The Sichuan clique was a group of warlords in the warlord era in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

. During the period from 1927 to 1938,

Sichuan Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of the ...

was in the hands of five warlords: Liu Xiang,

Yang Sen Yang Sen (; 20 February 1884 – 15 May 1977) was a warlord and general of the Sichuan clique who had a long military career in China. Although he was a provincial warlord, he loyally served Chiang Kai-shek and his Kuomintang (KMT) government, ...

Liu Wenhui Liu Wenhui (; 1895 – 24 June 1976) was a Chinese general and warlord of Sichuan province (Sichuan clique). At the beginning of his career, he was aligned with the Kuomintang (KMT), commanding the Sichuan-Xikang Defence Force from 1927 to 1929. ...

, Deng Xihou, He Zhaode, and

Tian Songyao Tian Songyao, also Romanized as Tin Chung-yao (田颂尧 (1888–1975), was a warlord of the Sichuan clique, Kuomintang general, later official of People's Republic of China. Tian Songyao was born on 1888 in Jianyang, Sichuan. Tian joined the Si ...

, with minor forces being Xiong Kewu and

Lü Chao Lü Chao (March 9, 1890 July 20, 1951), born in Xuzhou Fu, Yibin County, Sichuan, was a military and political figure in the early Republic of China's Warlord Era, active in his home province of Sichuan. He is known for fighting against Liu ...

Introduction

After Qing dynasty's collapse, not one warlord had enough power to take on all the others at once, so many small battles occurred, pitting one warlord against another. The Sichuan Clique was divided into smaller warlord groups, or Defense Zones, separated from each other with distinct military, political, and economic boundaries. Large conflicts seldom developed, plotting and skirmishing characterized the Sichuanese political scene, and ephemeral coalitions and counter-coalitions emerged and vanished with equal rapidity. However, Liu Xiang was the most influential of the Sichuan warlords. He controlled

Chongqing Chongqing ( or ; ; Sichuanese dialects, Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), Postal Romanization, alternately romanized as Chungking (), is a Direct-administered municipalities of China, municipality in Southwes ...

and its surrounding areas. This region, sitting on the banks of the

Yangtze The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ; ) is the longest river in Asia, the third-longest in the world, and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. It rises at Jari Hill in the Tanggula Mountains (Tibetan Plateau) and flows ...

river, was rich because of trade with provinces down river and therefore controlled much of the economic activity in Sichuan. From this position of strength, between 1930 and 1932 General Liu Wenhui and Liu Xiang improved their forces, organizing a small airforce and an armored car force. In 1935 Liu Xiang ousted his uncle and rival warlord, Liu Wenhui, becoming Chairman of the Government of Sichuan Province with the support of

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 ...

. In economic affairs, there was abusive minting and issuance of currency.Zheng, Qidong, et al. Brief History of Inflation in China. Paths International Ltd., 2013. p. 45

World War II

In 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 ...

, the Sichuan clique made a huge contribution to oppose the Japanese army. Data shows all numbers of dead or injured soldiers (3.26 million in total), including 2.24 million from Sichuan clique. Especially, from 1939 to 1945, the death numbers of soldiers has 646,000 from Sichuan within a total 850,000. In the

Battle of Shanghai The Battle of Shanghai () was the first of the twenty-two major engagements fought between the National Revolutionary Army (NRA) of the Republic of China (ROC) and the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) of the Empire of Japan at the beginning of th ...

, almost all 170,000 soldiers from Sichuan clique fell in battle, with only 2,000 managing to retreat to

Hubei Province 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 ...

. Nine generals of 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 ...

died in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, of whom generals

Li Jiayu Li Jiayu () (April 25, 1892 – May 21, 1944) was a KMT general from Sichuan who was killed during the Second Sino-Japanese War. A veteran of the Xinhai Revolution and the Second Revolution, he served as a regimental officer in the 6th Brigad ...

Wang Mingzhang Wang Mingzhang (; 4 July 1893 – 14 March 1938), courtesy name Zhizhong (之鐘), was a Chinese general of the National Revolutionary Army during the Second Sino-Japanese War. Biography Born in Xindu County (modern-day Xindu District, Chengdu) ...

and

Rao Guohua Rao Guohua (1894 – December 1, 1937) was a Sichuan clique The Sichuan clique was a group of warlords in the warlord era in China. During the period from 1927 to 1938, Sichuan was in the hands of five warlords: Liu Xiang, Yang Sen, Liu We ...

were commanders from the Sichuan clique.

Memento

On August 15, 1989,

Chengdu Chengdu (, ; Simplified Chinese characters, simplified Chinese: 成都; pinyin: ''Chéngdū''; Sichuanese dialects, Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: ), Chinese postal romanization, alternatively Romanization of Chi ...

City Government constructed new sculpture for memento at Wannian, Chengdu.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sichuan Clique Warlord cliques in Republican China History of Sichuan

Introduction

World War II

Memento

See also

References