Sun Dianying (; 1889–1948) was a Chinese bandit leader,
warlord
A warlord is a person who exercises military, economic, and political control over a region in a country without a strong national government; largely because of coercive control over the armed forces. Warlords have existed throughout much of h ...
, and
National Revolutionary Army
The National Revolutionary Army (NRA; ), sometimes shortened to Revolutionary Army () before 1928, and as National Army () after 1928, was the military arm of the Kuomintang (KMT, or the Chinese Nationalist Party) from 1925 until 1947 in China ...
commander who fought in the
Warlord Era,
Second Sino-Japanese War
The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) or War of Resistance (Chinese term) was a military conflict that was primarily waged between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. The war made up the Chinese theater of the wider Pacific Th ...
, and
Chinese Civil War
The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led government of the Republic of China and forces of the Chinese Communist Party, continuing intermittently since 1 August 1927 until 7 December 1949 with a Communist victory on m ...
, earning notoriety for changing sides multiple times in course of these conflicts.
Biography
Early life as bandit and first military commands
Born in 1887, 1898, or 1889 in
Yongcheng
Yongcheng () is county-level city in Henan province, China, and is the easternmost county-level division of the province, bordering Anhui province on all sides except the northwest and due north. Yongcheng has significant coal deposits and some ins ...
,
Henan
Henan (; or ; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which literally means "central plain" or "midland", although the name is al ...
,
Sun joined a bandit gang in his youth, and eventually became a message-carrier for the Yangshan bandit chief Zhang Ping. He eventually joined the Songxian Pacification Force (SPF), an anti-bandit militia that mostly consisted of ex-bandits. Sun managed to rise to a minor command in the SPF, but he resumed banditry following the suicide of his superior
Han Yukun in 1925, or after the SPF's crushing defeat at
Xi'an
Xi'an ( , ; ; Chinese: ), frequently spelled as Xian and also known by #Name, other names, is the list of capitals in China, capital of Shaanxi, Shaanxi Province. A Sub-provincial division#Sub-provincial municipalities, sub-provincial city o ...
against warlord
Feng Yuxiang
Feng Yuxiang (; ; 6 November 1882 – 1 September 1948), courtesy name Huanzhang (焕章), was a warlord and a leader of the Republic of China from Chaohu, Anhui. He served as Vice Premier of the Republic of China from 1928 to 1930. He was ...
in 1926.
In any case, Sun wanted to rejoin the armed forces. To achieve this, he led his
private army
A private army (or private military) is a military or paramilitary force consisting of armed combatants who owe their allegiance to a private person, group, or organization, rather than a nation or state.
History
Private armies may form when l ...
from the western Henan mountains to
Anhui
Anhui , (; formerly romanized as Anhwei) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the East China region. Its provincial capital and largest city is Hefei. The province is located across the basins of the Yangtze River ...
. On the way, Sun refrained from plundering the countryside, and thus did not draw much attention. He and his troops were consequently able to launch a surprise attack on
Bozhou
Bozhou () is a prefecture-level city in northwestern Anhui province, China. It borders Huaibei to the northeast, Bengbu to the southeast, Huainan to the south, Fuyang to the southwest, and Henan to the north. Its population was 4,996,844 at the ...
which they captured almost without a fight. He had thus proven his military capabilities, and was appointed as the 35th Division's commander in the army of warlord
Zhang Zongchang
Zhang Zongchang (1881 – 3 September 1932) was a Chinese warlord in Shandong in the early 20th century. ''Time'' dubbed him China's "basest warlord". He was known by many nicknames such as the "Dogmeat General" (), based on the name of his fa ...
in late 1925 or 1926. Sun quickly deserted to the
National Revolutionary Army
The National Revolutionary Army (NRA; ), sometimes shortened to Revolutionary Army () before 1928, and as National Army () after 1928, was the military arm of the Kuomintang (KMT, or the Chinese Nationalist Party) from 1925 until 1947 in China ...
during the
Northern Expedition
The Northern Expedition was a military campaign launched by the National Revolutionary Army (NRA) of the Kuomintang (KMT), also known as the "Chinese Nationalist Party", against the Beiyang government and other regional warlords in 1926. The ...
