The Guizhou clique, also known as the Qian clique (Qian being the abbreviated name of Guizhou; ), was a minor warlord faction in the Warlord Era of the Republic of China, situated in the province of Guizhou. Due to its weak economic situation, Guizhou warlords were typically dependent on more economically successful warlords such as the Yunnan clique and the Hunan warlords.
The Guizhou warlords were very much focused on family relations, especially the Xingyi clique warlords under the Liu family. These family connections formed the core of Guizhou political power for a long time. The first Guizhou warlord in power was Liu Xianshi, heading the Liu family and the Old Xingyi clique. With the invasion of Guizhou by Yunnan general Tang Jiyao, Liu's enemies were defeated and Guizhou started a lasting relationship with Yunnan and especially Tang Jiyao. Liu Xianshi's nephew, Wang Wenhua, disagreed with much of what Liu did, and was in conflict with him, using student organizations to agitate against him. He staged the Minjiu Incident, which forced Liu to resign his posts as military and civilian governor. Liu fled to Xingyi, with Wang fleeing to Shanghai, finally being assassinated by Liu's supporters in March 1921. Liu Xianshi was thus restored to power in Guizhou, and the rivalry between uncle and nephew ended.
The Guizhou warlords did not participate in many wars or expansions aside from assisting their allies in the Yunnan clique with their expansion into Sichuan. The main power base of the Guizhou warlords shifted from Xingyi to the provincial capital, Guiyang, as warlords changed.
Origins Liu family
The Qian clique originated with Liu Xianshi and his family. Born in Xingyi, Guizhou, Liu was born to a landlord family heavily involved in leading local militia groups during the 19th century. His cousin, Liu Xianqian, was also a military leader of the Guizhou warlords. Liu Xianshi's father, Liu Guanli, had been a regiment commander when suppressing a Hui uprising. Due to this, he rose quickly within the ranks, elevating the Liu family to a hegemonic force within Guizhou. The Liu family would be one of the major forces in the early Guizhou clique, with many of its members holding important positions in the military. Their power base was Xingyi, where they lived.
Revolution
After the outbreak of the Wuchang Uprising in October 1911, governor Shen Yuqing went into a state of panic, and Liu Xianshi entered the provincial capital in an emergency effort to suppress the revolution. He immediately recruited people to march into the provincial capital.Liu, Xianshi. Shedding light on Guizhou, Southeast. However, while Liu Xianshi was on the way, Zhang Bailin, leader of the Guizhou Tongmenghui and Ren Kecheng, the local constitutionalist leader, as well as many others, forced Shen Yuqing to step down on November 4, declaring the independence of Guizhou.Feng, Zuyi, Cao, Weijing, and Wei, Yishen. Xinhai Revolution: Guizhou Encyclopedia. Guizhou People's Press, Guiyang, 2011.
The Guizhou New Army instructor and lecturer Wu Tang as well as Chief of the Army Primary School Yang Yicheng were recommended to become the governors of the Guizhou military government. Zhao Dequan was to be the Vice Governor, Zhang Bailin the Dean of the Privy Council, Ren Kecheng the Vice President, and Zhou Peiyi as Secretary-General and Chief Executive Officer.
However, the revolutionaries, known as the Self-Government Study Society, failed to take effective measures to consolidate their positions. Instead, they adopted a compromising approach to the constitutionalists and the old bureaucrats. Shen Yuqing was sent to towns to suppress the revolution. Liu Xianshi was appointed Chief of Staff of the Privy Council, and a provisional (constitution preparatory) council was established.
Ren Kecheng, Zhang Bailin, and old bureaucrat Guo Chongguang worked from inside the Privy Council to suppress the revolution. They ordered Dujun (military governor) Yang Yicheng to lead his army North, and for the Dean, Zhang Bailin, to leave the provincial capital to visit various places. At the beginning of February 1912, they killed Huang Zelin, a local Tongmenghui and provincial capital law enforcement leader. Zhang Bailin, upon returning to Guiyang, had to escape due to the threat of being killed.Nanming Region Information Center. Zhang Bailin, the Most Meritorious Leader in the Xinhai Revolution in Guizhou.
Yunnanese invasion
Although the revolution had been greatly weakened, Ren Kecheng, Liu Xianshi, Guo Chongguang, and other counter-revolutionaries felt that their power was insufficient and they dared not to launch a coup and seize power. As per Guo Chongguang's suggestion, they decided to send Dai Kan to Yunnan to look for Cai E, the governor of Yunnan, to invade Guizhou and "Stop the Guizhou Chaos", trying to slander the military government and the revolutionaries of Guizhou. After a bit of hesitation, Cai E decided to send Tang Jiyao, then an intermediate officer of the Yunnan army whose troops were situated in the North of Yunnan, to enter Guizhou and settle the divides in the Guizhou government.
