The Constitutional Protection Movement
Encyclopedia
The Constitutional Protection Movement was a series of movements led by Sun Yat-sen
to resist the Beiyang Government
between 1917 to 1922, in which Sun re-established another government in Guangzhou
as a result. It was known as the Third Revolution in Kuomintang
textbook. The constitution that it intended to protect refers to the Provisional Constitution of the Republic of China
.
in 1911, the newly established Republic of China
followed to their Provisional Constitution and held the first parliamentary election in February 1913, which then convened the National Assembly of the Republic of China
for the first time on April 8. The Kuomintang
won majority of the seats, and Song Jiaoren
was designated to form the cabinet. He was assassinated by President Yuan Shikai
shortly after however, and the Kuomintang called for the Second Revolution as a result. Yuan Shikai repressed the resistance with force in the end, forcing Sun Yat-sen and other leaders of Kuomintang to flee abroad to Japan
.
Yuan Shikai dissolved the parliament as well as abolishing the Provisional Constitution, eventually trying to become emperor. On December 1915, Cai E
and others launched the National Protection War
against Yuan Shikai and achieved success. Yuan Shikai was forced to abdicate and died on June 6, 1916.
After the death of Yuan Shikai, Li Yuanhong
succeeded him as the president. Duan Qirui
was re-appointed as the new prime minister, and the old parliament was restored. However, Li and Duan had a major disagreement shortly after on whether or not to enter World War I
and declare war on Germany. Duan insisted on joining the war while Li and the parliament were conservative on the matter. Li Yuanhong removed Duan from office and called for national military support. Monarchist general Zhang Xun
took the opportunity and entered Beijing with force. He then dissolved the parliament and attempted to restore Puyi
and the Qing Dynasty
on July 1, which is known as the Manchu Restoration. The restoration was repressed by Duan Qirui five days later, and Li resigned from presidency and was succeeded by Feng Guozhang
. Duan re-established the new government and organized the new senate along with Liang Qichao
.
conducted nine ships to support Sun Yat-sen and arrived Guangzhou on July 22.
On August 25, around 100 original members of parliament convened a conference in Guangzhou and passed the resolution on establishing a military government in Guangzhou to protect the Provisional Constitution. The military government consisted of a generalissimo
and three field marshal
s to exercise the administrative rights of the Republic of China.
On September 1, 91 members in the Guangzhou parliament voted, and 84 of them voted Sun Yat-sen as the generalissimo. Then they selected the leaders of the National Protection War
Tang Jiyao
of the Yunnan clique
and Lu Rongting
of the Old Guangxi clique
as marshals, Wu Tingfang
as the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Tang Shaoyi
as the Minister of Finance (abstained), Cheng Biguang as the Naval Minister, and Hu Hanmin
as the Minister of Communications. Sun Yat-sen inaugurated on September 10, and appointed Li Liejun
as the Chief of Staff, Li Fulin as the Commander of the Guards, Xu Chongzhi as staff officer and Chen Jiongming
as the Commander of the First Army.
and Yunnan
were superior in strength. Hunan
's Tan Yanxi, Zhao Tihuan and Cheng Chieng also supporting the Constitutional Protection Movement. With the support of Lu Rongting
and the Guangxi Army, the Constitutional Protection Army defeated Duan Qirui's assault in November. Duan resigned as the North's prime minister as a result, leaving the post to Feng Guozhang. The north and the south were in a temporary armistice.
Pressed by the Zhili and the Anhui clique
, Feng Guozhang ordered Cao Kun
to make war again on Hunan province in January and defeated the Constitutional Protection Army in April. However, after capturing Hunan, the Zhili commander Wu Peifu
halted the attack on Guangdong and Guangxi province and had a peaceful settlement with the south in July. Xu Shichang also advocated peace negotiation when he was inaugurated as the president in October, which led to the end of the war.
During 1918, Cheng Biguang turned his position toward Guangxi clique, and he was assassinated. The Extraordinary Session of Parliament was controlled by the Guangxi clique, and was restructured on May 1918 in which the generalissimo was replaced by a committee of seven executives consisting of Sun, Tang Shaoyi
, Wu Tingfang
, and Tang Jiyao
on one side and Lu Rongting
, Cen Chunxuan
, and Lin Baoyi on the other. Feeling marginalized, Sun Yat-sen resigned as the generalissimo, and left Guangzhou to Shanghai
. The Guangzhou Military Government is now headed by the Cen Chunxuan
, the chief executive. Wu Tingfang's election as Guangdong's governor was nullified by Lu Rongting.
