The Wuhan Nationalist government (), also known as the Wuhan government, Wuhan regime, or Hankow government, was a government dominated by the
left-wing
Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...
of the
Nationalist
Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...
or Kuomintang (KMT) Party of China that was based in
Wuhan
Wuhan (, ; ; ) is the capital of Hubei, Hubei Province in the China, People's Republic of China. It is the largest city in Hubei and the most populous city in Central China, with a population of over eleven million, the List of cities in China ...
from 5 December 1926 to 21 September 1927, led first by
Eugene Chen
Eugene Chen or Chen Youren (; July 2, 1878, San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago – 20 May 1944, Shanghai), known in his youth as Eugene Bernard Achan, was a Chinese Trinidadian lawyer who in the 1920s became Chinese foreign minister. He was known ...
, and later by
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 ...
.
Following the capture of Wuhan 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 ...
, the Nationalist government based in
Guangzhou
Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong Kon ...
moved there in December 1926. In April 1927, after
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 ...
(NRA) commander-in-chief
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 ...
purged communists and leftists in the "
Shanghai massacre
The Shanghai massacre of 12 April 1927, the April 12 Purge or the April 12 Incident as it is commonly known in China, was the violent suppression of Chinese Communist Party (CCP) organizations and leftist elements in Shanghai by forces supportin ...
", the Wuhan government split from Chiang in what is known as the "Nanjing–Wuhan split" (). Chiang subsequently formed his own government in
Nanjing
Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and the second largest city in the East China region. T ...
. While Chiang continued the Northern Expedition on his own, increasing tensions between communists and the KMT in the Wuhan government resulted in a
new purge of communists from that government, and an eventual reconciliation with the Nanjing faction, after which the government moved to Nanjing.
History
Background
Despite Kuomintang founder
Sun Yat-sen
Sun Yat-sen (; also known by several other names; 12 November 1866 – 12 March 1925)Singtao daily. Saturday edition. 23 October 2010. section A18. Sun Yat-sen Xinhai revolution 100th anniversary edition . was a Chinese politician who serve ...
's policy of collaborating with the
Chinese Communist Party
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victoriou ...
(CCP) in the
First United Front
The First United Front (; alternatively ), also known as the KMT–CCP Alliance, of the Kuomintang (KMT) and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), was formed in 1924 as an alliance to end warlordism in China. Together they formed the National Revo ...
, a discrepancy existed between the two parties' ultimate goals for the revolution, and there had been constant conflict between them, such as the March 1926
Canton Coup
The Canton Coup of 20 March 1926, also known as the or the was a purge of Communist elements of the Nationalist army in Guangzhou (then romanized as "Canton") undertaken by Chiang Kai-shek. The incident solidified Chiang's power immediate ...
.
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secreta ...
tried to persuade the small Communist Party to merge with the Kuomintang to bring about a bourgeois revolution before attempting to bring about a Soviet-style working class revolution. Stalin funded the KMT 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 ...
to reunify China. Stalin said that NRA commander-in-chief
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 ...
was the only one capable of defeating the imperialists, and that his forces were to be squeezed for all usefulness like a lemon before being discarded.
During the expedition, labour movements led by the Communist Party endangered commercial interests' support of the KMT.
Land reform
Land reform is a form of agrarian reform involving the changing of laws, regulations, or customs regarding land ownership. Land reform may consist of a government-initiated or government-backed property redistribution, generally of agricultural ...
incited further dissatisfaction among generals and soldiers in the National Revolutionary Army who came from landowning families. For example, the landholding family of General
He Jian
He Jian (; 10 April 1887 – 25 April 1956) was a Chinese Nationalist (KMT) general and politician in the Republic of China. He was governor of Hunan province between 1929 and 1937, and Interior Minister from 1937 to 1939. He was best known for ...
were paraded through the streets as criminals by communists.
