Chengdu Garrison
1925 Deputy Head of Military Affairs Sichuan Province
1926 General Officer Commanding 4th Division, Sichuan Army
1926 - 1932General Officer Commanding 24th Army
1926 - 1928General Officer Commanding 4th Detachment, 24th Army
1928 General Officer Commanding 1st Division, 24th Army
1928 - 1929General Officer Commanding Sichuan-Xikang Defence Force
1928 - 1935Chairman of the Government of Sichuan Province
1932 General Officer Commanding Sichuan-Xikang Border Defence Headquarters
1935 - 1946General Officer Commanding 24th Army
1937 - 1938Commander in Chief 5th Army Corps
1939 - 1949Chairman of Xikang Provincial Government
1939 - 1945General Officer Commanding Xikang Security Headquarters
1944 - 1945General Officer Commanding 22nd Army
1945 - 1946Deputy General Officer Commanding Sichuan-Xikang Pacification Headquarters
1946 - 1949General Officer Commanding Xikang Province Army Area
1946 - 1949General Officer Commanding 24th Division
1949 Revolts against the Nationalist Government
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...
s of Sichuan
Sichuan
' , known formerly in the West by its postal map spellings of Szechwan or Szechuan is a province in Southwest China with its capital in Chengdu...
province during China's 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,...
. Liu who rose to prominence in Sichuan in the 1920s and 1930s, came from a peasant family. At the beginning of his career, he was aligned with the 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), commanding the Sichuan-Xikang Defence Force from 1927 to 1929. The western part of Sichuan province was then known as Xikang
Xikang
Xikang or Sikang , is a defunct province of the Republic of China , comprising most of the Kham region of traditional Tibet, where Khampas, a subgroup of the Tibetan ethnicity, live. The area is also home to a small minority of Mongol ethnicity...
. Bordering Tibet
Tibet
Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
, the region had a mixed population of Tibetans and Han Chinese.
Biography
Liu was then made Chairman of the Government of Sichuan Province from 1929, but his relationship with Chiang Kai-ShekChiang 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....
was unstable as was the province he governed. Sichuan was in the hands of Liu and four other warlords: Liu Xiang
Liu Xiang (warlord)
Liu Xiang or Liu Hsiang, 劉湘 was one of the warlords controlling Sichuan province during the Warlord era of 20th century China....
, Yang Sen, Deng Xihou
Deng Xihou
Deng Xihou was a Chinese general and politician.-Biography:Deng was born 1889, Yingshan, Sichuan, China. In 1906 he was admitted to the Sichuan Military School, and in 1909 graduated, and entered the Nanjing Army School. After the Xinhai Revolution, he discontinued his studies and returned to...
, and Tian Songyao
Tian Songyao
Tian Songyao, Tin Chung-yao, 田颂尧 （1888 - 1975）warlord of the Sichuan clique and later Kuomintang general.Tian Songyao was born on 1888 in Jianyang, Sichuan. Tian joined the Sichuan Army and rose to command a Cavalry Regiment, of the 2nd Division, of its 1st Army. He also was the garrison...
. No one warlord had enough power to take on all the others at once, so many small battles occurred, pitting one warlord against another. Large conflicts seldom developed, plotting and skirmishing characterized the Sichuanese political scene, and ephemeral coalitions and counter coalitions emerged and vanished with equal rapidity.