From February to August 1919, the North and South held negotiations in Shanghai but they were stalled by Duan's sabotage. All MPs who did not attend the southern "extraordinary" session were disqualified and replaced. Parliament was adjourned by Speaker Lin Sen
on January 24, 1920 when a faction of MPs boycotted the assembly, depriving it of a quorum. Cen also suspended the salaries of the MPs. With the southern government effectively under the influence of the Old Guangxi Clique
, the first constitutional protection movement was over.
raised 20 battalions from Fujian
. In 1920, Duan and the northern parliament was ousted after the Zhili-Anhui War
. Lu and Cen used this as a pretext to explore unification with the Zhili Clique. The KMT denounced these secret negotiations and the southern parliament moved to Yunnan in August and in Sichuan
from September to October. Tensions between the Yunnan clique
and the Guangxi clique allowed Chen to invade on August 11 in the Guangdong-Guangxi War
. Chen Jiongming expelled the Guangxi clique from Guangzhou allowing Sun to return by the end of November.
Parliament reconvened in Guangzhou on January 1921. Of the remaining four executives, Tang Jiyao had to remain in Yunnan to protect his province, Wu Tingfang was ailing, and Tang Shaoyi was becoming uninterested. In April 1921, the National Assembly dissolved the military government and elected Sun Yat-sen "extraordinary president". But the new Guangzhou government, without any foreign recognition, was beset with questions of legitimacy as its form existed outside of the constitution it was mandated to protect. For Chen Jiongming, Sun's extraconstitutional election was a power grab. Relations further deteriorated when Chen invited anarchists
, communists, and federalists
to the movement. Chen thought it would swell their numbers but Sun believed they would dilute his message.
to launch the expedition by coordinating the Guangdong, Yunnan, Jiangxi, and Hunan armies. Sun Yat-sen's Northern Expedition ultimately led to the conflict with Chen Jiongming. Chen Jiongming advocated suspension of military conflict, first building up Guangdong as a province of autonomy. Meanwhile, the Zhili clique started a national movement to reunite the Northern and Southern governments by having the two rival presidents resign in favor of a restored Li Yuanhong
. In June, the Northern government's president, Xu Shichang stepped down, and the original National Assembly reconvened in Beijing. To Chen Jiongming, Constitutional Protection's purpose was achieved, but for Sun the new government was a smokescreen to mask Cao Kun's rule. On June 16, the presidential palace was shelled by Chen's forces. Sun Yat-sen, Chiang Kai-shek
, Chen Ce, and the loyalists were safely escorted by ship to Shanghai.
and the alliance with the Communist Party of China
, Sun retook the Guangzhou government for the third time in 1923. However, protecting the provisional government was not its purpose. Instead, building a strong military base centered around the Whampoa Military Academy
and creating a one-party state to defeat the warlords was its goal. This was behind the success of the Northern Expedition that led to the reunification of China.
Historical scholars fault the movements' reliance on legal campaign tactics. The National Assembly's extraordinary session lacked a quorum
. Practically from the beginning the military government was not set up by the procedures of legitimate constitutional law. It completely lacked foreign recognition. It could barely maintain unity within itself, let alone claim to be the legitimate government of all China. Simply by creating a rival government, the integrity of the Republic was damaged and set precedents for rival governments in China down to the current day.
According to recent published studies, the first government in 1917 was funded by the German Empire
which provided two million dollars because Sun had opposed China's entry into the First World War. The money allowed Sun to bribe the northern navy to defect and pay for the salaries of the National Assembly. He also used the money to buy the loyalty of the southwest due to the nearly mercenary nature of the warlords. Relations with the Germans became strained when it was revealed that they had supported the Manchu Restoration and that Sun refused to cooperate in the Hindu-German Conspiracy. With KMT activists being arrested abroad and Germany losing the war, Sun declared war against the Central Powers
in the vain hope of garnering recognition and a seat at the Paris Peace Conference
but the seat went to the Beiyang government
instead. After the assassination of Tang Hualong
by a Nationalist in Canada, several KMT overseas branches were banned. Sun Yat-sen also relied on gambling and selling opium to pay for his government which lacked practical revolutionary spirit.