Formation of the Wuhan government
![KMT 3rd Plenary Session of 2nd Central Committee](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9c/KMT_3rd_Plenary_Session_of_2nd_Central_Committee.jpg)
The National Revolutionary Army, military arm of the KMT, captured the three cities of
Wuchang
Wuchang forms part of the urban core of and is one of 13 urban districts of the prefecture-level city of Wuhan, the capital of Hubei Province, China. It is the oldest of the three cities that merged into modern-day Wuhan, and stood on the ri ...
,
Hankou
Hankou, alternately romanized as Hankow (), was one of the three towns (the other two were Wuchang and Hanyang) merged to become modern-day Wuhan city, the capital of the Hubei province, China. It stands north of the Han and Yangtze Rivers wher ...
, and
Hanyang Hanyang may refer to:
China
*Hanyang District (漢陽區, 汉阳区, ''Hànyáng Qū''), Wuhan, Hubei
:*Hanyang Arsenal (漢陽兵工廠), founded in 1891 as one of the oldest modern arsenals in Chinese history
:*Hanyang 88 (漢陽八八式步槍), ...
in a series of battles from August to October 1926 during the early stage of the Northern Expedition, and merged their municipal governments to form
Wuhan
Wuhan (, ; ; ) is the capital of Hubei, Hubei Province in the China, People's Republic of China. It is the largest city in Hubei and the most populous city in Central China, with a population of over eleven million, the List of cities in China ...
. After the Wuhan area had fallen to the KMT, local workers organized themselves into left-leaning
trade union
A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...
s, which grew to around 300,000 members by the end of the year. Trade unions also emerged in other NRA-held cities, while peasant uprisings spread throughout the countryside. Backed by these emerging mass-movements, members of the Kuomintang relocated from
Guangzhou
Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong Kon ...
to Wuhan, and formed a new nationalist government in December. In order to consolidate the conquest, it was in the interest of the KMT to relocate from Guangzhou to Wuhan. Chiang initially invited the government to move to Wuhan but later demurred and tried to keep the members of the central committees in
Nanchang
Nanchang (, ; ) is the capital of Jiangxi Province, People's Republic of China. Located in the north-central part of the province and in the hinterland of Poyang Lake Plain, it is bounded on the west by the Jiuling Mountains, and on the east ...
, Jiangxi, where his headquarters was located.
[Beifa Zhanzheng yu Beiyang Junfa de fumie, ed. Tianshi Yang, Vol. 5 of Zhonghua Minguo Shi, ed. Xin Li (Beijing: Zhonghua Book Company, 2011).] By the time the government moved to Wuhan with its left-leaning leadership including
Sun Fo
Sun Fo or Sun Ke (; 21 October 1891 – 13 September 1973), courtesy name Zhesheng (), was a high-ranking official in the government of the Republic of China. He was the son of Sun Yat-sen, the founder of the Republic of China, and his fir ...
,
Xu Qian
Xu Qian or George Hsu (; June 15, 1871 – September 26, 1940) was a Chinese politician and jurist. He made important contribution to the judicial system of modern China.
Originated from She County of Anhui province and born in Nanchang of Jia ...
,
T. V. Soong
Soong Tse-vung, more commonly romanized as Soong Tse-ven or Soong Tzu-wen (; 4 December 1894 – 25 April 1971), was a prominent businessman and politician in the early 20th-century Republic of China, who served as Premier. His father was Char ...
, the peasant and labor movement led by communists and leftists of Kuomintang was in full swing in
Hunan
Hunan (, ; ) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the South Central China region. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi to ...
and
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 ...
. It was during this period that
Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong pronounced ; also romanised traditionally as Mao Tse-tung. (26 December 1893 – 9 September 1976), also known as Chairman Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary who was the founder of the People's Republic of China (PRC) ...
prepared his ''
Report on an Investigation of the Peasant Movement in Hunan
''Report on an Investigation of the Peasant Movement in Hunan'' or ''Inquiry into the Peasant Movement of Hunan'' of March 1927, often called the Hunan Report, is one of Mao Zedong's most famous and influential essays. The Report is based on a s ...