In May 1930 his province was invaded by the army of Tibet
Tibet
Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
. With the province locked in internal struggles, no reinforcements were sent to support the Sichuan troops stationed in Xikang. As a result, the Tibetan army captured, without encountering much resistance, Garze
Garzê
Garzê may refer to:*Garzê Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, in Sichuan, China*Garzê Town, the main town in the prefecture*Garzê County, in Sichuan, China...
and Xinlong (Zhanhua). When a negotiated ceasefire failed, Tibet expanded the war attempting to capture parts of southern Qinghai
Qinghai
Qinghai ; Oirat Mongolian: ; ; Salar:) is a province of the People's Republic of China, named after Qinghai Lake...
province. In March 1932 their force invaded Qinghai but was defeated by the Qinghai warlord Ma Bufang
Ma Bufang
Ma Bufang was a prominent Muslim Ma clique warlord in China during the Republic of China era, ruling the northwestern province of Qinghai. His rank was Lieutenant-general...
in July, routing the Tibetan army and driving it back to Xikang. The Qinghai army captured counties that had fallen into the hands of the Tibetan army since 1919. The victory on the part of the Qinghai army threatened the supply lines to the Tibetan forces in Garze and Xinlong. As a result, this part of the Tibetan army was forced to withdraw. In 1932 Liu in cooperation with the Qinghai army, sent out a brigade, to attack the Tibetan troops in Garze and Xinlong, eventually occupying them, Dege and other counties east of the Jinshajiang River.
Brigade commander Ma Xiao
Ma Xiao
Ma Xiao was a Chinese muslim brigade commander in Liu Wenhui's army. He fought against the Tibetan army in the Sino-Tibetan War.-References:...
was a Muslim in Liu Wenhui's army.
In 1932 in the Sino-Tibetan War
Sino-Tibetan War
The Sino–Tibetan War occurred in 1930–1932 when the Tibetan army under the 13th Dalai Lama invaded Xikang and Yushu in Qinghai in a dispute over monasteries. The Ma clique warlord Ma Bufang secretly sent a telegram to the Sichuan warlord Liu Wenhui, and the leader of the Republic of China, Chiang...
Liu drove the Tibetans back to the Yangtze River and even threatened to attack Chamdo
Chamdo
Qamdo , or Chamdo, officially organised as Chengguan of Qamdo County , population in 1999 about 86,280, is a major town in the historical region of Kham in the eastern Tibet Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China. The capital of Qamdo County and Qamdo Prefecture, it is Tibet's third...
. Liu Wenhui and Ma Bufang defeated the Tibetan forces. They signed ceasefires with them.
Liu Wenhui had a rivalry with his nephew, General Liu Xiang
Liu Xiang (warlord)
Liu Xiang or Liu Hsiang, 劉湘 was one of the warlords controlling Sichuan province during the Warlord era of 20th century China....
. Finally Liu was ousted from Chengdu by Liu Xiang in 1935, when Liu Xiang sided with smaller warlords against Liu. A family-brokered peace was arranged which mollified Liu with control of the familiar neighbouring Xikang province, a sparsely populated but opium-rich territory on the periphery of Han China. Liu set up headquarters in the city of Ya'an
Ya'an
Ya'an is a prefecture-level city in the western part of Sichuan province of Southwest China, located just below the Tibetan Plateau.-History:...
and set about the highest priorities of a warlord: self-preservation and self-enrichment. Self-enrichment was relatively secure through the illicit but uncontrollable opium trade; survival entailed maintaining troops but using them as little as possible. In this, the territory of Xikang province was advantageous to Liu, since its marginal position effectively insulated him from rival warlords, and from military engagements ordered by the central government.
During the GMD pursuit of the communist forces during the Long March
Long March
The Long March was a massive military retreat undertaken by the Red Army of the Communist Party of China, the forerunner of the People's Liberation Army, to evade the pursuit of the Kuomintang army. There was not one Long March, but a series of marches, as various Communist armies in the south...
, this conflict between the two leaders came to a head. Chiang repeatedly ordered Liu to bring his troops against the fleeing communists, but Liu made excuses, while secretly allowing safe passage for the Red Army in a non-aggression pact consistent with the first priority of a warlord: preserving one's troops and one's power. Thus the engagements around Xiakou in 1934 did not involve Liu's 24th Route Army, but the 21st army of GMD troops garrisoned just across the Sichuan border in Mingshan
Mingshan
Mingshan may refer to the following locations in China:*Mingshan County , county in Sichuan*Mingshan District , district of Benxi, Liaoning*Mingshan, Luobei County , town in Heilongjiang*Mingshan Subdistrict...