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...
to resist the Beiyang Government
Beiyang Government
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...
between 1917 to 1922, in which Sun re-established another government in 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...
as a result. It was known as the Third Revolution in 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...
textbook. The constitution that it intended to protect refers to the Provisional Constitution of the Republic of China
Provisional 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...
.
Origin
After the Xinhai RevolutionXinhai 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...
in 1911, the newly established Republic of China
Republic of China
The Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan , is a unitary sovereign state located in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China currently governs the island of Taiwan , which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other minor...
followed to their Provisional Constitution and held the first parliamentary election in February 1913, which then convened the National Assembly of the Republic of China
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...
for the first time on April 8. 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...
won majority of the seats, and 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 designated to form the cabinet. He was assassinated by President 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...
shortly after however, and the Kuomintang called for the Second Revolution as a result. Yuan Shikai repressed the resistance with force in the end, forcing Sun Yat-sen and other leaders of Kuomintang to flee abroad to Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
.
Yuan Shikai dissolved the parliament as well as abolishing the Provisional Constitution, eventually trying to become emperor. On December 1915, Cai E
Cai E
Cai E or Tsai Ao was a Chinese revolutionary leader and warlord. He was born Cai Genyin in Shaoyang, Hunan, and his courtesy name was Songpo...
and others launched 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...
against Yuan Shikai and achieved success. Yuan Shikai was forced to abdicate and died on June 6, 1916.
After the death of Yuan Shikai, 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 :...
succeeded him as the 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...
was re-appointed as the new prime minister, and the old parliament was restored. However, Li and Duan had a major disagreement shortly after on whether or not to enter 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...
and declare war on Germany. Duan insisted on joining the war while Li and the parliament were conservative on the matter. Li Yuanhong removed Duan from office and called for national military support. Monarchist general Zhang Xun
Zhang Xun (Republic of China)
Zhang Xun was a Qing-loyalist general who attempted to restore the abdicated emperor Puyi in 1917. He supported Yuan Shikai during his time as president....
took the opportunity and entered Beijing with force. He then dissolved the parliament and attempted to restore 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...
and 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....
on July 1, which is known as the Manchu Restoration. The restoration was repressed by Duan Qirui five days later, and Li resigned from presidency and was succeeded by Feng Guozhang
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...
. Duan re-established the new government and organized the new senate along with 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...
.
The First Constitutional Protection Movement
On July 1917, Sun Yat-sen arrived in Guangzhou from Shanghai, and telegramed the original members of parliament in Peking to come to Guangzhou and re-established a new government. The Naval Minister Cheng BiguangCheng Biguang
Cheng Biguang was a Chinese Admiral during the warlord era of the Republic of China. When Duan Qirui refused to validate the Constitution Cheng and fellow Admiral Lin Baoyi sailed their fleets down south to join with the 'Constitutional government' of Sun Yat-sen....
conducted nine ships to support Sun Yat-sen and arrived Guangzhou on July 22.
On August 25, around 100 original members of parliament convened a conference in Guangzhou and passed the resolution on establishing a military government in Guangzhou to protect the Provisional Constitution. The military government consisted of a generalissimo
Generalissimo
Generalissimo and Generalissimus are military ranks of the highest degree, superior to Field Marshal and other five-star ranks.-Usage:...
and three field marshal
Field Marshal
Field Marshal is a military rank. Traditionally, it is the highest military rank in an army.-Etymology:The origin of the rank of field marshal dates to the early Middle Ages, originally meaning the keeper of the king's horses , from the time of the early Frankish kings.-Usage and hierarchical...
s to exercise the administrative rights of the Republic of China.
On September 1, 91 members in the Guangzhou parliament voted, and 84 of them voted Sun Yat-sen as the generalissimo. Then they selected the leaders of 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...