'' that severely criticized Party leadership.
Chiang Kai-shek, who had been leader of the KMT since the
Canton Coup
The Canton Coup of 20 March 1926, also known as the or the was a purge of Communist elements of the Nationalist army in Guangzhou (then romanized as "Canton") undertaken by Chiang Kai-shek. The incident solidified Chiang's power immediate ...
in March 1926, opted to stay at his military headquarters in Nanchang. He did not wanted to become involved in the politics at Wuhan, instead preferring to focus on the conquest of the rest of China while maintaining his independence from other KMT leaders. In January 1927, violent protests broke out in the British
concession
Concession may refer to:
General
* Concession (contract) (sometimes called a concession agreement), a contractual right to carry on a certain kind of business or activity in an area, such as to explore or develop its natural resources or to opera ...
at Hankou, resulting in its evacuation by the British and handover to the Chinese. Under such an atmosphere the leftists expanded control over the Kuomintang government in the Third Plenary Session of the Second Central Committee of Kuomintang. The party congress elected a majority of communists and leftists into the central committees, and therefore strengthened the Soviet hold on the party at the expense of Chiang Kai-shek. Areas under Wuhan's control, such as Changsha, were plastered with propaganda posters with slogans including: "Communism is the heart of China", "Foster the mother country of the proletariat — Soviet Russia", and "China and Russia are one". At the same time, Chiang was arresting communists as he advanced downstream the Yangtze River. It was widely suspected that the
Chinese Communist Party
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victoriou ...
and Soviet advisors in the Wuhan government used anti-imperialist and anti-foreign sentiments to instigate violent confrontations with foreign militaries in the
Nanjing incident to strengthen the communists while simultaneously damaging the right-wing faction of the Kuomintang.
![Wuhan government leaders](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4e/Wuhan_government_leaders.png)
It was under these circumstances that a divergence between the KMT and CCP appeared. KMT rightist figures like Chiang Kai-shek pushed for the "complete clearance of the Communist Party". Meanwhile, KMT leftists, CCP and the
Communist International
The Communist International (Comintern), also known as the Third International, was a Soviet-controlled international organization founded in 1919 that advocated world communism. The Comintern resolved at its Second Congress to "struggle by a ...
were alarmed and decided to support the leftist leader Wang Jingwei who previously had been exiled abroad. The Wuhan government, which was dominated by leftist KMT politicians from the beginning, aided by the
Chinese Communist Party
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victoriou ...
, as well as widespread grassroots support, transformed Wuhan into "a seedbed for revolution", while portraying themselves as the sole legitimate leadership of the KMT. Controlling much of
Hunan
Hunan (, ; ) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the South Central China region. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi to ...
,
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 ...
,
Guangdong
Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...
and
Jiangxi
Jiangxi (; ; formerly romanized as Kiangsi or Chianghsi) is a landlocked province in the east of the People's Republic of China. Its major cities include Nanchang and Jiujiang. Spanning from the banks of the Yangtze river in the north int ...
, the Wuhan government began challenging Chiang's authority, and launched a propaganda campaign against him from January 1927. On 10 March, the Wuhan leadership nominally stripped Chiang of much of his military authority, though refrained from deposing him as commander-in-chief. At the same time, the Communist Party became an equal partner in the Wuhan government, sharing power with the KMT leftists. In response to these developments, Chiang started to rally anti-communist elements in the KMT and NRA around him.
Meanwhile, the Wuhan government began to face severe administrative problems. While the grassroots movements had originally been among its most important supporters, their actions sowed social instability and economic chaos in the areas under its control. They drove out foreigners, including several economically important firms, and suppressed middle and small merchants. Although the Wuhan government was reluctant to alienate the communist-leaning workers, they could hardly tolerate the ongoing social trend, as they were beginning to create severe financial downturn. By May 1927, the Wuhan government had an expenditure of 10 million Chinese dollars in contrast to a revenue of just 1.8 million dollars. Inflation and mass layoffs further worsened the economic situation. Furthermore, the countryside began to descend into chaos, as peasant rebels took control of large swaths of land. The communists generally claimed that the rural insurgents were under their control, but in reality these insurgents were often independent groups or simply found themselves allied with the leftists. Regardless of the political position of the peasants, the Wuhan government tried to sway them to their side through a reform program, although the planned agrarian reform never really took off. Instead, the rural insurgents started to govern themselves, which in response alienated much of the NRA officials as the Kuomintang military leadership were generally opposed to peasant self-rule.
