Anfu Club
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The Anfu Club () was a political organisation. It controlled the National Assembly of the
Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...
after the elections of 1918. The organisation was forced to disband after the defeat of its patrons, the
Anhui Clique The Anhui clique () was a military and political organization, one of several mutually hostile cliques or factions that split from the Beiyang clique in the Republic of China's Warlord Era. It was named after Anhui province because several of its ...
, during the Zhili–Anhui War. The club was formed on the 8th of March 1918 from the Zhonghe Club, a political group organised by
Jin Yunpeng Jin Yunpeng (); ; 1877 – 30 January 1951) was a Chinese general and politician of the Warlord Era of the Republic of China. He served as both Minister of War and then Premier of China several times. His ascent to the Premiership was support ...
on the order of
Duan Qirui Duan Qirui (; ) (March 6, 1865 – November 2, 1936) was a Chinese warlord and politician, a commander of the Beiyang Army and the acting Chief Executive of the Republic of China (in Beijing) from 1924 to 1926. He was also the Premier of the R ...
on the 27th of March 1917. The Anfu Club was primarily organised by Duan's right-hand man,
Xu Shuzheng Hsu Seu-Cheng or Xu Shuzheng (; ) (11 November 1880 – 29 December 1925) was a Chinese warlord in Republican China. A subordinate and right-hand man of Duan Qirui, he was a prominent member of the Anhui clique. Early life Xu was born in ...
, along with the politicians
Wang Yitang Wang Yitang (; October 17, 1877 – September 10, 1948) was a politician and military leader in the Qing Dynasty and Republic of China. He belonged to the Anhui clique and formed the Anfu Club (). Later he became an important politician in t ...
, Zeng Yujun,
Liu Enge / ( or ) is an East Asian surname. pinyin: in Mandarin Chinese, in Cantonese. It is the family name of the Han dynasty emperors. The character originally meant 'kill', but is now used only as a surname. It is listed 252nd in the classic tex ...
and others. At its height, the organisation controlled roughly 330 seats in the National Assembly. The Club got its name from Anfu Hutong, the street on which the members meet.


