How were the Warlords
finally defeated?
L/O – To examine how the United Front of the KMT
and CCP defeated the Warlords
Sun Yat-sen
孫文
Chiang Kai-shek
蒋介石
How were the Warlords defeated?
• The New Culture and May Fourth Movement was a response to
the failure of republican government and fed upon the anger felt
by many during the Warlord Period.
• After May Fourth, many became attracted by the ideology of
Marxism as a way to restore China. This led to the creation of the
Chinese Communist Party in 1921 and reorganisation of the KMT
in 1919.
• Both joined together to form the ‘United Front’ in 1922.
Together they launched the ‘Northern Expedition’ in 1926.
• By 1928, the Warlords had been defeated despite the fact that
Chiang Kai-shek purged the Communists from the United Front in
1927.
The Appeal of Marxism
• Many intellectuals lost faith in the West
after the Versailles pronouncement on
Shandong. The May Fourth Movement led
to a re-evaluation of Western ideas.
• Many intellects like Chen Duxiu and Li
Dazhao became attracted to Marxism – it
rejected the traditions of the Chinese past
AND the Western domination of the
present.
• The success of the Bolshevik Revolution in
1917, the Leninist theory of imperialism and
the Soviet offer of friendship to China
boosted Marxism’s appeal.
Chen Duxiu
陈独秀
Li Dazhao
李大钊
The Appeal of Marxism
• Firstly, Moscow announced in 1918 that it
would renounce all the old Tsarist special
rights and privileges that Russia held in
China. This unilateral expression of
friendship was well received in China.
• Secondly, Lenin’s theory on imperialism
was persuasive to Chinese radicals – it
blamed the West for China’s ills and
predicted the demise of the West and rise
of Asia.
Vladimir Lenin
Ленин
Karl Marx in 1875
• By 1919, Marxism-Leninism study groups
sprang-up across China. The National
University of Peking became a hotbed of
radicalism.
The Role of Li Dazhao & Chen Duxiu
• By mid-1918, the radical librarian of
the National University of Beijing – Li
Dazhao – had converted to Marxism.
Li Dazhao
李大钊
• He founded the ‘New Tide Society’ in
Autumn 1918, later renaming it ‘The
Marxist Research Society’. He also
wrote for New Youth magazine, editing
a whole issue on Marxism in 1919.
Zhang Guotao
张国焘
• Li’s library office became known as the
‘Red Chamber’. He attracted a number
of young followers – Qu Qiubai, Zhang
Guotao and Mao Zedong all became
future leaders of the CCP.
Qu Qiubai
瞿秋白
Mao Zedong 毛泽东
The Role of Li Dazhao & Chen Duxiu
• Chen Duxiu was the founder of ‘New
Youth’ in 1915. He was also Dean of
the National University of Beijing. Here
he was introduced to Marxism by Li
Dazhao.
• Chen was forced to resign from the
university by conservative staff and
was jailed for 3 months for distributing
inflammatory literature in June 1919.
• Chen moved to Shanghai, creating the
‘Marxist Study Society’ in May 1920
and ‘Socialist Youth Corps’ in August
1920.
Chen Duxiu
陈独秀
The Role of Li Dazhao & Chen Duxiu
• In December 1919, Li Dazhao’s Marxist
Research Society was replaced by the
‘Society for the Study of Socialism’. He
then merged with other groups to form
‘Beijing Society for the Study of Marxist
Theory’ in March 1920.
• By 1920, two distinct Marxists groups
had formed in China. In 1920, the
COMINTERN agent, Grigori Voitinsky
arrived in China.
• He met with Li in Beijing and Chen in
Shanghai, helping them to establish the
Chinese Communist Party.
Li Dazhao
李大钊
Grigori Voitinsky
维经斯基
Birth of the Chinese Communist Party
• In July 1921, the first Congress of the
CCP was held in Shanghai, at a girls
boarding school in the French
concession.
• 12 Delegates attended including Mao
Zedong. They decided to establish
the Central Party Headquarters in
Shanghai. Li and Chen were named
as co-founders of the CCP and Chen
was elected as the first General
Secretary.
• However splits soon emerged over
the direction of the Party.
Splits in the Early CCP
• Chen Duxiu – subscribed to European
Marxism’s emphasis on the workers
and showed disdain toward the
peasants. He believed urban elements
should spearhead the movement.