Nanjing–Wuhan split
![Wang Jingwei and Chiang Kai-shek](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f9/Wang_Jingwei_and_Chiang_Kai-shek.jpg)
On 1 April 1927, Wang Jingwei returned to China, and arrived at
Shanghai
Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...
, which had been occupied by the National Revolutionary Army. Chiang Kai-shek and Li Zongren met with him to urge him to end the collaborative relations with the CCP as the president of the Wuhan government, but Wang stated that he would "pick up side with the workers and farmers",
[《真实的汪精卫》,第二部分之三:从拥共到反共] and proposed to tolerate the communists for the time being. Concurrently, violence broke out in Hankou, part of Wuhan, when trade unionists and communist agitators attacked the Japanese
concession
Concession may refer to:
General
* Concession (contract) (sometimes called a concession agreement), a contractual right to carry on a certain kind of business or activity in an area, such as to explore or develop its natural resources or to opera ...
there, sparking the "
Hankou incident". Wuhan garrison commander
Tang Shengzhi
Tang Shengzhi (; Wade-Giles: Tang Sheng-chih; 12 October 1889 – 6 April 1970) was a Chinese warlord during the Warlord Era, a military commander during the Second Sino-Japanese War and a politician after World War II.
After participating i ...
and foreign minister
Eugene Chen
Eugene Chen or Chen Youren (; July 2, 1878, San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago – 20 May 1944, Shanghai), known in his youth as Eugene Bernard Achan, was a Chinese Trinidadian lawyer who in the 1920s became Chinese foreign minister. He was known ...
rushed to quell the disorder and assuage the Japanese. At a KMT senior officials' meeting in Shanghai on the following day,
Wu Zhihui
Wu Jingheng (), commonly known by his courtesy name Wu Zhihui (Woo Chih-hui, ; 1865–1953), also known as Wu Shi-Fee, was a Chinese linguist and philosopher who was the chairman of the 1912–13 Commission on the Unification of Pronunciatio ...
went so far as to kneel down and beg for Wang's assent to Chiang's proposals. The meeting only managed to proceed with Chiang Kai-shek's and others' mediation. In the fourth Plenary Session of the 2nd KMT Central Committee held in
Nanjing
Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and the second largest city in the East China region. T ...
, a consensus was reached on how to resolve the KMT-CCP dispute:
However, on 5 April, Wang decided to take the initiative by privately publishing with Chen Duxiu the "Joint Declaration of the Leaders of the Nationalist and Communist Parties", in which he proclaimed a permanent collaboration between the two parties. This declaration drove the anti-communist KMT officials into a rage. Wu Zhihui, who had previously knelt down to beg Wang, mocked him as paternalistic, "the parent of the KMT". Wang left Shanghai that night for Wuhan, the government there being made up mostly of the communists and the KMT left-wing.
![Tang Shenugzhi](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/45/Tang_Shenugzhi.jpg)
Wang Jingwei arrived at
Wuhan
Wuhan (, ; ; ) is the capital of Hubei, Hubei Province in the China, People's Republic of China. It is the largest city in Hubei and the most populous city in Central China, with a population of over eleven million, the List of cities in China ...
on 10 April and met
Tang Shengzhi
Tang Shengzhi (; Wade-Giles: Tang Sheng-chih; 12 October 1889 – 6 April 1970) was a Chinese warlord during the Warlord Era, a military commander during the Second Sino-Japanese War and a politician after World War II.
