Chinese warlord clique (1911?1944)
Military unit
The
Xinjiang clique
was a military
clique
that ruled
Xinjiang
during China's
warlord era
. Unlike other cliques, its leaders were from outside the province.
History
[
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]
During the
Xinhai Revolution
in 1911, the
Qing
governor fled from
Dihua
(Urumqi). A band of
Yunnanese
led by
Yang Zengxin
quelled the rebellion and established himself as the provincial leader. President
Yuan Shikai
recognized Yang as governor. Yang was one of the few who supported Yuan's attempt to become emperor. During the
National Protection War
, he purged officers who sympathized with the
Yunnan clique
's leader
Cai E
. After Yuan's death, he recognized whichever
government ruled in Beijing
and maintained an isolationist and neutrality policy which kept Xinjiang away from the upheavals experienced in the rest of China.
Ma Fuxing
and
Ma Shaowu
, both of them
Hui Chinese
, were members of the clique. They held military and political positions under Yang.
Yang held absolute power in the region and kept the keys to the radio station on him at all times. He read every message himself and got rid of any which he didn't like.
Yang's future deputy,
Fan Yaonan
,
had been studying in Japan when he was appointed as
military attache
of Xinjiang by
Li Yuanhong
.
Fan heavily disliked Yang's government policy of keeping the people ignorant and tried to bring in more progressive ideas to the region.
Li Yuanhong hoped that Fan would eventually kill Yang and replace him as governor of Xinjiang. Aspiring for higher positions, Fan sped up the process and on July 7, 1928, days after Yang recognized the
Nationalist
(KMT) government in
Nanjing
, Fan shot Yang dead during a banquet at the Xinjiang Academy of Politics and Law.
Also present at the banquet were Chinese officials along with the
Soviet
consul-general and his wife. The consul-general and his wife were able to escape.
Following Yang's assassination,
Jin Shuren
, Yang's second in command, had Fan and his coconspirators killed. After that, he declared himself the provincial governor and was quickly recognized by the KMT. Jin wholly mismanaged the province by causing high
inflation
, banning the
hajj
, and replacing local officials with
Han
officials. In 1931, the alienated Muslim majority
rebelled against Jin
.
Gansu warlord
Ma Zhongying
of the
Hui
Ma clique
invaded in support of the rebellion. Soon, various other groups rebelled against Jin, often fighting against each other including the breakaway
First East Turkestan Republic
.
Jin was deposed by mutineers in 1933 and was succeeded by
Sheng Shicai
. Sheng was not a protege of either Yang or Jin. He was initially an officer under
Guo Songling
and defected with Guo to the
Guominjun
. He was appointed by Nanjing to serve under Jin as late as 1930. The war continued unabated with Nanjing unable to resolve the conflict. Frustrated, Sheng turned to the
Soviet Union
in 1934. With Soviet support,
Ma Hushan
was defeated in 1937. Sheng turned Xinjiang into a Soviet protectorate and safe haven for the
Chinese Communist Party
.
With
Germany's
invasion of the Soviet Union
in 1941, Sheng decided to rejoin the Kuomintang, expelling Soviet advisors and executing communists.
Chiang Kai-shek
couldn't trust Sheng, who tried renegotiating with
Joseph Stalin
, so he deposed him and installed direct rule in 1944. The new KMT administration then faced a rebellion that formed the
Second East Turkestan Republic
.
See also
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References
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Works cited
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