• Li Dazhao – stressed the importance
of the peasantry to lead the
revolution, as they made up more
than 90% of the population and
agriculture was still the basis of the
national economy.
Chen Duxiu
陈独秀
Li Dazhao
李大钊
Splits in the Early CCP
• The early CCP supported Chen’s views and
Chen’s base in Shanghai was made the
Central Party Headquarters.
• However Li’s views provided a powerful
alternative to other communists like Mao
Zedong.
Mao Zedong 毛泽东
• Mao was inspired by Li’s populist and
nationalistic views on the role of the
peasants.
• Li was executed by Warlord Zhang Zuolin
in 1927 however Mao carried on his
Zhang Zuolin 张作霖
mentor’s ideas.
Reorganisation of the Nationalist Party
• Since 1912, Sun Yat-sen had faced
disappointment in his attempts to
create a lasting democratic
government.
Sun Yat-sen
孫文
• He created the Chinese Nationalist
Party or ‘Kuomintang’ (国民党) in
1919 but faced obstruction from
southern warlords in his attempt to
grow the movement.
• He was also disappointed by the
lack of support and insincerity from
the West, especially after the Paris
Peace Conference in 1919.
Reorganisation of the Nationalist Party
• Like the Marxists, Sun became
inspired by the successful Bolshevik
Revolution in 1917 – it illustrated
what strict discipline and strong
party organisation could do.
• He was also inspired by the
founding of the CCP, with its strong
ties with labour and agrarian
organisations.
• Sun resolved to reorganise the KMT
on the Soviet Model and sought
Soviet aid for the National
Revolution.
Creation of the First United Front
• In Spring 1921 the Dutch Comintern
agent, H. Maring, met with Sun in
Guangxi province (广西). He was
impressed by Sun and urged the CCP
to join with the KMT.
• In August 1922, Chen and Li gave into
pressure from the Comintern and
permitted individual communists to
join the KMT.
• On September 4th, Nationalists leaders
agreed with Sun’s policy of ‘Alliance
with the Soviets; admission of the
Communists’ – the United Front was
created.
Henk Sneevliet
code-named
‘H. Maring’
Why did Sun agree to the United Front?
1. Sun felt that all Chinese classes had a right
to participate in the National Revolution
2. He wanted to utilise the CCP’s ties with
labour & agrarian organisations
3. Needed Soviet aid to reorganise the KMT
4. Believed that the independent growth of
the CCP would undermine his own cause
5. Worried that Soviet aid might go to rival
warlords.
Sun Yat-sen
孫文
Who held power within the United Front?
• Chen Duxiu feared that joining the KMT
might corrupt communists. Only
individual communists were allowed to
join and the CCP remained independent.
• However the Russian Comintern realised
that the KMT had more widespread
support. They sought to use the KMT and
eventually take over from within.
• However Communists joining the KMT
had to submit themselves to KMT rules
and discipline, and Sun’s 3 Principles
remained the core ideology.
Chen Duxiu
陈独秀
Sun Yat-sen
孫文
Who held power within the United Front?
• Despite their junior position, Sun failed
to realise the full implications of CCP
admittance:
• Sun was idealistic and believed the
Comintern would help him control the
CCP.
• He hoped individual CCP members would
be submerged within the KMT.
• He failed to realise that Moscow really
wanted to take over the Party from
within.
Sun Yat-sen
孫文
How did the USSR help the United Front?
• With the United Front created, the Soviets
sent Mikhail Borodin to help Sun
reorganise the KMT. General Galen and 40
other advisors were also sent to help train
the Party army.
Mikhail Borodin
• In return, Sun sent the young General
Chiang Kai-shek to study the Soviet Military
System in Moscow in August 1923.
• Chiang returned after 3 months and was
commissioned by Sun to found the
Whampoa Military Academy outside
Canton. The USSR supplied money and
weapons.
Vasily Blyukher
code-named ‘Galen’
Chiang Kai-shek
蒋介石
Chiang Kai-shek and Sun Yat-sen
at the founding of the Whampoa
Military Academy
The Death of Sun Yat-sen
• On 12th March 1925, Sun Yat-sen died.
Political control of the KMT passed to the
left-wing Wang Jingwei and the right-wing
Hu Hanmin.
