Military History: Warlord Era
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For the second essay assignment, you are required to write an historical essay addressing one of the following three topics. Once you decide on a topic, you should read the required articles for each topic as well as relevant chapters in the Search for Modern China. The purpose of this assignment is to give you an opportunity to read some important secondary articles on modern China. Historical studies is a continuous process of knowledge building through empirical inquiry into the past. By reading these scholarly articles you will be able to take a closer look at the realities of the past. You should read the required articles carefully and figure out their main arguments. Then you will be able to reconstruct the contents to make your own cases in answer to the given questions. Length: 7-8 pages Due Date: December 5th in the Dropbox on the Avenue Title: Running Head with a Sub-title (as in the first essay assignment) Footnotes: Follow the format as observed in the required articles below.
Topic #1: Social History: Shanghai in the 1920s-30s: Based on your reading of the following two articles and relevant chapters in the Search for Modern China, describe what life would have been like for ordinary people in Shanghai during the 1920s and 1930s considering competing forces of the Shanghai Underworld (the Green Gang), the Nationalist government, and Shanghai imperialists in foreign concession areas. Hanchao Lu, "Becoming Urban: Mendicancy and Vagrants in Modern Shanghai," Journal of Social History, Vol. 33, No. 1 (Autumn, 1999), pp. 7-36. Brian G. Martin, “The Green Gang and the Guomindang State: Du Yuesheng and the Politics of Shanghai, 1927-37,” The Journal of Asian Studies, Feb., 1995, Vol. 54, No. 1 (Feb., 1995), pp. 64-92. T
opic #2: Military History: Warlord Era Based on the reading of the following two articles and relevant chapters in the SMC, explain who the warlords were, what they were up to, what were their problems, what life would have been under a warlord regime in China. Edward A. McCord, “Cries That Shake the Earth: Military Atrocities and Popular Protests in Warlord China,” Modern China, Vol. 31, No. 1 (Jan., 2005), pp. 3-34. Arthur Waldron, “The Warlord: Twentieth-Century Chinese Understandings of Violence, Militarism, and Imperialism,” The American Historical Review, Oct., History 2MC3, Fall, 2021 2 1991, Vol. 96, No. 4 (Oct., 1991), pp. 1073-1100
Topic #3: Political History: The Anti-Rightist Campaign (1957-1959). Based on your reading of the following three articles (one long and two brief articles) and relevant chapters in the SMC, explain why the CCP government suppressed political dissent and what consequences this political campaign brought about in the further course of Chinese history. Yen-lin Chung, "The Witch-Hunting Vanguard: The Central Secretariat's Roles and Activities in the Anti-Rightist Campaign," The China Quarterly, No. 206 (JUNE 2011), pp. 391-411. Chen Ziming and Caroline Mason, "The 'Active Rightists' of 1957 and Their Legacy: 'Right-wing Intellectuals,' Revisionists,and Rights Defenders," China Perspectives, No. 4 (72) (2007), pp. 39-50. Yu Jianrong and Stacy Mosher, "The Two Stages of the Re-education Through Labour System: From Tool of PoliticalStruggle to Means of
Military History: Warlord Era
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Military History: Warlord Era
The mention of the Republic of China undoubtedly evokes immense interest, in foes and friends, in equal measure. Since time immemorial, the Chinese have had a strong sense of history. In addition, the country has undertaken every conceivable effort to cut a niche for itself globally, despite a wide array of adversities. This has earned the friends and foes in equal proportions. China ranks as one of the largest countries in the world, with a population of around 1.45 billion people. This constitutes 18.47% of the world's total population (Worldometer, 2022). In addition, the country has the enviable distinction of being the most powerful country in Asia, besides being a world superpower. However, all has not been smooth sailing since its inception as a republic in 1912. In the early 20th century, China was beset with internal and widespread struggles and turmoil (ChinaKnowledge.de, n.d.). For instance, the founding president, Yuan Shikai, faced tremendous opposition from his detractors when he tried to revive the Chinese monarchy. Among the detractors that rejected this move were several groups of Northern and Southern warlords, who later contested with each other for power. These contests occasioned far-reaching consequences on Chinese citizens and the country as a whole. For instance, some citizens had their property stolen or burnt, while others were brutally maimed (McCord, 2005). To have an in-depth understanding of the impact of the warlords, it is crucial to ventilate who they were, what they were up to, and what their problems were.