, however, and would repeatedly change sides in the following years. Sometimes, he fought with, sometimes against the Nationalists. In 1928, he plotted the notorious
looting of the Eastern Mausoleum
The Looting of the Eastern Mausoleum was an incident in which some of the major mausoleums of the Chinese Qing dynasty in the Eastern Qing tombs were looted by troops under the command of the warlord Sun Dianying.
Prelude
In the early hours of ...
of the
Manchu
The Manchus (; ) are a Tungusic East Asian ethnic group native to Manchuria in Northeast Asia. They are an officially recognized ethnic minority in China and the people from whom Manchuria derives its name. The Later Jin (1616–1636) and ...
emperors.
The tombs desecrated included those of the late
Empress Dowager Cixi
Empress Dowager Cixi ( ; mnc, Tsysi taiheo; formerly Romanization of Chinese, romanised as Empress Dowager T'zu-hsi; 29 November 1835 – 15 November 1908), of the Manchu people, Manchu Nara (clan)#Yehe Nara, Yehe Nara clan, was a Chinese nob ...
and the
Qianlong Emperor
The Qianlong Emperor (25 September 17117 February 1799), also known by his temple name Emperor Gaozong of Qing, born Hongli, was the fifth Emperor of the Qing dynasty and the fourth Qing emperor to rule over China proper, reigning from 1735 t ...
.
In course of the
Warlord Rebellion in northeastern Shandong
The Warlord Rebellion in northeastern Shandong was an uprising of several allied Chinese warlord armies under the leadership of Zhang Zongchang in 1929. The rebels wanted to regain their former territories in Shandong from Liu Zhennian, the man w ...
of 1929, Sun and 7,000 soldiers under his command joined the insurgents against the Nationalist-aligned ruler of eastern
Shandong
Shandong ( , ; ; alternately romanized as Shantung) is a coastal province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the East China region.
Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilizati ...
,
Liu Zhennian
Liu Zhennian () (1898 in Nangong, Hebei, China - May 13, 1935) was a Chinese military commander during the Warlord Era and Nanjing decade in the history of the Republic of China.
Liu graduated from the Baoding Military Academy and served as a re ...
.
In 1930, he fought with warlords
Feng Yuxiang
Feng Yuxiang (; ; 6 November 1882 – 1 September 1948), courtesy name Huanzhang (焕章), was a warlord and a leader of the Republic of China from Chaohu, Anhui. He served as Vice Premier of the Republic of China from 1928 to 1930. He was ...
and
Yan Xishan
Yan Xishan (; 8 October 1883 – 22 July 1960, ) was a Chinese warlord who served in the government of the Republic of China. He effectively controlled the province of Shanxi from the 1911 Xinhai Revolution to the 1949 Communist victory in ...
in the
Central Plains War
The Central Plains War () was a series of military campaigns in 1929 and 1930 that constituted a Chinese civil war between the Nationalist Kuomintang government in Nanjing led by Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek and several regional military commande ...
against
Chiang Kai-shek
Chiang Kai-shek (31 October 1887 – 5 April 1975), also known as Chiang Chung-cheng and Jiang Jieshi, was a Chinese Nationalist politician, revolutionary, and military leader who served as the leader of the Republic of China (ROC) from 1928 ...
's
government
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state.
In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...
. Sun's forces were involved in a major
friendly fire
In military terminology, friendly fire or fratricide is an attack by belligerent or neutral forces on friendly troops while attempting to attack enemy/hostile targets. Examples include misidentifying the target as hostile, cross-fire while eng ...
incident during this war, as they mistakenly fired on Feng's troops at
Shangqiu
Shangqiu (), alternately romanized as Shangkiu, is a city in eastern Henan province, Central China. It borders Kaifeng to the northwest, Zhoukou to the southwest, and the provinces of Shandong and Anhui to the northeast and southeast respectively ...