After participating i ...
and
Tan Yankai
Tan Yankai (; ; January 25, 1880 – September 22, 1930) was a Chinese politician.
Biography
Tan Yankai was born on 25 January 1880 in Hangzhou during the waning decades of the Qing dynasty. He was the son of the Qing minister Tan Zhonglin. ...
, nominally to call together members of central committee to attend the fourth plenary session of the 2nd KMT Central Committee held in Nanjing. He thought that the meeting would be held as planned, but unexpectedly, Chiang Kai-shek rallied the anti-communist factions of
Hu Hanmin
Hu Hanmin (; born in Panyu, Guangdong, Qing dynasty, China, 9 December 1879 – Kwangtung, Republic of China, 12 May 1936) was a Chinese philosopher and politician who was one of the early conservative right factional leaders in the Kuomintang ...
and
Li Jishen
Li Jishen or Li Chi-shen (5 November 1885 – 9 October 1959) was a Chinese military officer and politician, general of the National Revolutionary Army of the Republic of China, Vice Chairman of the People's Republic of China (1949–1954) ...
to
"exterminate the communists" on 12 April, and formed a rival government in Nanjing (). Incensed and shocked, Wang declared that Chiang had been "expelled from the party and dismissed from all his posts", namely, the KMT central executive membership. The Wuhan government responded by accusing Chiang and his followers of being the puppets of foreign imperialists and criticised his close cooperation with
Shanghai
Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...
's merchant class, arguing that he helped to oppress workers and peasants. On 18 April, the same day of the formation of the Nanjing government, during a public rally in Wuhan, Wang delivered a speech in which he severely condemned Chiang Kai-shek. The Nanjing and Wuhan governments were thus officially split.
To prevent the Wuhan government from sending forces against the Nanjing government, Guangxi warlord
Li Zongren
Li Zongren or Li Tsung-jen (; 13 August 1890 – 30 January 1969), courtesy name Telin (Te-lin; ), was a prominent Guangxi warlord and Kuomintang (KMT) military commander during the Northern Expedition, Second Sino-Japanese War and Chinese C ...
and his subordinate Ying Yuhan went to
Jiangxi
Jiangxi (; ; formerly romanized as Kiangsi or Chianghsi) is a landlocked province in the east of the People's Republic of China. Its major cities include Nanchang and Jiujiang. Spanning from the banks of the Yangtze river in the north int ...
and Wuhan respectively, to lobby Wang and other armed forces in Wuhan. They managed to convince both sides to continue the Northern Expedition in mutual non-interference, and on the 19th the Wuhan government appointed Hunan warlord
Tang Shengzhi
Tang Shengzhi (; Wade-Giles: Tang Sheng-chih; 12 October 1889 – 6 April 1970) was a Chinese warlord during the Warlord Era, a military commander during the Second Sino-Japanese War and a politician after World War II.
After participating i ...
as Commander-in-chief to proceed with the Northern expedition. On 1 May, Chiang Kai Shek also continued with the Northern Expedition independently.
By this point, however, the anti-communist sentiment in the NRA had grown significantly as result of internal tensions in Wuhan-controlled areas as well as agitation by the Nanjing faction. As result, the NRA's 14th Division under
Xia Douyin
Xia Douyin () (1885–1951) was a Republic of China National Revolutionary Army general. He was born in Macheng, Hubei. Originally a member of the Qing Dynasty New Army, he participated in the Xinhai Revolution of 1911. In 1917, he joined the ...
rebelled in western Henan and marched against Wuhan in May, supported by Sichuan warlord Yang Shen. Though Xia was defeated by Wuhan loyalist
Ye Ting
Ye Ting () (September 10, 1896 – April 8, 1946), born in Huiyang, Guangdong, was a Chinese military leader who played a key role in the Northern Expedition to reunify China after the 1911 Revolution. After serving with the Kuomintang, Ye ...
's 24th Division and Yang's attack was repelled, the open rebellion further undermined the confidence of political and military leaders in the KMT toward the Wuhan leadership.