Tang Jiyao
Tang Jiyao
Tang Jiyao was a Chinese general and warlord of Yunnan during the Warlord Era of Republican China. Tang Jiyao was military governor of Yunnan from 1913-1927.-Life:...
of 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....
and Lu Rongting
Lu Rongting
Lu Rongting was born in Wuming, Guangxi, China. Originating as a common bandit, Lu became a military commander in Guangxi in the Qing dynasty and suppressed the revolutionary uprising at Zhennan Pass on the Sino-Vietnam border in Pingxiang, Guangxi led by Sun Yat-sen and Huang Xing.However, when...
of 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...
as marshals, Wu Tingfang
Wu Tingfang
Wu Tingfang was a Chinese diplomat and politician who served as Minister of Foreign Affairs and briefly as Acting Premier during the early years of the Republic of China. He is also known under his Cantonese name Ng Choy -Biography:...
as the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Tang Shaoyi
Tang Shaoyi
Táng Shàoyí , was a Chinese diplomat, politician. He was the father-in-law of Wellington Koo and Lee Seng Gee.-Career:...
as the Minister of Finance (abstained), Cheng Biguang as the Naval Minister, and Hu Hanmin
Hu Hanmin
Hu Hanmin was one of the early leaders of Kuomintang , and a very important right-winger in Kuomintang.-Biography:Hu Hanmin was qualified as juren at 21 years of age. He studied in Japan since 1902, and joined Tongmenghui as an editor of 《Minbao》 in 1905. From 1907-1910, he participated in...
as the Minister of Communications. Sun Yat-sen inaugurated on September 10, and appointed Li Liejun
Li Liejun
Li Liejun, 李烈钧, was a Chinese revolutionary leader and general.Li was born in Wuning, Jiangxi, China. He went on to get a higher education and was sent to the Imperial Japanese Army Academy where he joined the Chinese Revolutionary Alliance...
as the Chief of Staff, Li Fulin as the Commander of the Guards, Xu Chongzhi as staff officer and 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....
as the Commander of the First Army.
Constitutional Protection War
After the establishment of the Guangzhou Military Government, the north and the south of China were in confrontation. Among the supporters of Guangzhou Government, the militants in GuangxiGuangxi
Guangxi, formerly romanized Kwangsi, is a province of southern China along its border with Vietnam. In 1958, it became the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China, a region with special privileges created specifically for the Zhuang people.Guangxi's location, in...
and Yunnan
Yunnan
Yunnan is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the far southwest of the country spanning approximately and with a population of 45.7 million . The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders Burma, Laos, and Vietnam.Yunnan is situated in a mountainous area, with...
were superior in strength. Hunan
Hunan
' is a province of South-Central China, located to the south of the middle reaches of the Yangtze River and south of Lake Dongting...
's Tan Yanxi, Zhao Tihuan and Cheng Chieng also supporting the Constitutional Protection Movement. With the support of Lu Rongting
Lu Rongting
Lu Rongting was born in Wuming, Guangxi, China. Originating as a common bandit, Lu became a military commander in Guangxi in the Qing dynasty and suppressed the revolutionary uprising at Zhennan Pass on the Sino-Vietnam border in Pingxiang, Guangxi led by Sun Yat-sen and Huang Xing.However, when...
and the Guangxi Army, the Constitutional Protection Army defeated Duan Qirui's assault in November. Duan resigned as the North's prime minister as a result, leaving the post to Feng Guozhang. The north and the south were in a temporary armistice.
Pressed by the Zhili and 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...
, Feng Guozhang ordered Cao Kun
Cao Kun
|-...
to make war again on Hunan province in January and defeated the Constitutional Protection Army in April. However, after capturing Hunan, the Zhili commander 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 :...
halted the attack on Guangdong and Guangxi province and had a peaceful settlement with the south in July. Xu Shichang also advocated peace negotiation when he was inaugurated as the president in October, which led to the end of the war.
Reorganization of the Military Government
Besides the Navy, Generalissimo Guards and twenty battalions of the Guangdong Army, Sun Yat-sen lacked strong support of military strength in the Guangzhou Military Government, and sometimes his order was only effective in the Generalissmo Government. Sun had thoughts of mutiny at once, hoping to overthrow the Guangxi influence, and had personally ordered the Navy to fire at the Guangxi headquarter at one time. Near the end of 1917, Lu Rongting, Tang Jiyao, Mo Rongxin and others along with Tang Shaoyi convened a conference, and they advocated to recognize Feng Guozhang's presidency and form a united government.During 1918, Cheng Biguang turned his position toward Guangxi clique, and he was assassinated. The Extraordinary Session of Parliament was controlled by the Guangxi clique, and was restructured on May 1918 in which the generalissimo was replaced by a committee of seven executives consisting of Sun, Tang Shaoyi
Tang Shaoyi
Táng Shàoyí , was a Chinese diplomat, politician. He was the father-in-law of Wellington Koo and Lee Seng Gee.-Career:...