. The two warlords almost went to war over this issue. As the conflict turned against the warlord alliance, Sun's army increasingly suffered from mass desertion, so that he "desperately" launched recruitment campaigns in northern Henan and southern
Hubei
Hubei (; ; alternately Hupeh) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, and is part of the Central China region. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Dongting Lake. The prov ...
while the fighting was still ongoing. Realising that the Central Plains War was lost, Sun eventually retreated with his remaining army from the front at Bozhou, and joined the Nationalist-allied forces of
Zhang Xueliang
Chang Hsüeh-liang (, June 3, 1901 – October 15, 2001), also romanized as Zhang Xueliang, nicknamed the "Young Marshal" (少帥), known in his later life as Peter H. L. Chang, was the effective ruler of Northeast China and much of northern ...
. He moved to
Shanxi
Shanxi (; ; formerly romanised as Shansi) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the North China region. The capital and largest city of the province is Taiyuan, while its next most populated prefecture-lev ...
, where his men were reorganized as 40th Division and garrisoned at
Jincheng
Jincheng is a prefecture-level city in the southeast of Shanxi province, China, bordering Henan province to the south and southeast. It is an industrial city in an area where coal mining is an important industry. The entire city has a population ...
.
Campaigns in Inner Mongolia
In early 1933, the
Imperial Japanese Army
The was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945. It was controlled by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office and the Ministry of the Army, both of which were nominally subordinate to the Emperor o ...
launched
Operation Nekka
The defense of the Great Wall () (January 1 – May 31, 1933) was a campaign between the armies of Republic of China and Empire of Japan, which took place before the Second Sino-Japanese War officially commenced in 1937 and after the Japanese inv ...
to conquer
Jehol Province
Rehe (), also romanized as Jehol, was a former Chinese special administrative region and province.
Administration
Rehe was north of the Great Wall, west of Manchuria, and east of Mongolia. Its capital and largest city was Chengde. The second ...
. At the time, Sun commanded the 41st Army of 30,000 men, most of them garrisoned in
Lingyuan
Lingyuan () is a city in the west of Liaoning province in Northeast China, bordering Hebei province and Inner Mongolia
Inner Mongolia, officially the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China. ...
; one of the soldiers under his command during this conflict was writer
Duanmu Hongliang
Duanmu Hongliang (; 1912–1996), born Cao Jingping (), was a Chinese writer whose works were prominent during the Second Sino-Japanese War and for whom the land and environment were pivotal fictional elements. He was born in Changtu County, Lia ...
.
As the Japanese closed in on Lingyuan, Sun did not resist, as he and his sub-commanders had been bribed by the invaders. They allowed the Japanese to occupy the city almost without resistance. Only a few units under Sun's command refused to retreat from Lingyuan and fought the Japanese to the death, while he moved his army to
Chahar Province
Chahar ( mn, , Чахар; ), also known as Chaha'er, Chakhar or Qahar, was a province of the Republic of China in existence from 1912 to 1936, mostly covering territory in what is part of Eastern Inner Mongolia. It was named after the Chahar ...
. As the entire Chinese defense of Jehol collapsed, some of Sun's units lost contact to their headquarters and were left behind; one of his regiments consequently launched a counter-attack on
Chifeng
Chifeng ( zh, s=赤峰市), also known as Ulanhad ( mn, (Улаанхад хот), ''Ulaɣanqada qota'', , "red cliff"), is a prefecture-level city in Southeastern Inner Mongolia, People's Republic of China. It borders Xilin Gol League to the ...
, not knowing that other NRA forces had already fled the province. As the Chinese high command initially refused to admit that Sun had been bribed, and some troops under his command had valiantly fought the Japanese, Sun's reputation was slightly rehabilitated in course of the campaign, an opportunity he seized to expand his strength. At the time of the
Tanggu Truce
The Tanggu Truce, sometimes called the , was a ceasefire that was signed between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan in Tanggu District, Tianjin, on May 31, 1933. It formally ended the Japanese invasion of Manchuria, which had begun in ...
, Sun's troops garrisoned the strategic Peiking–Suiyuan Railway.