At this time, Zhong Changying, one of the leaders of the Guizhou Tongmenghui, passed through Kunming from Nanjing to return to Guizhou. When he heard the news of the invasion, he urged Cai E not to interfere in the internal affairs of Guizhou Province. Cai E, heeding the advice, ordered Tang Jiyao to divert his army's path into Sichuan and then into Hubei, but Tang Jiyao had been promised the position of governorship by the reactionary forces in Guizhou. Tang reported that his front team had entered Guizhou and was unable to change course, so they had to go deep into Guizhou. Zhong Changying chased the army in an attempt to persuade Tang Jiyao to change course, but he was assassinated in Anshun.One of the Leaders of the Xinhai Revolution in Guizhou - Zhong Changying.Zhong Changying, An Explanation of Zhong Changying. In early March 1912, Tang Jiyao led the Yunnan Army into Guiyang. At first, the revolutionary government was tricked into believing that Tang's forces were simply passing through Guizhou on their way to aid revolutionary forces in Central China.McCord, Edward A. Military Force and Elite Power in the Formation of Modern China. Routledge, 2014. However, aided by Liu Xianshi, Tang launched a coup against the military government and became the military governor.People's Government of Yunnan Portal. Tang Jiyao.Worthing, Peter. Toward the Minjiu Incident: Militarist Conflict in Guizhou, 1911–1921, Sage Publications, 2007. In Worthing, Peter. Modern China Vol. 33, No. 2, pp. 258-283. He persecuted the revolutionaries. Thus, the Guizhou government fell into the hands of Tang Jiyao, the Constitutionalists, and the old bureaucrats.
However, the people of Guizhou, especially the revolutionaries, were extremely opposed to the invasion of Guizhou, calling Tang Jiyao and his army "Dian Kou" (Yunnanese Enemy). The Book of Guizhou's Complaints to the Compatriots of All Cities in Guizhou was published in Chongqing, the Bloody Records of Guizhou were issued in Beijing, and Guizhou Tears of Blood was published in Wuchang. Yuan Shikai, then President of China, tried to intervene in the name of the central government, but his attempt was useless.People's Government of Yunnan History Committee. Yunnan History Selected Resources: Vol. 10. Yunnan People's Press, Kunming, 1989, p. 100.
Guizhou under Tang Jiyao
On March 4, 1912, Tang Jiyao became military governor of Guizhou, recognized in May 1912 by Beijing, with Liu Xianshi assuming the role of Minister of War. Tang consolidated his power by disbanding and massacring revolutionary forces in Guizhou. Tang Jiyao and Liu Xianshi militarily ruled Guizhou jointly, with Liu commanding a new Citizen's Army, and Liu's allies becoming responsible for the civil administration of Guizhou. This brought the revolutionaries to an end and paved the way for the taking of full political power by the Liu family. Due to the sharing of power with Tang, Liu Xianshi's power was limited, but it would be rewarded with the removal of office of Cai E. In order to cultivate military talent, Tang Jiyao founded the Guizhou Military Academy, with Han Fenglou, a Yunnanese general, serving as its head. Many of the heads of the Academy were alumni of the Yunnan Military Academy. Graduates of the Academy became commanders and officers in the Yunnan and Guizhou armies, deployed in rotation.
In order to turn Guizhou into his own fiefdom, Tang Jiyao forbade the introduction of foreign progressive ideas, actively supported local forces and ideas, and established the Guizhou Unification Party as an organization to cement his power. Key members of the Guizhou Unification Party were Liu Xianshi, Ren Kecheng, Dai Kan, He Linshu, and Guo Chongguang, although many others played an important part in this party. Tang used the Guizhou Unification Party to prevent the development of the Kuomintang in Guizhou and to preserve his rule.
Xingyi clique dominance
Liu Xianshi's administration In November 1913, with Tang Jiyao returning to Yunnan after Cai E was placed under house arrest and stripped of his rankTikhvinskiĭ, Sergeĭ Leonidovich. Modern History of China. Progress Publishers, 1983. p. 624. Retrieved 12-6-2019. to take up his position as governor, power fell into the hands of Liu Xianshi, who assumed his position of military governor (Dujun).
With Yuan Shikai's declaration of the Empire of China, the National Protection War broke out. Liu Xianshi initially stayed neutral, but when the situation became urgent, he had to declare Guizhou's independence on January 27, 1916. Liu Xianshi held a military conference and decided to send the Yunnan Army Artillery Team, the Mechanical Team, and the 5th and 6th regiments of the Guizhou army. The 6th Regiment served as the right flank of the 1st Army of the National Protection Army. In June, after Yuan Shikai's death, Beijing appointed Liu to the position of Dujun, with Dai Kan becoming the civil governor. In August, Dai was transferred to the Office of Military Affairs of Sichuan, with the post of civil governor passed on to Liu Xianshi. Liu Xianshi consolidated his military and civil political power in Guizhou and implemented internal military rule. He supported Tang Jiyao's expansion into Sichuan, and formed and lead the Guizhou clique.Huaxia Weijing. Liu Xianshi. Retrieved 12-6-2019.