, Wu Tingfang
Wu Tingfang
Wu Tingfang was a Chinese diplomat and politician who served as Minister of Foreign Affairs and briefly as Acting Premier during the early years of the Republic of China. He is also known under his Cantonese name Ng Choy -Biography:...
, and Tang Jiyao
Tang Jiyao
Tang Jiyao was a Chinese general and warlord of Yunnan during the Warlord Era of Republican China. Tang Jiyao was military governor of Yunnan from 1913-1927.-Life:...
on one side and Lu Rongting
Lu Rongting
Lu Rongting was born in Wuming, Guangxi, China. Originating as a common bandit, Lu became a military commander in Guangxi in the Qing dynasty and suppressed the revolutionary uprising at Zhennan Pass on the Sino-Vietnam border in Pingxiang, Guangxi led by Sun Yat-sen and Huang Xing.However, when...
, Cen Chunxuan
Cen Chunxuan
Cen Chunxuan was the governor of Shanxi , governor-general of Sichuan , Liangguang , Yungui , and Tibet and chairman of the Governing Committee of the Military Government of China .-Biography:He was under the protection of General Lu Rongting's Old...
, and Lin Baoyi on the other. Feeling marginalized, Sun Yat-sen resigned as the generalissimo, and left Guangzhou to 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...
. The Guangzhou Military Government is now headed by the Cen Chunxuan
Cen Chunxuan
Cen Chunxuan was the governor of Shanxi , governor-general of Sichuan , Liangguang , Yungui , and Tibet and chairman of the Governing Committee of the Military Government of China .-Biography:He was under the protection of General Lu Rongting's Old...
, the chief executive. Wu Tingfang's election as Guangdong's governor was nullified by Lu Rongting.
From February to August 1919, the North and South held negotiations in Shanghai but they were stalled by Duan's sabotage. All MPs who did not attend the southern "extraordinary" session were disqualified and replaced. Parliament was adjourned by Speaker Lin Sen
Lin Sen
Lin Sen , courtesy name Zichao , sobriquet Changren , was President of the National Government of the Republic of China from 1931 until his death.-Early life:...
on January 24, 1920 when a faction of MPs boycotted the assembly, depriving it of a quorum. Cen also suspended the salaries of the MPs. With the southern government effectively under the influence of 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...
, the first constitutional protection movement was over.
The Second Constitutional Protection Movement
In Shanghai, Sun re-organized the Kuomintang to oust the Guangxi junta from the Southern government. The military governor of Guangdong, Chen JiongmingChen 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....
raised 20 battalions from Fujian
Fujian
' , formerly romanised as Fukien or Huguing or Foukien, is a province on the southeast coast of mainland China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, and Guangdong to the south. Taiwan lies to the east, across the Taiwan Strait...
. In 1920, Duan and the northern parliament was ousted after 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:...
. Lu and Cen used this as a pretext to explore unification with the Zhili Clique. The KMT denounced these secret negotiations and the southern parliament moved to Yunnan in August and in 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...
from September to October. Tensions between 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....
and the Guangxi clique allowed Chen to invade on August 11 in the Guangdong-Guangxi War
Guangdong-Guangxi War
The Guangdong–Guangxi War or the First and Second Yue-Gui Wars , occurred between the Chinese Revolutionary Party and the Old Guangxi Clique.-First Yue-Gui War:When Sun Yat-sen, leader of the Chinese Revolutionary Party, attempted to reestablish himself in...
. Chen Jiongming expelled the Guangxi clique from Guangzhou allowing Sun to return by the end of November.
