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National Fragmentation:
To some extent, Warlordism was a culmination of internal divisions that emerged in late Qing China. Local leaders moved to increase their own power as the authority of the Qing waned.
This fragmentation of power continued during Yuan Shikai‘s presidency. But provincial leaders lost what little faith they had in the republican national government when Shikai attempted to revive the Qing monarchy and reposition himself as emperor.
In 1916 China collapsed into divided warlordism when Shikai died without an obvious successor. Much of the country was reunified by Jiang Jieshi and his National Revolutionary Army in 1927 until when the warlordism remained.
The Warlord Era produced very few if any benefits for ordinary Chinese as it was known as a period of uncertainty, disorder and conflict.
Causes of Warlordism:
Given China’s history the collapse into warlordism was not surprising. Centralised national government a difficult prospect with regards to the country’s great size, population, geographical variations and diversity. The Qing was far from strong by the late 1800s as this became true even for strong dynasties.
Decline towards decentralisation and provincialism happened during the last 20 years of Qing rule. Foreign imperialists were often encouraged and backed up by the local leaders and groups which exerted influence and control in their regions.
By creating a constitutional framework the late Qing reforms (1901-1910) attempted to halt this provincialism while strengthening the national government, however, these reforms failed.
Shikai, the ‘first warlord’:
The collapse of the Qing dynasty and the failed republican government of 1912-16 accelerated China's political disintegration. The Qing got threatened by the Xinhai or 1911 Revolution it instigated the rise of two competing governments.
Beiyang Army commander Yuan Shikai emerged as the strongman of the Chinese Revolution in the north. He became the only leader with enough military clout to force out the Qing.
Nationalists led by Sun Yixian in the south formed a provisional government with some legitimacy but no means of enforcing it.
Shikai’s found the pathway to the national presidency having control of the military. His command over the military held China together and allowed the continuation of a national government but he represented less of the new regime than the old.
Provincial warlords did little to challenge his government, while Shikai sat in the president’s chair, fearing military retaliation. The Shikai was known as the “father of the warlords” or the “first warlord” as he derived power from military strength.
Power Vacuum:
In June 1916 it created a national power vacuum when Yuan Shikai died which was quickly filled by the warlords. The national army broke itself apart after being leaderless. Some provincial leaders claimed its regiments or divisions as private armies which fell under them.
By increasing the size of their armies Warlords sought to increase their power. This was usually done through enticement but occasionally by conscription or coercion.
Many warlords allowed their soldiers to retain a share of whatever they looted or extorted from ordinary Chinese while some others paid them well. ‘Taking up with the bandits’ became an attractive career option, in rural areas ravaged by poverty, particularly for young single men.
This economic desperation fuelled a rapid growth in the size of warlord armies according to historian Hsi-Sheng Chi: in late 1916 from around 500,000 to more than one million in 1918 and two million in 1928.
Evaluating Warlords:
China’s warlords were a diverse group with different qualities, methods, attitudes and objectives which makes it difficult to form a general conclusion about them.
The Qing's former military officers served as several warlords as some others who never belonged to the Qing establishment were called provincialists or outsiders.
Some were progressives who recognised the fundamental changes taking place in China while others were traditionalists who clung to dynastic and Confucian ideals.
The Pursuit of Profit:
The most common goal shared by warlords was to make themselves rich apart from their use of military force. Under warlordism the exploitation, corruption and banditry flourished to the highest of limits as it had dire effects on the ordinary people.
Warlords lead to high inflation by printing excessive amounts of paper money to fund their armies. Government infrastructure and privately-owned businesses were got seized and they took control over it. They raised existing taxes as well as imposed new ones.
Many warlords also revived the trade in opium being aware of its profitability and compelled farmers to grow it and encouraged its open sale. Behaving recklessly, harassing and assaulting locals and stealing or destroying their property were just some normal laws and behaviours of the private armies of warlords.
Benevolent Rulers:
A handful of words behaved like benevolent dictators as they were not entirely driven by greed. they ruled with their leadership based on political pragmatism and some concern for the people. he ruler of Shanxi province namely Yan Xishan was one of them.
Yan was a career soldier in the Qing military and a former advocate of Self-Strengthening. He focused on improving and modernising Shanxi unlike other warlords who were used to expanding territory or amassing a personal fortune.
Northern warlord Feng Yuxian who later captured Beijing. He aligned with the Guomindang, outlawed foot binding, prostitution and opium trafficking in areas under his command.
His soldiers were encouraged to convert to Christianity by him, he even sometimes baptised entire companies of men with a fire hose.
Beiyang Government:
A national government continued in Beijing, during the Warlord Era, though it was not representative and exerted no national control.
The Beiyang government was known to be presenting a civilian parliamentary government. It was a front for the dominant warlord or warlord faction in Beijing in reality.
Warlords got some financial bonanza with the control of the capital. The Beiyang government was still recognised by foreign powers despite its illegitimacy. Local warlords continued to take massive payments in the name of duties and import taxes from foreign merchants but not used for the benefit of the nation.
The Beiyang government became changeable and unstable with these constant struggles. It had more than two dozen different ministries between 1916 and 1928 and seven different heads of state.
Outcomes of the Warlord Era:
Political division, instability, corruption and self-interest, economic stagnation and social repression were seen during this Warlord period.
The uncertainty and instability of the period were not conducive to economic progress or the development of new industries while some warlords formed ties with wealthy business elites.
None of the warlords entailed significant investment or innovation as a handful of them attempted social reform. The lives of ordinary people were attempted to improve with few sincere and meaningful attempts.
The majority of Chinese, suffered more under the warlords than they had under the Qing, particularly the rural peasantry. Some parts of land was often parcelled off to private soldiers which was driven out from the peasants.
By 1925, more than 168 million people were estimated to be unemployed in China, where peasants and farm labourers had more than half of them.
By this stage, Sun Yixian’s nationalists were planning the end of warlordism having discussed with their new-found allies, the Moscow Comintern and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
From their stronghold in the southern province of Guangdong they were preparing to move against the warlords and reunite China by force with the help of the Guomindang and its military arm which was known as the National Revolutionary Army.
Written by: Gourav Chowdhury
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