The "May Instructions"
On 1 June,
Communist International
The Communist International (Comintern), also known as the Third International, was a Soviet-controlled international organization founded in 1919 that advocated world communism. The Comintern resolved at its Second Congress to "struggle by a ...
(Comintern) representatives
Mikhail Borodin
Mikhail Markovich Gruzenberg, known by the alias Borodin, zh, 鮑羅廷 (9 July 1884 – 29 May 1951), was a Bolshevik revolutionary and Communist International (Comintern) agent. He was an advisor to Sun Yat-sen and the Kuomintang (KMT) in ...
and
M. N. Roy
Manabendra Nath Roy (born Narendra Nath Bhattacharya, better known as M. N. Roy; 21 March 1887 – 25 January 1954) was an Indian revolutionary, radical activist and political theorist, as well as a noted philosopher in the 20th century. Roy ...
received a secret telegram from Joseph Stalin with orders for the Wuhan government, which later became known as the "May Instructions". Without consulting Borodin or anyone else, Roy revealed the contents of the message to Wang Jingwei. The instructions presented the following demands:
Wang Jingwei believed that if these instructions were followed the KMT might be destroyed, but continued negotiations with the Soviets. He requested that the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
provide 15 million
roubles
The ruble (American English) or rouble (Commonwealth English) (; rus, рубль, p=rublʲ) is the currency unit of Belarus and Russia. Historically, it was the currency of the Russian Empire and of the Soviet Union.
, currencies named ''rub ...
in aid, but Moscow offered only 2 million. Later, Wang vented his frustration to chief Soviet adviser to the KMT Borodin, and considered sending him back to the Soviet Union.
![1927年郑州会议](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b8/1927%E5%B9%B4%E9%83%91%E5%B7%9E%E4%BC%9A%E8%AE%AE.jpg)
The "May Instructions" compelled Wang to diverge from the communists, but did nothing to quell his dislike for Chiang. In an effort to counter both the CCP and Chiang's Nanjing faction simultaneously, Wang sought the backing of
Guominjun
The Guominjun (), a.k.a. Nationalist Army, KMC, also called the Northwest Army (西北軍) or People's Army, refers to the military faction founded by Feng Yuxiang, Hu Jingyi and Sun Yue during China's Warlord Era.
History
The Guominjun was ...
leader
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 ...
, who controlled large parts of northern China. Without informing the CCP, he sent
Deng Yanda
Deng Yanda (, 1 March 1895 – 29 November 1931) was a military officer in the Chinese Nationalist Party. He broke with party leaders in 1927, denouncing them as traitors to the party's original principles and in 1930 attempted to form a new party, ...
to meet with Feng at
Zhengzhou
Zhengzhou (; ), also spelt Zheng Zhou and alternatively romanized as Chengchow, is the capital and largest city of Henan Province in the central part of the People's Republic of China. Located in north-central Henan, it is one of the National ...
on 8–10 June. In the meeting, though Wang had offered Feng all possible concessions, Feng still insisted that Wang take the lead in parting from the communists. Given that Wuhan military commander-in-chief
Tang Shengzhi
Tang Shengzhi (; Wade-Giles: Tang Sheng-chih; 12 October 1889 – 6 April 1970) was a Chinese warlord during the Warlord Era, a military commander during the Second Sino-Japanese War and a politician after World War II.
After participating i ...
had been badly wounded in a battle with warlord
Zhang Zuolin
Zhang Zuolin (; March 19, 1875 June 4, 1928), courtesy name Yuting (雨亭), nicknamed Zhang Laogang (張老疙瘩), was an influential Chinese bandit, soldier, and warlord during the Warlord Era in China. The warlord of Manchuria from 1916 to ...
in Henan province, hampering Wuhan's ability to defend itself, and that Feng had taken that opportunity to seize control of
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 ...
, Wang Jingwei had to do as he requested, lest Wuhan be subject to an attack by Feng's forces.
