The Wuhan Incident was an armed conflict in the People's Republic of China

People's Republic of China

China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...

 between two hostile groups who were fighting for control over the city of Wuhan

Wuhan

Wuhan is the capital of Hubei province, People's Republic of China, and is the most populous city in Central China. It lies at the east of the Jianghan Plain, and the intersection of the middle reaches of the Yangtze and Han rivers...

 in July 1967, at the height of the Cultural Revolution

Cultural Revolution

The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, commonly known as the Cultural Revolution , was a socio-political movement that took place in the People's Republic of China from 1966 through 1976...

. The two opposing forces were the Million Heroes , numbering about 500,000 people, comprised mainly skilled workers, state and local party employees, and were supported by the local PLA

People's Liberation Army

The People's Liberation Army is the unified military organization of all land, sea, strategic missile and air forces of the People's Republic of China. The PLA was established on August 1, 1927 — celebrated annually as "PLA Day" — as the military arm of the Communist Party of China...

, led by its divisional

Division (military)

A division is a large military unit or formation usually consisting of between 10,000 and 20,000 soldiers. In most armies, a division is composed of several regiments or brigades, and in turn several divisions typically make up a corps...

 commander, General Chen Zaidao

Chen Zaidao

Chen Zaidao was a Chinese general in the People's Liberation Army, who commanded the Wuhan Military Region 1954-67. He is most noted for having arrested pro-Mao Xie Fuzhi and Wang Li during the Wuhan Incident in July 1967...

. The Wuhan Workers' General Headquarters , also numbering close to 500,000 people, was mostly comprised workers and students from Red Guard

Red Guards (China)

Red Guards were a mass movement of civilians, mostly students and other young people in the People's Republic of China , who were mobilized by Mao Zedong in 1966 and 1967, during the Cultural Revolution.-Origins:...

 organizations.

Both sides engaged in an extensive propaganda war in an attempt to enlist community support. This included publishing posters and pamphlets and holding street meetings to vilify their opponent.

Background

All over China during the Cultural Revolution

Cultural Revolution

The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, commonly known as the Cultural Revolution , was a socio-political movement that took place in the People's Republic of China from 1966 through 1976...

, provincial and municipal governments were replaced by organisations known as Revolutionary Committees

Revolutionary Committee (PRC)

Revolutionary committees were tripartite bodies established during China's Cultural Revolution to facilitate government by the three mass organisations in China- the people, the PLA and the Party...

 (alliances of cadres, soldiers and student/worker groups) to take charge of governing the country and cleansing it from "counterrevolutionary forces" and "reactionary elements". Various local organs took advantage of the politically chaotic environment to seize power, branding their rival factions with various labels.

Chronology

Following the failed attempt by the Workers' Headquarters faction to seize power in the city, General Chen supplied the Million Heroes with arms and led a siege against the Workers' Headquarters faction. A message from 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...

 in 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...

 ordered General Chen to lift the siege, but the order was ignored.

When the order from Zhou failed to dispel the mutiny, the radical intellectual and Minister of Public Security

Minister of Public Security of the People's Republic of China

The Minister of Public Security of the People's Republic of China is a high level official of the PRC government. The minister is in charge of the Ministry of Public Security of the PRC, which is responsible for law enforcement, public safety and the police force in China...

 Xie Fuzhi

Xie Fuzhi

Xie Fuzhi was a Communist Party of China military commander, political commissar, and national security specialist. He was born in 1909 in Hong'an County, Hubei and died in Beijing in 1972. He was married to Liu Xiangping...

 and Wang Li

Wang Li (politician)

Wang Li was a propagandist and prominent member of the Cultural Revolution Group. Arrested by Chen Zaidao during the Wuhan Incident in July 1967 he was purged for "ultra-leftism" shortly afterwards....

 (both prominent members of the Cultural Revolution Group

Cultural Revolution Group

The Cultural Revolution Group was formed in May 1966 as a replacement organisation to the Central Committee Secretariat and the "Five Man Group", and was initially directly responsible to the Standing Committee of the Politburo...

) were dispatched 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...

 to Wuhan. Xie and Wang arrived on July 16 and immediately ordered General Chen to withdraw support from the Million Heroes and instead extend it to the Workers' Headquarters.

However, Chen again refused, and on 20 July forces belonging to Chen's mutinous PLA division captured and physically assaulted Xie Fuzhi, while simultaneously the Million Heroes captured Wang Li.

In a last attempt to resolve the crisis, Zhou Enlai himself flew to Wuhan, but tanks and other military units under the command of General Chen surrounded the local airstrip and prevented his plane from landing. With the failure of peaceful negotiation, Beijing immediately responded by sending three infantry divisions, several navy gunboats, and an airborne unit to intercept General Chen's forces in Wuhan. Faced with overwhelming firepower, Chen surrendered unconditionally

Unconditional surrender

Unconditional surrender is a surrender without conditions, in which no guarantees are given to the surrendering party. In modern times unconditional surrenders most often include guarantees provided by international law. Announcing that only unconditional surrender is acceptable puts psychological...

, and Wang Li and Xie Fuzhi were released and returned to Beijing on 25 July. It is estimated that about one thousand people were killed in Wuhan during the July 1967 troubles in the city.

General sources

• Meisner, M; Mao's China and After: A History of the People's Republic Since 1949; Free Press (1986)
• Thomas W. Robinson. "The Wuhan Incident: Local Strife and Provincial Rebellion During the Cultural Revolution," The China Quarterly (1971), 47: pp. 413–18.