In May 1933, with
Feng Yuxiang
Feng Yuxiang (; ; 6 November 1882 – 1 September 1948), courtesy name Huanzhang (焕章), was a warlord and a leader of the Republic of China from Chaohu, Anhui. He served as Vice Premier of the Republic of China from 1928 to 1930. He was ...
organizing the
Chahar People's Anti-Japanese Army The Chahar People's Anti-Japanese Army (察哈尔民众抗日同盟军) consisted mostly of former Northwestern Army units under Feng Yuxiang, troops from Fang Zhenwu's Resisting Japan and Saving China Army, remnants of the provincial forces from ...
, Sun also advocated opposition to Japan and criticized Chiang Kai-shek's central government, yet protested his loyalty to Chiang. The national government feared Sun Dianying would cooperate with Feng's Anti-Japanese Army, allowing them to use the railroad to support their forces. However, Sun was also not willing to be involved in a conflict with Chiang. He hoped to be involved in northwest development and control a territory of his own there. In mid-June, when Chiang ordered Sun's army to leave the railroad garrison and open up wasteland in
Qinghai
Qinghai (; alternately romanized as Tsinghai, Ch'inghai), also known as Kokonor, is a landlocked province in the northwest of the People's Republic of China. It is the fourth largest province of China by area and has the third smallest po ...
, he was willing to go. Chiang's troops replaced his in July, cutting off the Anti-Japanese Army from communication with the rest of China.
Chiang intended the allied northwest
Ma clique
The Ma clique or Ma family warlords is a collective name for a group of Hui (Muslim Chinese) warlords in Northwestern China who ruled the Chinese provinces of Qinghai, Gansu and Ningxia for 10 years from 1919 until 1928. Following the collapse o ...
to have the strength to cope with Sun Dianying and to weaken themselves while competing with him. As the Ma warlords saw through this plot, and strongly protested against Sun moving into their territories, Chiang was forced to give in. He ordered Sun to halt his advance through
Suiyuan
Suiyuan () is a ''de jure'' province of the Republic of China according to the ROC law, as the ROC government formally claims to be the legitimate government of China, with its capital located Guisui (now Hohhot). The abbreviation was (pinyi ...
province in November 1933. However, Sun's forces became short of food and restive from their inactivity.
In January 1934 with his forces threatened with starvation and talk of mutiny, Sun Dianying was forced to march his 60,000-man army west from Suiyuan province into
Ningxia
Ningxia (,; , ; alternately romanized as Ninghsia), officially the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region (NHAR), is an autonomous region in the northwest of the People's Republic of China. Formerly a province, Ningxia was incorporated into Gansu in ...
, governed by
Ma Hongkui
Ma Hongkui (,
Xiao'erjing: ; March 14, 1892 – January 14, 1970) was a prominent warlord in China during the Republic of China era, ruling the province of Ningxia. His rank was lieutenant general. His courtesy name was Shao-yun (少雲). ...
. Supported by his fellow Ma warlords
Ma Hongbin
Ma Hongbin ( zh, 马鸿宾, Xiao'erjing: , September 14, 1884 – October 21, 1960), was a prominent Chinese Muslim warlord active mainly during the Republican era, and was part of the Ma clique. He was the acting Chairman of Gansu and Ningxia ...
,
Ma Bufang
Ma Bufang (1903 – 31 July 1975) (, Xiao'erjing: ) was a prominent Muslim Ma clique warlord in China during the Republic of China era, ruling the province of Qinghai. His rank was Lieutenant-general.
General Ma started an industrialization pro ...
, and
Ma Buqing
Ma Buqing (1901–1977) (, Xiao'erjing: ) was a prominent Ma clique warlord in China during the Republic of China era, controlling armies in the province of Qinghai.
Life
Ma Buqing and his younger brother Ma Bufang (1903–1975) were born in Mo ...