Political goals and organisation

Although officially not a political party, as the term was stigmatised following Yuan Shikai's disbandment of the
Kuomintang The Kuomintang (KMT), also referred to as the Guomindang (GMD), the Nationalist Party of China (NPC) or the Chinese Nationalist Party (CNP), is a major political party in the Republic of China, initially on the Chinese mainland and in Tai ...
, the Anfu Club operated as China's first party-state. It was a collective of senators, representatives and government bureaucrats who had their own party roles and positions which mirrored that of the Central Government. There was the Executive Office (干事部), led by
Wang Yitang Wang Yitang (; October 17, 1877 – September 10, 1948) was a politician and military leader in the Qing Dynasty and Republic of China. He belonged to the Anhui clique and formed the Anfu Club (). Later he became an important politician in t ...
, the council (评议会), which Tian Yinghuang presided over, and the Public Policy Research Association (政务研究会) that was managed by
Li Shengduo Li, li, or LI may refer to: Businesses and organizations * Landscape Institute, a British professional body for landscape architects * Leadership Institute, a non-profit organization located in Arlington, Virginia, US, that teaches "political tec ...
. The official goal of the Anfu Club was generate public policy, both foreign and internal. Their well-known foreign policies was the club's diplomacy with Japan. Affiliates of the Anfu Club, the New
Communications Clique The Communications Clique () was a powerful interest group of politicians, bureaucrats, technocrats, businessmen, engineers, and labour unionists in China's Beiyang government (1912-1928). It is also known as the Cantonese Clique because many of it ...
, were bureaucrats which organised
loans In finance, a loan is the lending of money by one or more individuals, organizations, or other entities to other individuals, organizations, etc. The recipient (i.e., the borrower) incurs a debt and is usually liable to pay interest on that de ...
from Japan to Club's patron,
Duan Qirui Duan Qirui (; ) (March 6, 1865 – November 2, 1936) was a Chinese warlord and politician, a commander of the Beiyang Army and the acting Chief Executive of the Republic of China (in Beijing) from 1924 to 1926. He was also the Premier of the R ...
. Moreover, diplomats selected by the Anfu Club were sent to
Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, u ...
to sign the
Treaty of Versailles The Treaty of Versailles (french: Traité de Versailles; german: Versailler Vertrag, ) was the most important of the peace treaties of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June ...
which ultimately caused the
May Fourth Movement The May Fourth Movement was a Chinese anti-imperialist, cultural, and political movement which grew out of student protests in Beijing on May 4, 1919. Students gathered in front of Tiananmen (The Gate of Heavenly Peace) to protest the Chinese ...
. However, the actual policy of signing the treaty and suppressing the subsequent student protests where directed by the president of the time,
Xu Shichang Xu Shichang (Hsu Shih-chang; ; courtesy name: Juren (Chu-jen; 菊人); October 20, 1855 – June 5, 1939) was the President of the Republic of China, in Beijing, from 10 October 1918 to 2 June 1922. The only permanent president of the Beiyang ...
, and the Anfu Club was blamed for the fiasco by Research Clique affiliated media, which became the widespread belief. Overall, the club's policy to Japan was largely friendly, but with the knowledge that Japan did not have the best interests in mind, which was exemplified by
Xu Shuzheng Hsu Seu-Cheng or Xu Shuzheng (; ) (11 November 1880 – 29 December 1925) was a Chinese warlord in Republican China. A subordinate and right-hand man of Duan Qirui, he was a prominent member of the Anhui clique. Early life Xu was born in ...
's aid to Germany during the
Siege of Qingdao The siege of Tsingtao (or Tsingtau) was the attack on the German port of Tsingtao (now Qingdao) in China during World War I by Japan and the United Kingdom. The siege was waged against Imperial Germany between 27 August and 7 November 1914. ...
. In terms of internal policy, the Anfu Club did not have an official ideology, but frequently made use of
socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...
rhetoric and watered down policies, such as the passing of progressive laws making Sunday a holiday, creating safety regulations for factories and compulsory pensions for workers. However, the club was very corrupt in their governance. The 1918 elections were fraught with fraud and vote-buying, and many provinces could not hold elections, such as Shaanxi and Henan due to conflict, and thus their military governors handpicked pro-Anfu officials to represent them in the National Assembly. The Anfu Club did not operate in isolation. They were formed on the orders of the
Duan Qirui Duan Qirui (; ) (March 6, 1865 – November 2, 1936) was a Chinese warlord and politician, a commander of the Beiyang Army and the acting Chief Executive of the Republic of China (in Beijing) from 1924 to 1926. He was also the Premier of the R ...
, the former premier and leader of the
Anhui Clique The Anhui clique () was a military and political organization, one of several mutually hostile cliques or factions that split from the Beiyang clique in the Republic of China's Warlord Era. It was named after Anhui province because several of its ...
. Duan was a military strongman who sought to unify China by force. The purpose of the club was ultimately to enable him in this pursuit. However, the Anfu Club was only a part of the Anhui Clique. The Jiwei Club, known as the "Moderate Militarists" by international observers and formed by
Jin Yunpeng Jin Yunpeng (); ; 1877 – 30 January 1951) was a Chinese general and politician of the Warlord Era of the Republic of China. He served as both Minister of War and then Premier of China several times. His ascent to the Premiership was support ...
from Anfu Club defectors in the parliament and with support from President
Xu Shichang Xu Shichang (Hsu Shih-chang; ; courtesy name: Juren (Chu-jen; 菊人); October 20, 1855 – June 5, 1939) was the President of the Republic of China, in Beijing, from 10 October 1918 to 2 June 1922. The only permanent president of the Beiyang ...
opposed the Anfu Club in the Assembly, although still espoused loyalty to Duan. Moreover, the Anfu Club did not fully support the generals and military governors of the Anhui Clique, as demonstrated by the reduction of the Army Budget by 20% during 1919.


References

{{Reflist 1918 establishments in China Warlord Era Politics of the Republic of China (1912–1949)