Wang Jingwei
汪精卫
• Military power resided with Chiang Kaishek, superintended of the Whampoa
Military Academy.
Chiang and Hu Hanmin
胡汉民
• Under Chiang, the cadets from Whampoa
became a strong force, bringing under
control rebel provincial governors like Chen
Jiongming in the southwest.
Chen Jiongming 陈炯明
The Death of Sun Yat-sen
• On 1st July 1925 the Nationalist
Government was proclaimed in Canton, in
parallel with the Beijing government in the
north.
• Wang Jingwei was appointed President of
this KMT government. Chiang was
appointed as Commander-in-Chief of the
‘National Revolutionary Army’.
• By February 1926, all opposition to the
KMT in the southern provinces had been
crushed. Chiang was given the task of
launching the ‘Northern Expedition’ to
reunify China.
Wang Jingwei
汪精卫
Chiang Kai-shek
蒋介石
The Northern Expedition
• On 27th June 1926 Chiang Kai-shek set out with
6,000 Whampoa Officers and 85,000 troops.
The Northern Expedition had begun.
Wu Peifu
吴佩孚
• Chiang’s objectives were to destroy the power
of the warlords. He targeted:
1. Zhili Warlord Wu Peifu who controlled
Zhang Zuolin
Henan, Hubei and parts of Zhili and Hunan.
张作霖
2. Fengtien Warlord Zhang Zuolin who was the
‘Generalissimo of Beijing’ and ruled
Manchuria, Zhili and Shandong.
3. Sun Chuanfang who was an independent
warlord controlling Nanjing, Jiangsu,
Sun Chuanfang
Zhejiang, Fujien, Jiangxi and Anhui.
孙传芳
The Northern Expedition
• Strengthened by Soviet supplies, the
National Revolution Army advanced with
rapid speed.
• Communists agents helped by mobilising
peasant and worker support, fermenting
strikes and sabotage in areas precipitating
major attacks by the KMT.
• They took Wuhan in September 1926,
Nanchang in November, Fuzhou in
December, Shanghai and Nanjing in March
1927 – within 9 months, the Southern half
of China had been completely captured!
The Breakdown of the United Front
• However the United Front soon broke
down. CCP members formed a secret
bloc within the KMT, influencing the
direction of the Party.
• The left-wing of the Party at Canton
called a Second National Congress in
January 1926. Communists won new
memberships in the Party hierarchy.
• In response, the right-wing ‘Western
Hill’ faction set up their own party
headquarters in Shanghai – the KMT
was now split into rival factions.
The Zhongshan Warship Incident
• Relations worsened further after the
‘Warship Zhongshan Incident’ (中山舰
事件) on 20th March 1926.
• Under Communist influence, the
captain of the Zhongshan attempted
to kidnap Chiang Kai-shek. It failed and
Chiang used the incident to dismiss all
Soviet advisors from the First Army.
• Throughout 1926, the KMT Central
Executive Committee passed a
number of resolutions limiting
Communist influence – Stalin ordered
the CCP to comply.
Chiang Kai-shek
蒋介石
Growing Splits within the KMT
• On 1st January 1927, the KMT decided to move
the government from Canton to Wuhan. The
Wuhan government was dominated by Borodin
and the KMT left-wing led by Wang Jingwei.
• Ordered by Stalin, the Communists began
intensifying their work amongst the peasants in
Central China. Chiang Kai-shek was busy setting
up power bases in Shanghai and Nanjing.
• With the support of the right-wing and
financial circles in Shanghai, Chiang became
more determined to persecute the
Communists.
Wang Jingwei
汪精卫
Mikhail Borodin
The Shanghai Massacre (四·一二清黨)
• On April 12th 1927, Chiang launched a purge
of all Communists from the Party. Nationalist
troops, police and secret agents raided
Communist cells, shot down suspects and
eliminated Communist labour unions.
• It began with a massacre of over 300
Communists in Shanghai but also spread to
Nanjing, Canton and other areas.
• In response, the Wang’s Wuhan-based KMT
government dismissed Chiang as
commander-in-chief of the National
Revolutionary Army. Chiang ignored this,
forming his own Nationalist government at
Nanjing.
Defeat of the Left-Wing KMT
• Having now split, Wang’s left-wing KMT
under the influence of Borodin and the
Communists launched its own ‘Second
Northern Expedition’ against Beijing.