Parliament reconvened in Guangzhou on January 1921. Of the remaining four executives, Tang Jiyao had to remain in Yunnan to protect his province, Wu Tingfang was ailing, and Tang Shaoyi was becoming uninterested. In April 1921, the National Assembly dissolved the military government and elected Sun Yat-sen "extraordinary president". But the new Guangzhou government, without any foreign recognition, was beset with questions of legitimacy as its form existed outside of the constitution it was mandated to protect. For Chen Jiongming, Sun's extraconstitutional election was a power grab. Relations further deteriorated when Chen invited anarchists
Anarchism in China
The predominance in the late 19th century of the Nihilist movement and anarchist communism in Russia, which borders China, was a major source of anarchist influence on radical movements in China....
, communists, and federalists
Chinese federalism
Chinese federalism refers to political theories which argue that China's central government either does or should devolve large amounts of power to local entities....
to the movement. Chen thought it would swell their numbers but Sun believed they would dilute his message.
Chen Jiongming's betrayal
Immediately after his inauguration in May, Sun ordered the Northern Expedition to force the unification of China. In the summer of 1922, Sun Yat-sen personally established the division headquarters in ShaoguanShaoguan
Shaoguan , historically known as Shaokwan and Shao-chow, is a prefecture-level city in the north of Southern China's Guangdong province...
to launch the expedition by coordinating the Guangdong, Yunnan, Jiangxi, and Hunan armies. Sun Yat-sen's Northern Expedition ultimately led to the conflict with Chen Jiongming. Chen Jiongming advocated suspension of military conflict, first building up Guangdong as a province of autonomy. Meanwhile, the Zhili clique started a national movement to reunite the Northern and Southern governments by having the two rival presidents resign in favor of a restored 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 :...
. In June, the Northern government's president, Xu Shichang stepped down, and the original National Assembly reconvened in Beijing. To Chen Jiongming, Constitutional Protection's purpose was achieved, but for Sun the new government was a smokescreen to mask Cao Kun's rule. On June 16, the presidential palace was shelled by Chen's forces. Sun Yat-sen, 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....
, Chen Ce, and the loyalists were safely escorted by ship to Shanghai.
Impact
Sun realized the failure of both movements was based his over reliance on the military forces of others. After the debacle, Sun found that the revolution needed its own military strength. With the help of the Soviet UnionSoviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
and the alliance with the Communist Party of China
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...
, Sun retook the Guangzhou government for the third time in 1923. However, protecting the provisional government was not its purpose. Instead, building a strong military base centered around the Whampoa Military Academy
Whampoa Military Academy
The 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...
and creating a one-party state to defeat the warlords was its goal. This was behind the success of the Northern Expedition that led to the reunification of China.
Historical scholars fault the movements' reliance on legal campaign tactics. The National Assembly's extraordinary session lacked a quorum
Quorum
A quorum is the minimum number of members of a deliberative assembly necessary to conduct the business of that group...
. Practically from the beginning the military government was not set up by the procedures of legitimate constitutional law. It completely lacked foreign recognition. It could barely maintain unity within itself, let alone claim to be the legitimate government of all China. Simply by creating a rival government, the integrity of the Republic was damaged and set precedents for rival governments in China down to the current day.
According to recent published studies, the first government in 1917 was funded by 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...
which provided two million dollars because Sun had opposed China's entry into the First World War. The money allowed Sun to bribe the northern navy to defect and pay for the salaries of the National Assembly. He also used the money to buy the loyalty of the southwest due to the nearly mercenary nature of the warlords. Relations with the Germans became strained when it was revealed that they had supported the Manchu Restoration and that Sun refused to cooperate in the Hindu-German Conspiracy. With KMT activists being arrested abroad and Germany losing the war, Sun declared war against 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 the vain hope of garnering recognition and a seat at the Paris Peace Conference
Paris Peace Conference, 1919
The Paris Peace Conference was the meeting of the Allied victors following the end of World War I to set the peace terms for the defeated Central Powers following the armistices of 1918. It took place in Paris in 1919 and involved diplomats from more than 32 countries and nationalities...
but the seat went to the Beiyang government
Beiyang Government
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...
instead. After the assassination of 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:...
by a Nationalist in Canada, several KMT overseas branches were banned. Sun Yat-sen also relied on gambling and selling opium to pay for his government which lacked practical revolutionary spirit.
See also
- Warlord eraWarlord eraThe 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,...
- 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...
- 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...