Unbeknownst to Wang Jingwei, Feng Yuxiang had dispatched
Li Mingzhong
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 t ...
to get in touch with Chiang Kai-shek, and managed to meet him in
Xuzhou
Xuzhou (徐州), also known as Pengcheng (彭城) in ancient times, is a major city in northwestern Jiangsu province, China. The city, with a recorded population of 9,083,790 at the 2020 census (3,135,660 of which lived in the built-up area ma ...
on 19 June. Compared to the nominal titles that Wang had offered, Chiang agreed to provide Feng with 2.5 million
yuan monthly from July 1927 to cover military expenditures, and did not demand that he sever ties with the Wuhan government. Feng was immensely satisfied, and said that he wished he could have met Chiang earlier. After the meeting, Feng
wired
''Wired'' (stylized as ''WIRED'') is a monthly American magazine, published in print and online editions, that focuses on how emerging technologies affect culture, the economy, and politics. Owned by Condé Nast, it is headquartered in San Fra ...
a message to Wuhan in the name of both himself and Chiang, and demanded that the Wuhan government expel Soviet representative Mikhail Borodin, carry out a purge of communists within the party and finish the Northern Expedition, which forced Wuhan into an even weaker position.
Views on the "May Instructions" varied within the Chinese Communist Party. When Chen Duxiu first read it he thought it did not fit into China's reality, and telegraphed back indicating that it was hard to be enforced. This, however, dissatisfied the Communist Party of Soviet Union and the Comintern. "Article 11 on the KMT–CPC Union" had been passed by the expanded Central Committee on 30 June, and it suggested that the communists should consider breaking ties with the Wuhan government.
![1924 Zhou Enlai in National Revolutionary Army uniform2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/13/1924_Zhou_Enlai_in_National_Revolutionary_Army_uniform2.jpg)
On 4 July, the CCP held an expanded
political bureau
A politburo () or political bureau is the executive committee for communist parties. It is present in most former and existing communist states.
Names
The term "politburo" in English comes from the Russian ''Politbyuro'' (), itself a contraction ...
meeting on San Jiao Jie street,
Hankou
Hankou, alternately romanized as Hankow (), was one of the three towns (the other two were Wuchang and Hanyang) merged to become modern-day Wuhan city, the capital of the Hubei province, China. It stands north of the Han and Yangtze Rivers wher ...
, Wuhan. General secretary Chen Duxiu and Borodin insisted that the instructions not be followed for the time being, but this was opposed by radical elements in the party. Apart from this, the two leaders decreed that the workers and farmers' movements in
Hunan and Hubei be put on hold so as to rescue the united front with the KMT left wing. However, the Comintern deemed that by pausing workers and farmers' movements to maintain KMT membership status Chen and Borodin were guilty of "opportunism" and recalled Borodin to
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
immediately. On 8 July, the Comintern requested that all communists withdraw from KMT. On 12 July, Chen Duxiu's was dismissed as
CCP general secretary
The general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party () is the Party leader, head of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the One-party state, sole ruling party of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). Since 1989, the CCP general secr ...
, and a leaders' group constituting
Zhou Enlai
Zhou Enlai (; 5 March 1898 – 8 January 1976) was a Chinese statesman and military officer who served as the first Premier of the People's Republic of China, premier of the People's Republic of China from 1 October 1949 until his death on 8 J ...
,
Li Lisan
Li Lisan (; November 18, 1899 – June 22, 1967) was a Chinese politician, member of the Politburo, and later a member of the Central Committee.
Early years
Li was born in Liling, Hunan province in China in 1899, under the name of Li R ...
,
Li Weihan
Li Weihan (; 2 June 1896 – 11 August 1984) was a Chinese Communist Party politician. After pursuing his studies in France in 1919–20, he returned to China for the Party's founding Congress in Shanghai in 1921. He became a member of the P ...
,
Zhang Tailei
Zhang Tailei () (June 1898 – 12 December 1927) was the leader of the Guangzhou Uprising, during which he was killed.