Feng Yuxiang
冯玉祥
• It was successful at first but ultimately
ground to a halt. The warlords Feng
Yuxiang and Yan Xishan switched support
to Chiang Kai-shek as the ‘true nationalist
government’.
• Wang Jingwei, the President of the Wuhan
KMT, then fell out with the Communists
after being shown a telegram from Stalin,
calling for the Communists to take over.
Yan Xishan
阎锡山
Reconciliation of the KMT
• Realising the threat posed by the
Communists, on 26th July 1927 Wang ordered
all Communists to leave the KMT party unless
they resigned their CCP membership.
• The finally split came after the failed
Communist Nanchang Uprising (南昌起义)on
1st August 1927. In response Wang ordered
the all-out liquidation of the Communists.
• The Nanjing and Wuhan KMT then reconciled
on 10th December. Chiang was reappointed
commander-in-chief. The Wuhan government
dissolved itself in February 1928, with Wang
fleeing to Europe.
Wang Jingwei
汪精卫
Zhou Enlai 周恩来
Leader of the failed
Nanchang Uprising
Reunification of China
• With the help of Feng Yuxiang and Yan Xishan,
Chiang marched on Beijing in June 1928.
• The self-styled ‘Generalissimo’ of Beijing –
Zhang Zuolin – fled to Manchuria where he was
killed in a ‘train explosion’ engineered by the
Japanese on 4th June 1928.
Zhang Zoulin
张作霖
• His son, Zhang Xueliang, pledged allegiance to
the Nationalist Government.
• By January 1929, most of China had be reunited by Chiang Kai-shek who was made
President, with a new capital at Nanjing. This
ushered in a decade of Nationalist rule in China.
Zhang Xueliang
張學良
Paper 3 - Exam Question 1 (2009)
• Compare and contrast the aims and policies of the
Communists and the Nationalists in China during the First
United Front established in 1924 (20 marks)
Candidates will probably conclude that each party had its own agenda but a common immediate purpose; the defeat
of the warlords and the establishment of a unified government for China. However, they differed as to the ultimate
form of that government. Jiang Jieshi (Chiang Kai Shek) used the Communists’ support among the peasantry and
workers to gain popular support for the military drive to the north. The Communists used the opportunities created
by the northern advance to spread their ideology among the people. With the capture of Shanghai, Jiang Jieshi
(Chiang Kai Shek) and the Nationalists gained access to the wealth and influence of the powerful commercial classes
and turned on the Communists. The Communists, on the other hand, had also their agenda of social revolution in
both town and country. The Nationalists struck first, but expect candidates to recognise that the programmes of the
two parties were basically incompatible. Candidates may also note the role of Stalin and the Comintern in support of
the United Front, even after the events in Shanghai in 1927, and the role of factional leaders in both parties.
N.B. [7 marks] maximum if only one party is discussed.
[0 to 7 marks] maximum for a narrative account only.
[8 to 10 marks] for a simple comparative account.
[11 to 13 marks] for simple comparative analysis of the policies and aims of the two parties over the period.
[14 to 16 marks] for detailed analysis of the ideologies and aims of the two parties and awareness of the changing
relationship as the forces of the United Front advanced.
[17+ marks] for running comparative analysis of the aims, policies and actions of the two parties showing awareness
of the complexity of the situation.
Paper 3 - Exam Question 2 (2003)
• “Neither the Chinese Communist Party nor the
Kuomintang entered the First United Front in 1923
believing that it would survive for very long.” How far do
you agree with this assessment? (20 marks)
Candidates may well agree. Award [7 marks] for a narrative of events leading to the
creation of the United Front and to its collapse in 1927. For [8 to 10 marks] candidates
should show awareness that the events of the period 1923 to 1927 may indicate the degree
of sincerity with which each party joined the Front.
For [11 to 13 marks] expect simple analysis and awareness of the unity of purpose against
the warlords but also of the different agendas after the warlords were defeated.
For [14 to 16 marks] this analysis should be more fully developed and support a conclusion.
For [17+ marks] expect sophisticated analysis and discussion based upon historical
evidence and covering the period leading up to the creation of the Front with recognition of
the role of the Soviet advisers and the different agendas of the parties and of the factions
and leaders within them.