.
From 1939 as Governor of Xikang Province Liu tried to establish the infrastructure needed to support the remote province. Its transport was primitive and it had no industry to speak of. Large projects such as the hydroelectric plant built in 1944 promised to bring the area into the modern world. Liu also promoted education as a way to improve Xikang’s situation.
Liu walked the tightrope of allegiance throughout the 1940s. He made sure that his forces saw as little action as possible, while at the same time he was careful not to arouse the full wrath of Chiang Kai-shek, and thereby continued to reap the benefits of wearing the Nationalist mantle.
As Governor of Xikang Province Liu switched sides from his half-hearted alignment with the Kuomingtang to siding with the Communists in 1949. He was rewarded with a bureaucratic post in the new communist government in Beijing. For the rest of his life, the former warlord served in various capacities in the Communist party, including as the minister of Forestry Ministry. Although Xikang ceased to exist in 1956 as part of the land reform, Liu’s measures gave the area a solid basis for development. The hydroelectric plant he constructed in 1944 is still in operation. Kangding
Kangding
Kangding or Dardo is the name of a county in Garzê Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in western Sichuan Province, China. It is administrated at the city of Kangding...
, once the provincial capital, is now a thriving town. In his last days, against governmental ban and relatives' objection, Liu convinced his relatives to go to Tiananmen Square
Tiananmen Square
Tiananmen Square is a large city square in the center of Beijing, China, named after the Tiananmen Gate located to its North, separating it from the Forbidden City. Tiananmen Square is the third largest city square in the world...
to pay his respect to Zhou Enlai
Zhou Enlai
Zhou Enlai was the first Premier of the People's Republic of China, serving from October 1949 until his death in January 1976...
when the Chinese premier died.
Timeline of career
- 1926 General Officer Commanding 24th Division
- 1927 - 1929 General Officer Commanding Sichuan-Xigang Defence Force
- 1929 - 1935 Chairman of the Government of Sichuan Province
- 1935 - 1949 General Officer Commanding 24th Army
- 1938 Director of the Generalissimo's Headquarters Chungking
- 1939 - 1950 Governor of Xikang Province
- 1944 - 1945 General Officer Commanding 22nd Corps
Career
1916 - 1918Staff Officer 2nd Division, Sichuan Army1918 - 1920Commanding Officer 29th Regiment, 8th Division, Sichuan Army
1920 - 1921Commanding Officer Independent Brigade, 8th Division, Sichuan Army
1921 - 1923Commanding Officer Mixed Brigade, Sichuan Army
1923 - 1925General Officer Commanding 9th Division, Sichuan Army
1923 - 1925General Officer Commanding Chengdu Garrison
1925 Deputy Head of Military Affairs Sichuan Province
1926 General Officer Commanding 4th Division, Sichuan Army
1926 - 1932General Officer Commanding 24th Army
1926 - 1928General Officer Commanding 4th Detachment, 24th Army
1928 General Officer Commanding 1st Division, 24th Army
1928 - 1929General Officer Commanding Sichuan-Xikang Defence Force
1928 - 1935Chairman of the Government of Sichuan Province
1932 General Officer Commanding Sichuan-Xikang Border Defence Headquarters
1935 - 1946General Officer Commanding 24th Army
1937 - 1938Commander in Chief 5th Army Corps
1939 - 1949Chairman of Xikang Provincial Government
1939 - 1945General Officer Commanding Xikang Security Headquarters
1944 - 1945General Officer Commanding 22nd Army
1945 - 1946Deputy General Officer Commanding Sichuan-Xikang Pacification Headquarters
1946 - 1949General Officer Commanding Xikang Province Army Area
1946 - 1949General Officer Commanding 24th Division
1949 Revolts against the Nationalist Government