Zhang was sent to the Russian Far East in 1921 to make a report to the Comintern for the Chinese Communist Party
The Chinese ...
and
Zhang Guotao
Zhang Guotao (November 26, 1897 – December 3, 1979), or Chang Kuo-tao, was a founding member of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and rival to Mao Zedong. During the 1920s he studied in the Soviet Union and became a key contact with the Comi ...
was formed (
Qu Qiubai
Qu Qiubai (; 29 January 1899 – 18 June 1935) was a leader of the Chinese Communist Party in the late 1920s. He was born in Changzhou, Jiangsu, China.
Early life
Qu was born in Changzhou, Jiangsu. His family lived in Tianxiang Lou () locat ...
later joined them). Researcher Zhang Yufa speculates that the Comintern's intention was for an armed insurrection to seize leadership of revolutionary movements from the KMT. On 13 July, CCP issued a declaration that it would officially withdraw from the KMT, and reproached Wang as "openly sponsoring counter-revolutionaries".
Break with CCP and dissolution
Continuous unrest by trade unionists and communist-aligned peasant movements, along with Soviet interference in Wuhan's affairs, placed constant pressure on the Wuhan government, which subsequently moved to purge communists from its ranks on 15 July 1927, in what is known as the "
715 Incident
The July 15 Incident (), known by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) as the July 15 counter-revolutionary coup (), and as the Wuhan–Communist split () by the Kuomintang (KMT), occurred on 15 July 1927. Following growing strains in the coalition b ...
". In response to the purge, the
Chinese Communist Party
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victoriou ...
initiated the
Nanchang uprising
The Nanchang Uprising () was the first major Nationalist Party of China–Chinese Communist Party engagement of the Chinese Civil War, begun by the Chinese Communists to counter the Shanghai massacre of 1927 by the Kuomintang.
The Kuomint ...
against the Wuhan government on 1 August 1927, after which Wuhan agreed to reunify with the Nanjing nationalist government. In return for his cooperation, Wang Jingwei demanded that Chiang resign from his post of commander-in-chief, and relinquish all political titles. Chiang accordingly resigned from his post on 12 August. On 21 September, the Wuhan Political Council made an official statement to the effect that they would relocate to Nanjing, ending the Wuhan government.
Military forces
Though most of the NRA was loyal to Chiang Kai-shek or various warlords who joined the KMT before or during the Northern Expedition, the Wuhan government commanded its own military force. The so-called "Wuhan Army" was less strong and well-armed than the rest of the NRA, and suffered from the defection of right-leaning commanders and their troops to Chiang's side.
Commanded by
Tang Shengzhi
Tang Shengzhi (; Wade-Giles: Tang Sheng-chih; 12 October 1889 – 6 April 1970) was a Chinese warlord during the Warlord Era, a military commander during the Second Sino-Japanese War and a politician after World War II.
After participating i ...
, the Wuhan army was too weak in numbers and equipment to truly rival Chiang's followers or to defeat the northern warlords. Nevertheless, a 70,000-strong army loyal to the Wuhan government launched its own "Northern Expedition" in April 1927, aiming to conquer
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 ...
from the northern warlords. Though lacking in arms, this force was joined by deserters from
Wu Peifu
Wu Peifu or Wu P'ei-fu (; April 22, 1874 – December 4, 1939) was a major figure in the struggles between the warlords who dominated Republican China from 1916 to 1927.
Early career
Born in Shandong Province in eastern China, Wu initi ...
's forces and managed to push back the warlord
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 ...
, but suffered 14,000 casualties while doing so, and was forced to return to Wuhan. Unable to sufficiently replenish its numbers, the Wuhan army was eventually defeated by Chiang-loyal NRA forces.
References
Citations
Bibliography
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Google Books (previously known as Google Book Search, Google Print, and by its code-name Project Ocean) is a service from Google Inc. that searches the full text of books and magazines that Google has scanned, converted to text using optical c ...
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{{authority control
1926 establishments in China
1927 disestablishments in China
Government of the Republic of China
Northern Expedition