The Chinese Warlords
Before the Sino-Japanese war, which ended in 1895, China had no national army. That being the case, each of the Chinese provinces had its independent military outfits. They were answerable only to the provincial authority, and their remunerations came from the provincial revenues (GlobalSecurity.Org, 2011). Besides being poorly remunerated, the military outfits were poorly equipped, without any military training or experienced officers and generals. These facts constrained the ruling Qing dynasty to establish a modern army that would be distinguishable from the corrupt and incompetent military establishments (Huan et al., 2021). The new army leader was General Yuan Shikai, who adopted Western-style training methods and modern weaponry.
Yuan Shikai went on to become the founding president after the revolution, which forced the Qing dynasty out of power. The revolution later devolved into depredations that straddled the entire country in what was known as the "warlord era," which spanned from 1916-1928. The era was precipitated by the death of Yuan Shikai, whereby local leaders ruthlessly contended for power. These local leaders were referred to as warlords, a relatively new term in China (Waldron, 1991). Apparently, the first person to use it was Chen Duxiu, who published a weekly journal known as Meizhou Pinglun.
Consequently, the warlords fragmented China by establishing regional military governments. Most of the Chinese warlords were army Generals or political figures who had served in the Yuan's government in one capacity or the other. In fact, some observers opine that Yuan inadvertently promoted the concept of warlords through his overreliance on military generals. Some outstanding warlords included General Chang Tsolin and Dr. Sun Yat-sen.
General Chang Tsolin
General Tsolin was born in Northern China in Fengtien province in 1876 and did not receive formal education. However, his bravery and ingenuity distinguished him as an influential leader among a class of outlaws known as Hungutzu (Wikisource, 2021). During the war between the Russians and the Japanese, General Tsolin fought on the Japanese side. In 1906, he surrendered to the General of Mukden, and they formed a coalition with Tsolin as the commanding officer. In a matter of a few years, he rose through the ranks to become the commander of the Fengtien Defense Force. He was mandated to maintain peace and order throughout the province of Manchurian during the revolution. After the establishment of the Republic of China, General Tsolin got a promotion to the rank of Lieutenant General. He was a faithful servant of president Yuan Shikai, but when the monarchical endeavors were about to collapse, he rebelled. Later, he formed the Fengtien (Mukden) faction in Peking and tried to organize a cabinet that would suit his policy.
Dr. Sun Yat-sen.
Dr. Sun Yat-sen, a world-renowned revolutionary and conspicuous warlord, was born in Guangdong province, Southern China, in 1866. Many view him more as the "father of the republic" than a warlord. However, he also engaged in activities that would have him categorized as a revolutionary warlord. For instance, he based his hopes for power on military maneuvers (Waldron, 1991). The revolutionary bug began to bite him in 1894, and he founded the society to restore China's prosperity (Zhongshan Municipal People’s Government, 2008). Dr. Sun employed propaganda and agitation to wage heated debates with the monarchists to achieve his revolutionary goals. In 1905 he joined forces with other like-minded revolutionaries to found China's first bourgeois revolutionary party, whose foremost objectives were to expel the Manchus and restore China by establishing a republic and equalizing land rights. In 1911, two revolutionary bodies staged a successful uprising in Wuchang and established the Hubei military government. News of the victory of the insurrection encouraged Dr. Sun to return home from the United States. Upon his return, 17 provinces elected him as the provisional president of China. However, this decision met enormous hostilities and opposition, forcing him to step down. Later, he was involved in unending wrangles with his successor, Yuan Shikai, until the demise of the latter in 1916. The following year, Dr. Sun led some members of parliament to Guangzhou, where they launched a movement to protect the constitution (Zhongshan Municipal People’s Government, 2008). This saw him getting elected the Generalissimo of the military government of the Republic of China. However, some warlords conspired against him, forcing him to resign yet again. He was not yet done with his revolutionary dreams, and he founded the Kwangtung faction alongside General Cheng Chien-Ming (GlobalSecurity.Org, 2011). Together, the two claimed the Kwangtung and Kwangsi provinces as their sphere in 1921. Dr. Sun called for the unification of China after the conflict between regional warlords escalated. As the leader of the Canton-based government, he established the Huangpu Military Academy to train officers, with the help of Russians, who would help accomplish the unification mission. He died in 1925, and on his deathbed, Dr. Sun still exuded hope that China would obtain freedom and equality.
The Objectives of Warlords
As shown in the above examples, different warlords had distinct objectives. In essence, some were driven by greed and self-aggrandizement. The latter group consisted of warlords whose fundamental goal was to control territories and resources (Chi, 1969). This, in turn, would enable them to reinforce their influence and strength, which was otherwise lacking. Some warlords managed to rule onl...