, Hongkui resisted, starting a
war for Ningxia. Both sides battled for three months, with heavy losses. In March, Sun's army was defeated by the Ma forces, while his route of retreat was cut off by Yan Xishan and troops loyal to Chiang Kai-Shek. He consequently surrendered in April, and went to Taiyuan to live in seclusion, while the remnants of his defeated troops were incorporated into Yan Xishan's provincial forces. Just one month later, however, Sun was appointed "high military advisor" for the
Military Affairs Commission
The Military Affairs Commission (MAC) of the National Government, chaired by Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek during the Second Sino-Japanese War and World War II, directed the command of the National Revolutionary Army of the Republic of China.
...
's
Beiping
"Beijing" is from pinyin ''Běijīng,'' which is romanized from , the Chinese name for this city. The pinyin system of transliteration was approved by the Chinese government in 1958, but little used until 1979. It was gradually adopted by various ...
branch by the central government.
Second Sino-Japanese War
In 1937, when the
Second Sino-Japanese War
The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) or War of Resistance (Chinese term) was a military conflict that was primarily waged between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. The war made up the Chinese theater of the wider Pacific Th ...
erupted, Sun resurfaced once again, commanding troops against the Japanese, taking command of the Hebei-Chahar Guerillas in 1938. He was eventually appointed as general of the NRA's 5th Army, but alongside his superior
Pang Bingxun defected to the Japanese in 1943. Joining
Wang Jingwei
Wang Jingwei (4 May 1883 – 10 November 1944), born as Wang Zhaoming and widely known by his pen name Jingwei, was a Chinese politician. He was initially a member of the left wing of the Kuomintang, leading a government in Wuhan in oppositi ...
's
Reorganized National Government of the Republic of China
The Wang Jingwei regime or the Wang Ching-wei regime is the common name of the Reorganized National Government of the Republic of China ( zh , t = 中華民國國民政府 , p = Zhōnghuá Mínguó Guómín Zhèngfǔ ), the government of the pup ...
, he was given command of
Collaborationist Chinese Army
The term Collaborationist Chinese Army refers to the military forces of the puppet governments founded by Imperial Japan in mainland China during the Second Sino-Japanese War and World War II. They include the armies of the Provisional (1937–194 ...
's 6th Group Army District which guarded the southern
Beijing–Hankou railway, and was made a member of its National Military Council. In August 1943 his troops were defeated by
PLA
PLA may refer to:
Organizations Politics and military
* People's Liberation Army, the armed forces of China and of the ruling Chinese Communist Party
* People's Liberation Army (disambiguation)
** Irish National Liberation Army, formerly called ...
forces in the
Linnan Campaign.
When the Second Sino-Japanese War was over, Sun participated in the
Chinese Civil War
The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led government of the Republic of China and forces of the Chinese Communist Party, continuing intermittently since 1 August 1927 until 7 December 1949 with a Communist victory on m ...
on the side of the Nationalists. He was eventually defeated by
People's Liberation Army
The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the principal military force of the People's Republic of China and the armed wing of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The PLA consists of five service branches: the Ground Force, Navy, Air Force, ...
forces and taken prisoner. In 1946 or 1947, he died in the POW camp of
Wu'an
Wu'an is a county-level city in the southwest of Hebei Province, China, bordering Shanxi Province to the west. It is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Handan.
History
People's Republic
In August 1949, Wu'an was one of thr ...
.
See also
*
Warlord era
References
Bibliography
*
*
*
*
*
*
Sources
民国军阀派系谈 (The Republic of China warlord cliques)* 中国抗日战争正面战场作战记 (China's Anti-Japanese War Combat Operations)
** Author : Guo Rugui, editor-in-chief Huang Yuzhang
** Jiangsu People's Publishing House
** Date published: 2005-7-1
**
* China and Eurasia Forum Quarterly, Volume 5, No. 1; Nationalists, Muslim Warlords, and the “Great Northwestern Development” in Pre-Communist China by Hsiao-ting Lin, p. 121-142 (2007)
** ©Central Asia-Caucasus Institute& Silk Road Studies Program
**
*
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sun, Dianying
19th-century births
1948 deaths
Chinese collaborators with Imperial Japan
Kuomintang collaborators with Imperial Japan
National Revolutionary Army generals from Henan
Republic of China warlords from Henan
Politicians from Shangqiu